WebImage: Loading and Saving Images

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Q: Why does WebImage crash when loading some GIF files?
A: WebImage 2.0 crashes when loading a GIF without an end marker. This is especially noticeable in some animated GIFs. We have adjusted WebImage v2.1 so that it is more lenient towards these GIF files and should no longer crash.

Q: Why is it that when I saved a grayscale/monochrome image with a transparency but when I reloaded the image it was all black?
A: There is a bug in WebImage v2.0 that causes any grayscale GIF with 16 or fewer grays (including monochrome) to save with a faulty transparency. This bug is fixed in release 2.1. In the meantime, to circumvent the problem, you can select a white section of the image and stretch it. This causes the program to think the image consists of 256 grays and to save it as such, thus keeping your transparency. Unfortunately, if you reload it, the color auto-detection sees that it has fewer colors and if you then save it without resetting it back to 256 grays, the image will be faulty again.

Q: Why can I not save transparency in PNG files?
Q: Why can I not save comments in PNG files?
A: Until version 2.1, WebImage did not store transparency or comment information, even though the PNG specifications support both items. These problems have been addressed and corrected in version 2.1.

Q: Why am I not able to save a monochrome image as a Targa (.TGA) file?
A: There is a bug in WebImage 2.0 that caused monochrome images saved as Targa files to save as completely black images. This has been correct in v2.1.

Q: Why do some images saved as Sun Raster files (.RAS) get ruined?
A: There is a bug in WebImage 2.0 that caused 4-bit files saved as Sun Raster files to save improperly. This bug has been corrected in WebImage 2.1.

Q: Why does my PNG file still read as 24-bit when I optimize the palette to two colors using the Save Options dialog?
A: There was a bug in WebImage 2.0 where all PNGs optimized to two colors with the Save Options dialog saved as 24-bit. You can optimize to two colors before saving to avoid this problem. This problem is also fixed in WebImage 2.1.

Q: What happened to my 4-bit (16 gray) gray scale files that causes them to look so bad?
A: There is a bug in WebImage 2.0 that caused 4-bit gray scale files to display improperly. This bug has been fixed in WebImage 2.1.

Q: Why do some of the bitmaps I'm trying to open look funny, with half the image compressed on one side and the other side consisting of garbage?
A: The bitmap formats WebImage reads are 24, 8, 4 and 1-bit files. However, bitmaps can also be saved as 16 or 32 bit files and occasionally files of this type are created. WebImage v2.0 will read these files properly. The problem has been fixed in version 2.1. However WebImage still does not write this type of file out. It will instead convert it to a 24-bit file.

Q: Why does the program crash when loading a 1x1 file GIF file?
A: WebImage and I Spy, versions 2.0, have a bug that crashes when loading a 1x1 interlaced GIF file that includes transparency. This problem has been corrected in version 2.1.

Q: Why won't WebImage let me save my image file?
A: One possibility is that the file is marked as Read Only. This is easy to check and fix. First, find the file in Explorer or File Manager. Next, bring up the properties box. Immediately, you should see that there are several flags that can be set, one of which is Read Only. If this box is checked, uncheck it. If it is not, then you have another problem. You may be out of disk space or you may not have rights to the directory you are saving in.

Q: Why does the program keeps saying, "Invalid image," each time I try to load a particular image file?
A: It may not actually be a valid image. Sometimes some information in an image may have been corrupted, possibly during a download or even when the image was created. Sometimes images have been encoded (via uuencode, MIME or binhex for example), but still retain their original extension.

Q: How can I make the size on a new image bigger than 100x100?
A: First, be sure you have selected the New Image button to create a new blank image. If you actually want to paste an image from another application, you should select Paste From Clipboard. This will create an image exactly the size of whatever is on the clipboard. If you want a blank image, you can change the size of the new image by selecting the size from the Image Size in Pixels list. If you don't see the size you want, select Custom and enter the exact Width and Height you need in the text entry boxes below.

Q: Why is it when I opened a picture and saved it with a new name then made some changes and saved it again, the changes saved to the original picture?
A: One of the main features of WebImage is that can be used to save off a variety of different image types in a variety of different formats. Because of this, save as does not update the name of the image file being held in memory. If you want to do further work on the file you have saved with a different name, you need to reload that file or be sure to continue using Save As, instead of Save.

Q: Why does an image get all speckled or lose color quality when I save a BMP or JPEG as a GIF?
A: Images can have many different color combinations to work with. Some formats support a nearly limitless color scheme (over 16.7 million colors). This is called 24-bit. Others support only 256 colors (8-bit), or even only black and white. The GIF format only has the capability for up to 8-bit storage, so an image can use a maximum of 256 colors. Thus, if you have loaded an image that uses millions of colors (which JPEG and BMP both support along with many other formats) and save it as a GIF file, some Color Reduction must be done. WebImage uses a powerful color reduction algorithm to pick the best 256 colors for the image. Then it uses a process called Dithering to mix the available colors. Its dithering that can causes the slightly speckled appearance of a GIF.

Q: Why does a JPEG with a solid background have splotches in it when I reload it?
A: JPEG is a lossy format, which means that the compression system is set up to get the colors approximately right. It does this to offer maximum compression at the expense of perfect colors. In images with a mixture of colors this works okay, but in images that have large swatches of single colors, JPEG's approximate colors are more noticeable. In these instances GIFs and PNGs offer lossless compression and may even compress better than JPEGs if the color fields are large enough.

Q: Why is it when I save several different images that are all the same size (e.g.: 100x100) the actual file sizes are all different?
A: This is because many of the image formats use compression. The nature of compression is often such that the amount of compression depends on the composition of the image. So, if you were to save an all white picture as a GIF, the file size would be significantly smaller than a detailed, dithered picture that was the same image size.

Q: Why do some of the JPEGs I load look really nice and others look very blocky?
A: JPEG has an adjustable compression factor called the Q factor. The higher the Q Factor (up to 1.00), the better the quality of the image. Unfortunately, as the quality of the image grows, the file size grows. Therefore, it is important to balance the amount of compression with the quality. WebImage v2 saves with a default of 0.90. This offers a good deal of compression with very little loss. WebImage 1.72 defaults at 0.75, which offers still more compression, but with more loss. If you need to squeeze the image even further, you can go down to 0.25, but as you go lower, the blockiness becomes more and more noticeable. You can change the Q factor on images you are saving under the Save Options Dialog (accessed from the Save dialog).

Q: Why is it that when I reload an image that I saved as one type, it shows up as another type in the information box?
A: No matter what the name or extension you have used for the file, it will always be saved as the selected image type. The image type is set using the pick list below the Name in the Save dialog. A common mistake is to try and change a file's image type be changing the file extension. However, if you don't pick the correct image type, it will save under the new extension, but it will still have the old type. The easiest way to save images is to simply select the type and not add an extension. WebImage will then append the appropriate extension to the filename.

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