[Solved] Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

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bob19784
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[Solved] Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

Post by bob19784 »

I am writing an autobiography with about 15 chapters. Each chapter is an individual Writer document. Some of the early chapters were written in MS Word 97 and then converted to Writer; other chapters were initially done in Writer. The chapters are essentially complete except for adding photos.

I am now adding photos to Chapter 3. I have had problems with Read Errors of photos since Chapter 1. My photos start as high resolution .tiff files in Jasc Paint Shop Pro. Before adding a pic to a chapter I make a .jpg copy and reduce the size to 1000 pix wide which I adjust to 3 to 3.25 inches wide on the Writer page. I have used three different techniques to add photos. I initially added each photo by "Insert|Picture" and then added an independent frame to hold my caption. Then I discovered I could create a frame to hold the pic and the caption. More recently I have discovered that there are options so that a containing frame is created automatically when I insert the pic. I do not use the "link" option for photos so each inserted photo is independent of the source file.

With each technique I have been able to place the desired image and caption on the page where I want it (after some messing around). However, routinely thereafter some/many of the images (but not the captions) disappear and are replaced with "Read-Error." I have read the Writers' Guide and searched the forums for some hint. There appears there were similar (but not identical) problems in earlier versions of OOo.

My OS is WinXP SP3. I have 4 gig of RAM. The current file size of Chapter 3 is about 1.5 meg. According to the Help screen I am using OOo 3.1.0 Build 9399.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Bob
Last edited by Hagar Delest on Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: tagged [Solved].
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RoryOF
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Re: Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

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My first suggestion would be that you reduce your pixels. 1000 pixels wide printing at 3 to 3.25 inches wide gives 300+ pixels per inch. I doubt that there will be any need to go beyond about 180 pixels per inch for photos (different for line art, where 300 pixels per inch in a tiff file is usual) - try a sample print at 150, 180, 200 and 300 pixels per inch to see. Secondly I'd try using tiff files, at the lower resolution if you decide that works OK, rather than using jpgs.

I strongly suggest you make a copy of your document and work on that until you have the problem sorted, in case of some catastrophe. A recent document from Sun on working with large documents such as books suggested that all illustrations should be linked, to reduce the document size.
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bob19784
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Re: Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

Post by bob19784 »

Rory -- thanks for the response. I knew that 300 pix was higher than necessary but it didn't seem so bad compared to the 400 to 800 (color) for my tiff scans. I will certainly take a go at it and see if that helps.

I am intrigued that you think that using a reduced resolution tiff file would be better than the 300 pix jpg I am using. Some programs seem to choke up on tiff so it is a bit surprising.

I understand that linking to the source file would reduce the document file size but I figured it was better to make the document complete and free standing. Everything I have read is that Writer/OOo can handle huge file sizes so it didn't appear to me that it was getting that big.

I am having a number of other problems but they (or at least some of them) could be due to file size.

Thanks again.

Bob
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RoryOF
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Re: Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

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I suggested Tiff files as this is generally regarded as the standard graphics format. If tiff doesn't work then there are real problems. It is also a lossless format, unlike jpegs. Jpegs also have a number of parameters, and it is conceivable that some combination of these and or the generation program may make the destination program hiccup. I have used Corel Photopaint X3, 9 and 6 tiffs and jpegs in OO 2.4 Writer and Impress docs without problems, both linked and embedded. I have opened these files in OO 3.1 with no difficulties but have had no reason to generate any files containing graphics since OO 3.0/3.1 was released.

In preparing one presentation I was, like you, generous in my graphics resolution. The finished presentation of 80 slides came to 70MBs and ran quite slowly (disk access). I reduced the presentation using Sun Presentation Minimizer and it reduced to 4.5 MB with no loss of on-screen quality. You are working with a document rather than a presentation, so your milage will vary.

One thought: are you working to a USB key or external drive? Don't! There are reported and unresolved problems with USB keys. Work to your hard disk. If you wish, keep a backup copy(s) on USB, but if you have to use these, transfer them to your hard disk before opening them. I've had no USB problems but there have been _many_ reports of unreliability with these in the case of OpenOffice. I suspect these problems may be due to bad USB discipline and static electricity related, coupled with the intrinsic compression of OO files when saved, but this is only a hunch.
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bob19784
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Re: Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

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Rory -- Thank you for your further information. As I said in my first response I have had problems with tiff files in other software but those, admittedly, were my standard high resolution files that are on the order of 1.5 meg (B/W) and 20 meg (Color). I do all my editing in tiff so the "lossiness" of jpeg wasn't an issue and, of course, the jpeg are smaller files. You are an expert at these things so I will go by your suggestions.

I also realized later that my comments about reducing the file sizes before using them in Writer made no sense. Then I realized that what I was doing made no sense! Perhaps a symptom of a 70-something guy trying to play with modern machines.

My scanned archive images are actually 1200 (B/W) and 2100 (Color) pix wide. After copying and converting to jpeg I reduced the jpeg to 1000 pix -- not a very substantial cut. You have gotten my brain back in gear and I will try the tiff route and something closer to what you recommended for resolution.

Thanks again. I know you put a large amount of time into helping us folks out here and I appreciate it.

Bob
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RoryOF
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Re: Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

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I've done a quick check and the resolution of the naked eye at reading distance is such that about 125 dpi is its limit. Higher resolution does help tonal rendering, which is why the 150/180/200 figures come in. If you are having problens with other apps as well, you might be seeing the same problem in OpenOffice. Have you access to another macchine on which you can try some of these images? It may be a corrupt graphics filter on your machine, which can be cured by a re-install.
Are you perchance transferrring your images on/off CDs/DVDs? If so, cut your CD/DVD at the slowest speed. If one tries to run some of the Linux (Ubuntu et alia) live CD images, it is generally found that fast cut CDs/DVDs are not reliable (often unbootable), and one gets in the habit of cutting them on slow settings (1x/2x).
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Hagar Delest
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Re: Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

Post by Hagar Delest »

Can you try with the pics being saved in .png instead of .tiff? The latter format has different encodings and there are some that can confuse OOo IIRC. PNG is also lossless.
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bob19784
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Re: Pictures in Writer, Read-Errors

Post by bob19784 »

My problem is solved. Many thanks to Rory for getting my head straight. I have finally finished my Chapter 3 with 45 or so images (mostly B/W but a few color) embedded. I have had none of the "Read-Error" problems I was having before.

For information, I reduced my image size to as low as 100 pix wide but did get some fuzziness when I printed the page. This is with an everyday HP5550 series inkjet printer. Eventually I settled on 500 pixels where I could no longer discern the difference between the printed high resolution image and the reduced resolution image. So it took some experimentation but the end result is what I was looking for -- good images and a stable document. Now I gotta' go back to Chapter 1!

Again, Many thanks to Rory for his patient assistance.

Bob
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