Sprite sheets vs Zip files

[Inthegrave]

And well, not sure how similar it is to Game Maker but I used to use The Games Factory, Multimedia Fusion and TGF2 - but I can't imagine why you'd want to view the sheets in the program itself. Just open it in paint, select the frame you want, slap it where you need it in the program.

I have done it that way but then you have to get rid of the background color, which is easy but annoying. I use Game Makers sheet viewer because it allows you to grab multiple frames at once and automatically remove background color. 

Also The Games Factory huh? I will have to check that out.

Most of these programs also have 'hotspots' (or something similarly named) which you use to set the animation 'lock' point. This makes the whole thing about sheets being an inconvenience for animation purposes completely mute as you don't need the exact frame size.

Getting multiple frames ready is much easier and faster in a zip in my opinion because you more often than not can just batch open several frames. 
A lot of programs allow you to grab multiple frames at once but that does not always help if the sprites on the sheet are not spaced right.

Basically, zip files really suck. Like, I'm surprised tSR even allowed them for sprites to begin with as as soon as something is zipped - I don't bother. I get it if it's something with a stupidly large amount of sprites, but personally I'd rather just have a stupidly large sprite sheet...

I won't put you down if you feel that way but I have used sprite sheets for years and never liked them, they just slow everything down in my experience.
I personally do not avoid either type though.