Layout error

[jamon51]

I keep getting this error message (see attached screenshot).

I tried making a new layout and copying over the border but it must have brought it with it.

Every time I "relink" the offending image it accepts it but when i open the layout again it complains about not being able to find it.

driving me more nuts than i already was... :| Any ideas?

thanks

- jamon

[WendyWelton]

Jamon,

I get this error also, when I've recycled a plan or layout file. I've found I can say "cancel" with no ill effects.

It's a little tedious to always have to do that. I've found a workaround of making a blank jpg file with that name and putting it in the same directory, so it thinks it found something.

I get that same message when it is an image currently in use, but it's in a different directory. The file displays the image, but tells me it can't find it. Go figure.

Maybe somebody from Chief Inc. will tell us how to get rid of the reference entirely, when we don't want it - and get rid of the message when the message is wrong!?!?! (subtle hint there). Or maybe one of these days when I have nothing higher on the list I'll call Tech Support and ask them.

Wendy

[jamon51]

Okay, I fixed it. Try this, Wendy:

1. Locate the image that it's asking for and copy & paste it into your Chief 10\images\~My Images folder.
2. Delete the image in your layout file that is causing problems.
3. Re-insert the image from the ~My Images folder.
4. Save, close, re-open to check.

Viola!

Jamon

p.s. ART should fix this though. The image is linked correctly (and displays correctly)--Chief just looks in the wrong place when checking if it's still there.

[WendyWelton]

Jamon,

Yeah, I know. I'm kinda sorta wishing I didn't have to move or copy images from their home directory. Actually, I don't have to, but I have to live with the error message if I don't. There are certainly worse things in this life, but a girl can always wish!

I've also had it continue to look for images long after I've deleted them, if I blocked them together. Of course, I don't do that sequence very often, so it's barely on my "list".

W

[jamon51]

Wendy,

In that case I guess you'd have to purge the block using the block manager.

But then you probably know that

- jamon

[WendyWelton]

It has happened in so few plans, that I never hunted real hard for a solution. I thought the block manager was just for cad blocks, not images. But darn - I just tried it, and it worked! Cool beans. I also found that it's not yelling at me for my image files in other directories. They must have fixed this in one of the updates - I hadn't been in this kind of file before.

Wishes do come true!



W

[David J. Potter]

Chief always remembers the location of image files relative to where it was when first inserted, so if you change the location, alter the name and so forth its "memory of location" becomes invalid and thus the error message. This has been true since Version 6 or 7 when the ability to import images was introduced. I have adopted the habit of placing image files that I use for a plan in the plan folder and ones that I use repetitively in my plans directory so I don't stress Chief's limited ability to search out and find image files. The same is true for layouts that have views/CAD Details sent to it from another plan file/directory so I usually copy paste these to a central location on my HD that does not change or copy-paste them into a blank CAD Detail window associated with the plan I am working on. Chief could be smarter but I have learned to work with it and to reduce the chances of confusing its programming.

DJP

[WendyWelton]

David,

There was a period of time in Chief 10 when a newly placed image, that had never been moved, renamed, etc., gave that error message on the very next open. It found the image, but gave the error anyway.

The good news - It appears to have been corrected. Isn't life good?

W

[jamon51]

Wendy,

I still get that error! What am I doing wrong...?

-jamon

[WendyWelton]

Jamon,

Some questions, and maybe I can help you -

Is the image still used in the layout? Or has it been deleted?
Is the image in the same directory as the layout? In "-my images" or in another directory?
Has the image file been moved since you inserted it?
Or, have you moved the layout file since inserting the image?

W

[jamon51]

Is the image still used in the layout? Or has it been deleted?

It is still used in the layout.

Is the image in the same directory as the layout? In "-my images" or in another directory?

I moved it to the -my images folder and that fixed the problem. for THIS image, anyway. if i insert any other image that isn't in the same folder as the layout and isn't in the standard chief images folder, whenever i open that layout, i get error messages. Try it yourself--insert an image from My Documents or something.

Has the image file been moved since you inserted it?
Or, have you moved the layout file since inserting the image?

No, and no.

Like I posted before, I fixed it by moving the image (which is our logo image) to the -my images folder. You said you don't get the error anymore--is that true even if the file is in a non-standard location (like My Docs)?

Thanks!

- jamon

[WendyWelton]

Hmmmm.

I lied. I just opened the file to see if I had embedded the images or something, and realized that my images are now in the same directory. Sorry dude. I forgot that I got so sick of seeing the error message that I copied them all in.

Sorry 'bout that. I guess maybe it isn't fixed.

It's a bummer, because if you use a lot of images, it forces you to either have copies for every time you use it, or see error messages that do nothing more than desensitize you to error messages.

I pretty sure they're aware of it at Chief Inc. I sent it in, along with another annoying thing about images - unpredictable hard lines at the edges of images, even when the color is turned to white. Have you had that one also?

Wendy

[jamon51]

Yup, noticed the edges. These issues should be resolved in a future patch I hope.

- jamon

[Doug Park]

Just to be clear I assume we are talking about images that are imported and placed in 2D not 3D. The issues surround each are quite different.

I think where you are getting caught with the images is something like the following scenario.

1) You create a layout with all your images etc. in the same directory or sub-directory of your layout.

2) You create a new layout by copying your original layout to a new directory leaving the images in the original directory.

There is logic in loading the layout that prefers accessing files in a subdirectory of the directory that your layout is in. The idea behind this is that the entire layout is independent of the original. It does sound like there is a bug there, but I havn't seen this reported before. It may have fallen through the cracks.

When you do have items that are shared between multiple layouts it would probably work better to have those items in a parent directory that is shared by your layouts or put them in some other more central location.

Embedding the images in the layout file directly, while more costly in disk space is overall less confusing. I would recommend that approach as it makes it much less likely for you to loose your images.

Use JPEG format for renderings and photographs and PNG format for line drawings to get the best compression.

Black lines on an image edge could show up if the image isn't exactly rotated to 90 degree increments. You can also use a white line that has a heavier line weight to mask out this edge in other cases.

Are the lines showing up only when you print or on screen?

If they show up only when you print then using double buffered printing may work. Be aware that this could be quite slow on a large sheet.

[WendyWelton]

Doug,

I sent my particular file in to you guys on Friday 9/2/05. The file is called AFA 2005 House Call Brochure.zip. It's there someplace, with a detailed description. I had to email it directly to support@Chiefarchitect.com, because your on-line submittal form won't accept my .biz email address.

These are 2D jpeg images placed in a layout file (it's one of my brochures). Not textures or anything 3D.

My images were in a different directory entirely, not the same as the layout and not a sub, or sub of a sub - and that's where I inserted them from. Neither the layout file nor the image files were moved from when I inserted the images. I got the error message on the very next open of the file. No moves or changes.

I don't want to have to keep duplicates of these image files every time I use them in a different layout. Not only does that **** up more hard disk space, but it gets confusing trying to find the image file that was last edited.

The unwanted lines at the edges of the images show intermittently on screen in Chief and the print intermittently as well. I'll print, see some of these unwanted lines, paste some cad blocks over then, reprint, and darned if some don't show up in more places. It's time consuming and frustrating, because I can't count on my results unless I mask out every single edge. Yuck.