custom border problem

[Broadford1]

In Publisher 2007 when I try to create a custom border using a wmf/bmp/gif
clipart of 5 to 10 kb size I get the following Alert Message: "This picture
is too complex to be made into a border". How can I get around this problem
as I have tried over a 100 pieces of clipart which Publisher rejects as too
complex. What is an acceptable piece of clipart to Publisher? Surely there
must be some simple solution to this. Can anyone help?

 

[Carrie]

In Publisher 2007 when I try to create a custom border using a wmf/bmp/gif
clipart of 5 to 10 kb size I get the following Alert Message: "This
picture is too complex to be made into a border". How can I get around
this problem as I have tried over a 100 pieces of clipart which Publisher
rejects as too complex. What is an acceptable piece of clipart to
Publisher? Surely there must be some simple solution to this. Can anyone
help?

I have gotten this message occasionally, usually when trying to use it with
a picture from my file. I haven't tried it too much with clipart, maybe not
at all (I have a large file of my own). The last time I got the message I
had saved a skull and crossbones image from Wingdings/Webdings in Word, I
wanted to make a border from it. You'd think somehing that started out as a
b&w font would be simple enough to make into a custom border. Maybe it
wasn't clear enough?
Maybe it says it's too complex but this could mean something more, like
it's not clearly defined?
I'm going to go try it now with clip art and see what I get and maybe in
the meantime someone here who REALLY knows will answer.

 

[Carrie]

In Publisher 2007 when I try to create a custom border using a wmf/bmp/gif
clipart of 5 to 10 kb size I get the following Alert Message: "This
picture is too complex to be made into a border". How can I get around
this problem as I have tried over a 100 pieces of clipart which Publisher
rejects as too complex. What is an acceptable piece of clipart to
Publisher? Surely there must be some simple solution to this. Can anyone
help?

I have Publisher 2007 too
I just tried making borders from the clip art (it has a box to check that
says use clip art, usually I uncheck this and use something from my own
files)

Everyone I tried worked. I tried it different sizes (around the picure or
box)

The one I made from the 2 pale roses, I put the picture on (clip art) I
used for it.

Maybe you're not talking about the clip art that comes up with Publisher
but from another source?

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z189/starchild_dreams2/borders_clipart.jpg

I have gotten that error message before, though, but as I said, when I've
tried to make the border out of some of the pictures in my files. Maybe ones
with too many colors or layers or something. If so, you'd have to open it
in a photo/art editor and reduce the number of colors, I would think. I
don't know how you would make clip art any less comples than it already
seems to be.

Maybe it's not the clip art with Publisher that you are trying to use.

 

[Mary Sauer]

Some images are too complex. Usually they will be bitmaps, .png, .jpg or .bmp.
Most .wmf images will work if they are not too large. A workaround would be to
take your image, re-size it to your specifications, copy/paste until you have
your border. A bit time consuming but it works.

 

[Broadford1]

Mary, thanks for your attention and possible solution to my query. I will
try resizing my clips as you suggest. How small or large can the size of a
clip be for Publisher to use it in a custom border?

John.

 

[Broadford1]

Carrie,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my problem with creting custom
borders. Perhaps the size of my clips are too large and need to be resized.
I will try to see if this works. I do like the facility in Publisher to
create custom borders even though the borders in Publisher are limited to
particular situations. Happy Easter

John.

 

[Carrie]

Carrie,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my problem with creting custom
borders. Perhaps the size of my clips are too large and need to be
resized. I will try to see if this works. I do like the facility in
Publisher to create custom borders even though the borders in Publisher
are limited to particular situations. Happy Easter

I have used pictures and clip art from my own files, too. Every now and
then it says it's too complex to use. I usually look for another one that
will work instead of making it smaller and copy/pasting, as Mary suggested.
I remember one border I tried to make from a fairy gif, and I wondered why
it was too complex" but maybe it had too much detail.

I like to learn every chance I can, so now I, too would like to know more
about this and why some work and some don't. I mainly have gifs and jpgs in
my files.

I don't use custom borders much, but it would be nice to know more about
them and what works, what doesn't and why.

Carrie

 

[Carrie]

I've been trying graphics several ways. I thought I had it pinpointed with
resolution, my fairy wouldn't work at 200 res. but worked at 72.
But, then something else I tried at high resolution did work (and looked a
lot better than the low version)
I tried resizing, and opening in Illustrator and using LiveTrace (changing
it to vector with fewer colors) and opening the gif, and bringing the
satuation way down. Various things.
Some worked and some didn't, but I can't find the common denominator.

I just put it in google and came up with this
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HP012302541033.aspx

on the place telling about the custom border it says:
You can create a custom border from clip art, a picture file, a scanned
photograph or other bitmap , or a picture that you created in a drawing
program. Your custom border will be stored with the Office Publisher 2007
border art.

Note The picture file that you use for a custom border must be smaller
then 64 KB in size and must not include any text.

I guess that's the key the size in kbs. The respolution and/or size
together creates the kb size.

Now, we'll have to test it and see if it works.

I like the goal of "learn something new everyday"

 

[Carrie]

I mentioned trying to make a border from a Wingding (or Webding I have 2
Wingding and 1 Webding fonts) which is a skull/crossbones.
It said it was too complex to make the border from.
I opened it in an art program (after our posts here) and darkened it a bit,
using a tiny brush, enlarged to show the pixels,resized it smaller and saved
it as a gif, and it worked this time.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z189/starchild_dreams2/skulls.jpg

Just showing it because this is made from a font. Printed large size,
screen captured, and saved- first as a jpg (apparently too big) then resized
and saved as a gif.

Goes to show you can use just about anything. I only recently started
looking at Wingdings as a source of graphics, even though they look tiny,
they can be used big, as an image.

Carrie

 

[Mary Sauer]

If you can reduce your image to a width of 100 pixels or less you probably would
not get the error. I have no problems with .wmf images of around 30kb; a 90kb
..wmf is a no go.