text: how to create an easy picture slide show with animated character display, as it used to be in ecards??   there is special software for this. i'm not sure what ecards are, or what you mean by "animated character display" (that could mean anything), but you can also do it with windows movie maker, a free piece of software if you own a windows pc.  open movie maker (start-> all programs -> movie maker) and press file-> import into collections. then select all the pictures you want to put in your slide show at once. then press open.  after it loads, you drag them onto the timeline, adjusting them for length and stuff. you can also add slide transition s and animations by going to video transitions. you can add text by going to the text menu.   if you want music to play in the background, import a music file by using the first step, and then click and drag it to the "music" track of the timeline.  then you are done. click file-> save as a movie file. follow the instructions, and voilá, you've got a picture slide show.