No it is built in. I dunno why the user above wants you to install something.
1) They play automatically when selected in column view
2) You can select a gif in any view and press the space bar, the quicklook window will pop out and loop the gif
3) You can open the gif in any modern web browser
4) Quicktime '7' can play gif files
5) You can open the gif in preview and hold the left or right arrow to move through the frames of the gif.
I didn't say I wanted anyone to install anything. I said there are several available apps and named one as an example. I also said the files can be opened in Safari. I don't care if anyone installs software, but since the OP didn't specify a preference at first, the suggestion is valid.
I know this is an old thread, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to save a gif file. When I click save as, this is what I get. A bunch of single photos that are not animated.
I can't seem to save them any other way. What am I missing?
What you're missing is the step before this one: don't open it in Preview (even though that's the default). If you were originally viewing it in a browser, do a right-click and Save As from there.