How to use animation on favicon image ?

Last Updated : 31 Jan, 2020

A favicon is a special icon that appears at the top left corner near the web address bar. The file type can be of any jpg, png, gif or icon(.ico) image. The default favicon name is favicon.ico. The favicons are also commonly known as a shortcut icon, bookmark icon or website icon. They provide convenience to users for locating your web page. The favicons are included for a branded professional look with a specific logo that maintains a uniformity through all the pages of the website. The icons help the website in online branding. An animated favicon is created from an animated image. It is set through link tag. It is basically a set of images running one after the other within a specific time frame.

Syntax:

To add gif as favicon:

<link rel="icon" href="geeksforgeeks.org/favicon.gif" type="image/gif" />

To add normal image as favicon:

<link rel="icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"/>
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon"/>

Note: Animated images of type GIF will work in Firefox browser. The .ico is the standard format which works well on all browsers but many websites prefer images of type PNG.

Approach: In the following example codes, the approach taken is display of progressing animation with the help of HTML canvas, javascript and mathematical geometry. An Animate Favicon button is added in the HTML page, which helps in starting the animation effect on click event. Once the drawing is done in the canvas, it is converted to a PNG image before being assigned as a favicon.

Example 1: The following example code will show the implementation of circular animation on favicon image.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  
<head>
  
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Circular animation on favicon</title>
    <link rel="shortcut icon" href="gfgFavicon.png" width=32px>
    <script language="javascript">
        onload = function() {
            canvas = document.querySelector('#canvasId'),
                context = canvas.getContext('2d');
            if (!!context) {
  
                // The start position for drawing circle
                C3qpi = 1.5 * Math.PI,
                    tc = pct = 0,
                    btn = document.querySelector('#animateBtn'),
                    faviconLnk = document.querySelector('link[rel*="icon"]');
                context.lineWidth = 3;
                context.strokeStyle = 'green';
  
                // On page refresh, enable the button 
                if (btn.disabled) btn.removeAttribute('disabled');
                btn.addEventListener('click', function() {
                    tc = setInterval(drawcircularLoader, 60);
                    this.textContent = 'Animating';
                    this.style.backgroundColor = '#99999';
                    this.setAttribute('disabled', '');
                });
            }
        };
  
        function drawcircularLoader() {
            with(context) {
                clearRect(0, 0, 32, 32);
                beginPath();
                arc(8, 8, 6, C3qpi, (pct * 2 * Math.PI / 100 + C3qpi));
                stroke();
            }
  
            // Update favicon to PNG image
            faviconLnk.href = canvas.toDataURL('image/png');
            if (pct === 100) {
                clearInterval(tc);
                btn.textContent = 'Animated';
                btn.style.backgroundColor = 'green';
                return;
            }
            pct++;
        }
    </script>
    <style>
        body {
            width: 450px;
            height: 300px;
            margin: 10px;
            text-align: center;
        }
          
        h1 {
            color: green;
        }
          
        #animateBtn {
            background-color: #1c2e46;
            border-radius: 2px;
            border: none;
            color: white;
            font-family: inherit;
            font-size: inherit;
            padding: 0px 5px;
            letter-spacing: 1px;
            cursor: pointer;
        }
          
        #animateBtn:focus {
            outline: none;
        }
          
        #animateBtn[disabled] {
            cursor: default;
        }
          
        .height {
            height: 10px;
        }
    </style>
</head>
  
<body>
    <h1>GeeksforGeeks</h1>
    <b>How to use circular animation on favicon image</b>
    <div class="height"> </div>
    <br>
  
    <!-- Canvas nad button for animation -->
    <button id="animateBtn">Animate Favicon </button>
    <br>
    <br>
    <canvas id="canvasId" width=32 height=32></canvas>
</body>
  
</html>

Output:

Example 2: In this example, the implementation of drawing a square which transforms the favicon into a animated image.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
  
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <link rel="shortcut icon" href="gfgFavicon.png" width=32px>
    <script language="javascript">
        onload = () => {
  
            var canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
            context = canvas.getContext('2d');
  
            if (!!context) {
                var animateBtn = document.getElementById("animateBtn");
                faviconVar = document.querySelector('link[rel*="icon"]');
                
                // The styles used for the square which will 
                // be animated in place of favicon 
                let linerGradient = context.createLinearGradient(0, 0, 32, 32);
                linerGradient.addColorStop(0, '#8be8a7');
                linerGradient.addColorStop(1, '#297d4c');
                context.strokeStyle = linerGradient;
                context.lineWidth = 10;
                
                // On page refresh , the button is enabled
                if (animateBtn.disabled) animateBtn.removeAttribute('disabled');
                animateBtn.addEventListener('click', function() 
                {
                    
                    // Variable used for drawing incrementation
                    n = 0,
                        
                        // Speed interval for animation 
                        loadingInterval = setInterval(drawSquareLoader, 80);
  
                    this.textContent = 'Animating...';
                    this.style.backgroundColor = '#297d4c';
                    
                    //Once the drawing is done, the button is again disabled
                    this.setAttribute('disabled', '');
                });
            }
        };
  
        // Function for drawing square in canvas in a incrementing way
        function drawSquareLoader() {
            with(context) {
                    clearRect(0, 0, 32, 32);
                    beginPath();
                
                    // One fourth time taken to draw
                    if (n <= 25) {
  
                        moveTo(0, 0);
                        lineTo((32 / 25) * n, 0);
                    }
                
                    // Between second quarter of drawing
                    else if (n > 25 && n <= 50) {
  
                        moveTo(0, 0);
                        lineTo(32, 0);
                        moveTo(32, 0);
                        lineTo(32, (32 / 25) * (n - 25));
                    }
                
                    // Between third quarter of drawing
                    else if (n > 50 && n <= 75) {
  
                        moveTo(0, 0);
                        lineTo(32, 0);
                        moveTo(32, 0);
                        lineTo(32, 32);
                        moveTo(32, 32);
                        lineTo(-((32 / 25) * (n - 75)), 32);
                    }
                
                    // Between  last quarter
                    else if (n > 75 && n <= 100) {
  
                        moveTo(0, 0);
                        lineTo(32, 0);
                        moveTo(32, 0);
                        lineTo(32, 32);
                        moveTo(32, 32);
                        lineTo(0, 32);
                        moveTo(0, 32);
                        lineTo(0, -((32 / 25) * (n - 100)));
                    }
                
                    //Function to draw the path
                    stroke();
                }
            
                // Assigning the drawing to favicon after 
                // converting into PNG image
            faviconVar.href = canvas.toDataURL('image/png');
            
            // After the drawing is finished 
            if (n === 100) {
                clearInterval(loadingInterval);
                animateBtn.textContent = 'Favicon Loaded';
                animateBtn.style.backgroundColor = '#bbbbbb';
                return;
            }
            
            // Increment the variable used to keep
            // track of drawing intervals
            n++;
        }
    </script>
  
    <title>Animation on favicon image</title>
    <style>
        body {
            width: 450px;
            height: 300px;
            margin: 10px;
            text-align: center;
        }
        h1 {
            color: green;
        }
        html {
            background: #f4f6fa;
        }
          
        #animateBtn {
            background: #1c2e46;
            color: white;
            font: inherit;
            border: none;
            padding: 0px 5px;
            letter-spacing: 1px;
            cursor: pointer;
            border-radius: 2px;
        }
          
        canvas {
            margin: auto;
            display: block;
        }
          
        .height {
            height: 10px;
        }
    </style>
</head>
  
<body>
    <h1>GeeksforGeeks</h1>
    <b>How to use animation on favicon image</b>
    <div class="height"> </div>
    <br>
    <button id="animateBtn">Animate Favicon</button>
    <br>
    <br>
    <canvas id="canvas" width=32 height=32></canvas>
  
</body>
  
</html>

Output:

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How to use animation on favicon image ?