Disappearing images (again) in Word

[djarvinen]

I've seen this behavior in previous versions of Word, and now am seeing
it in Word 2003 Pro.

I've also seen a lot of 'advice' about hardware acceleration, updating
drivers, etc (none of which I buy).

So here is a little test I ran. I have an image (a .bmp file) that I
inserted into a 'clean' Word document. Here is a little dump of that
image. Note that you see that it is a Word doc as some of the ruler,
etc is visible in the image:

http://www.griffobros.com/test2.jpg


Here is the same image placed into an existing Word document where the
graphic is not visible, only the outline.

http://www.griffobros.com/test1.jpg

Note that you can actually see the smallest portion of the bottom of
the text in the image while the rest is invisible.



Clearly something is 'different' in the setup/template/whatever in the
second document but I cannot figure out what it is.

Any help here?

Thanks.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, one of your screen shots was made in Normal view and one in Print
Layout, but both graphics are clearly In Line With Text, so that's not the
issue (though the setting of "Picture placeholders" might be relevant). What
is disturbing is that the inline image in test1.jpg is overlapping text in
the document header. I would suggest using Open and Repair on that document.
If that doesn't help, treat it as corrupt (see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm).

 

[Tony Jollans]

The image is in a very odd place and the text it is overlapping shows
through; it doesn't make any real sense as possibly being in a document
(even a corrupt one).

It looks like the display of the image has not been properly completed - it
may be a problem with Word itself but I would be more inclined to think it a
computer/operating system problem, whether you buy it or not.

The way you say you ran a test implies that this is repeatable for you. Does
it happen all the time, or only under certain conditions, or only with
certain images?

 

[calm competence nearly]

I had a similar problem where about 15 images disappeared from a document.I
played around with it and discovered the images reappeared when View was
print or web layout but unfortunately the whole page (text and graphics)
could not be made to fit the page layout even though it did so as it was
created.
page

 

[TF]

I suggest trying the same test but using a JPEG image. If you haven't got an
image editor, the free to download IrfanView is a fantastic editor and it
will let you convert from/to just about any format you need. Convert it to a
standard full quality JPEG and see if that resolves the issue.

 

[djarvinen]

Just to add some more info:

1. I've 'viewed' the page in Normal, Print, and Web. No difference.

2. The images above were .jpg file; I also used.bmp files. No
difference.

3. The above shots were Word 2003 (and previously Word 2000) on a Win2K
machine (latest service pack for Office & OS). 'Generic' locally built
machine. ATI 3D Rage Pro AGP 2X

4. My 'other' PC is WinXP (latest service pack for Office and OS); it
also behaves the same. Standard Dell. Intel 82865G Graphics
Controller.

And remember, if I start with a 'Fresh' document, I can insert the
image just fine. But the above file (and hundreds of others like it)
refuse to display the graphic correctly.

 

[djarvinen]

Whoa!

Found the problem...

Look at these images:

A graphic (selected) of the bar below the image in question:
http://www.griffobros.com/test3.jpg

Same pic but with 'problem' graphic selected:
http://www.griffobros.com/test4.jpg

Now a pic with the 'bar' graphic deleted (no change to the first image)
http://www.griffobros.com/test5.jpg

And now with a NEW paste of the 'problem' graphic:
http://www.griffobros.com/test6.jpg

Voila! The image now appears. But nothing that I can do (so far) can
make the original inserted image appear correctly. I had to delete it.

So there is something very weird going but at least I know the work
around: Get rid of all those stupid bar graphics.

(Disclaimer: I inherited these documents, and I would admit that some
design 'techniques' were implemented that I probably wouldn't do but
nonetheless, this is just one of many documents that I have to fix).

Knowing what actually causes this problem would be nice. And thanks to
all who have taken an interest.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

FWIW, you could probably create the "bar" as a paragraph border instead of
using a graphic line. That might help some.

 

[djarvinen]

Thanks; that's a good idea. I've never been fond of using graphic
images as section separators, etc.

 

[TF]

Was the drawn bar separator set to In Line? Anyway, as Suzanne suggests,
definitely use a border rather than a drawn line as the separator bar.

Terry

 

[Beth Melton]

You may want to check your Compatibility Options under Tools/Options
and make sure they are set for the version of Word you are using.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

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http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/default.mspx
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