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If you have a lot of fun animated GIFs being sent back and forth at the office or in your circle of friends, you might want to add one of those animated GIFs to a Gmail message too. However, if you copy the GIF in your message, the animation will not work and if you add it as an attachment, recipients will have to open the attachment to see it. How do you add a moving GIF directly to a Gmail email?

To step

1. Write your email. You know how that works; login to your Gmail account, click Compose or Reply and write your email as you want it. You can also do this after inserting your GIF, the choice is yours!
2. Find your GIF. Moving GIFs have become a regular part of internet communication. Millions of people spend time and effort creating funny and entertaining animated GIFs. If you don't know which GIF you want yet, find one on the web. Try a search like funny gif or party gif or cat poison, you are sure to find the GIF that conveys the right message for you.
3. Save the GIF to your computer or find the exact URL. To add the moving GIF to your email, you will need to save it. Copying and pasting is not enough, you only get a still image in your message, which is a lot less fun.
   • You can insert the image with the URL of the GIF, but this is only possible if you have the exact URL of the image. So the link to the webpage containing the GIF will not work. You can find the exact URL by clicking on the Gif with the right mouse button and then Copy image URL to select. If you find this difficult, it is best to save the file to your desktop.
   • To save the file to your computer, right-click on the image and select Save Image As. Save the image to a location that you can easily access, such as your desktop. Once you have sent it, you can delete the file.
4. Click on the icon for Insert photo in Gmail. This one looks like a mountain with a sun above it and is located at the bottom of the email you are composing. After clicking, a smaller screen will open to select your image.
5. Make sure the Insert images option at the bottom right Inline state. If not, your GIF will be added as an attachment and recipients will have to open it to see it.
6. Select your GIF. There are two options that work for inserting GIFs: you can choose upload if you saved the GIF on your computer, or before Web address URLif you have the exact URL of the image.
   • If you choose to upload, you can drag the desired GIF to the upload window or click Choose photos to upload.Select your GIF and click Open. The file should then be automatically attached to your email. If not, click Insert to confirm the upload.
   • If you choose to use a web address, paste the exact URL of the image into the text block. If the URL is correct, a preview of the image will appear. Then click Insert in the window to insert into the email.
7. Adjust the size and location of your GIF, if necessary. Click on the image, it will be surrounded by a blue frame. You can then pull the corners to resize the image and click and drag the image to move it. You can also choose from the suggested Gmail options, for example small, best fit and original size. You can also delete the image if you need to, using the link that appears below the GIF.
   • If you want to move the Gif, you can drag it to another part of the email or move the text if you find it easier.
8. Send your email! Once you've written the message, added the recipients, and inserted your animated GIF, click Send to send your email. Your friends and colleagues will soon have to giggle at your message.