On PC: Images Need QuickTime And TIFF Decompressor

[Sintax]

Well my project is coming right along and I thought "hey, I better take a look at this on a PC before I keep going!". Well now I kind of wish I didn't...

The layouts are fine and all but here is a problem... and it is a major one for my database:

There are two fields that aren't showing up. They are both containers: The first is just a container where images are dragged into. The second is what you fine folks helped me set up for displaying a 1 - 5 star rating gaphic.

On my Mac they are great and work perfectly. However when I loaded my database up on a PC, both those two container fields are white boxes with text that reads something about:

"In order to view this image you need QuickTime and a TIFF Decompressor (uncompressed)"

I have NO idea why this is the way it is. I can create new records and the one container field where you drag images into seems ok (it just won't show images from already created records).

As for the other container that shows the star rating... I can't get it to show a graphic no matter what I try!

Has anyone come across this before and / or have a solution? I'm sad.

Version: v7.x

Platform: Mac OS X Panther

[-Queue-]

Before 7.0 you would select 'Store compatible graphics' in the Preferences. I have no idea where that is now, though.

Anyone else?

[Sintax]

Sweet... hopefully someone will know where it is now.

Do you think I would have to go back and re-import all those graphics and such? I hope not!

[Sintax]

Well I have scoured Google for the past hour or so trying to find out how to accomplish this in MF 7 but came up empty handed. Anyone out there have any ideas?

[bubba]

Do you have any applications on your Windows computer that will open a compressed TIFF file? Have your tried to export the TIFF file to your Windows desktop and open it?

I don't think this is an FM or QuickTime issue. My guess is that error message simply reflects the fact that your system cannot handle a compressed TIFF file and QT was involved in creating it.

[Sintax]

Well, I have now tried it on two different PC's that are both running Photoshop 7 and the latest version of QuickTime. Same errors...

I know photoshop has .tif support so what gives I wonder?

[Andy Robo]

Good question - I've had a very similar problem using quicktime VR objects ".obj"... developed on a mac - absolutely fine, and then PC runtime says "The file cannot be displayed"

Frustrating...

I'm keen to hear the development of answers on this one...

[Andy Robo]

I think I'm gonna try doing what you did and drop them into the DB whilst in windows development - you said that seemed to work?

Andy

[Sintax]

Well here is what I tried and found out this morning:

I took my FM file that I have been working on using my Mac back over to the PC. I opened it up and, of course, got those white boxes with the error messages in them only from container fields which held graphics.

I reapplied the graphics to the container fields and they showed up and behaved fine*. I saved the file and took it back over to my Mac and loaded it back up... looks just as it did before. So I am kind of at a delema as to what to do. Having switched to Macs a couple years ago and have a new G5, I really don't want to go back to working in XP. I think I will finish up any last bit of work I have to do in the "image holding containers" department, fix it up on the pc and then finish developing the rest in Panther.

* When I drag and drop an image from the web into my database I get this message box that comes up with two options about data strings (if I remember correctly). No matter which one I choose, I new window in FM pops up with some kind of Excel looking spread sheet.

I found the only way to do it on a PC was to right click on the container and select "Paste BMP" even though it was a .jpg file.

[Lambda Enterprises]

I have a DB created on a Mac, trying to open in Windows.

QuickTime 7 is installed in Windows. I can export the graphic in the container field and open it just fine with QuickTime picture viewer, so QuickTime CAN read the file in Windows, yet the message described above appears in FileMaker. Reimporting the graphic does not change this.

FileMaker needs to address this issue. It has been happening for a long time. There are numerous references on the internet, but NOTHING on the FileMaker website.