In Word jpegs require a TIFF filter?

[Chris]

I have a word document created in a Mac with a number of photos included. The
document reads ok on my mac but when I try to read on my pc each photo shows
the following message.

Quicktime and a TIFF decompressor are needed to see this picture.

Can anyone help me resolve this? I do have Quicktime on my machine... Have
reloaded Quicktime but still doesnot work...

Thanks

 

[Tim in Ottawa]

Sounds like you may have mac copy and paste pictures in your word file (hence
the quicktime)? The decompressor means the tiff files have probably been
saved with lzw compression, probably word can't handle this. How are you
putting the pictures in on the mac? Sounds like pc word isn't interpreting
them properly. I've never heard of quicktime tifs, they are usually two
different file formats.

Try putting the picture in as a jpg file on your mac and see if this
displays properly on the pc.

I often see posts on here about cross-platform picture problems. If your
client has a pc, you will probably save yourself various headaches by just
working on the pc.

 

[Chris]

The files are jpegs which I copied from iphoto into Word. The document reads
fine when opened in the mac but comes up with the message when opened on the
pc.

I don't know if the pc is happy with the size of the jpegs and is trying to
compress them?

As I use my mac on the road - creating the documents on the pc is not really
an alternative.

Chris

 

[CyberTaz]

Word has no idea what the image file format is if you copy & paste into a
doc on *either* platform [1]. It then has no choice but to store the graphic
in the platform-specific format of PICT on the Mac, EMF/BMP on the PC.
Problem - the platform-specific formats are *not* compatible on the other
platform. IOW, PC Word can't read PICT, Mac Word can't read EMF.

You can minimize the problem by avoiding the copy/paste procedure altogether
& using the recommended technique: Insert>Picture>From File. That gives Word
the opportunity to store the original in its native format as well as
generate the platform-specific display image. When the file gets transported
to the other platform that version of Word can generate its own display
image from the native original.

Downside is that this will result in larger file sizes - a file created on
the Mac will have the PICT & the JPEG & when it goes to a PC the EMF will be
addded (the PICT is retained, not discarded). If you need to minimize file
size make sure the images are appropriately rendered _first_ for resolution
& print size in a graphics program, then Link to rather than Embedding the
images. Just make sure to include copies of the image files when the doc is
shipped out.

[1] Pasting will often result in reduced print quality as well.