Inserting Pictures into powerpoint

[cb82876]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

Please help me. I am at my wit's end. I am trying to insert some bmp files into power point. When I try to drag and drop them, I get an error message that says that powerpoint has encountered an error and needs to quit. When I try to use the Insert option, nothing happens. I tried to copy and paste them from the desktop, but all it did was copy and paste the name of the file. They used to work on Office for mac 2004- can't figure out why they won't work here.

 

[CyberTaz]

It sounds like you do not have Office fully updated - it should be at
12.1.9, so update as necessary, repair disk permissions & restart your Mac.

FWIW, "Drag & Drop" as well as "Copy/Paste" are two of the worst convenience
features to employ when it comes to adding graphics to any type of file...
Even when they "work" the result is often less than expected. Although you
mentioned having tried to use "the Insert option" you don't specify *what*
you chose from the Insert menu. If anything other than "Picture" it would
explain the lack of result. Also, the .bmp format is one that is best
avoided if possible ‹ it really isn't supported any longer on either the
Windows or OS X operating systems.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[cb82876]

I updated Office, repaired disk permissions and restarted my computer, but am still not having any luck. To clarify, when I use the Insert option, I select picture and then select the bmp file from my desktop. Nothing happens when I do this. I am confused as to why the file worked fine with Office 2004 but won't work with this version.
You mention that bmp is not a good format to use with Office. How do I change the format of the image?
Thank you for replying. I need to use these images in a presentation and am desperate to get this working.

 

[CyberTaz]

Well, to be sure I just inserted .bmp after .bmp from several different
sources & had no problem whatsoever using Insert> Picture. Why you're
continuing to have difficulty I'm not really sure. Are you able to insert
other types of images or do you still encounter the problem?

The best way to create a version of a graphic in a different format is to
open it in a graphics editor [such as Photoshop or even some of the
freeware/shareware apps] & save in the format preferred. If you don't have
anything else you can open the BMP in Preview then use Save As to save a
copy in a different format... I'd suggest PNG (or possibly JPEG, depending
on the nature of the image content). You might even try some of the others
to see which looks best, but for a BMP either PNG or GIF should be fine.

Assuming you're able to insert formats other than BMP that should get
through the current project. I'll try to come up with other possibilities so
be sure to reply with the results when you try these suggestions.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[cb82876]

I downloaded two graphics editors from the internet (pixelmator and image tricks) and tried to open the file in both. In pixelmator, I got an error message that said "couldn't open the file. It may be corrupt or a file format that pixelmator doesn't recognize". When I tried to use image tricks, nothing happened.
I can't understand why this isn't working because it worked fine in Office 2004. It works fine on the pc at work. Is it possible that there is something about it that makes it unusable on Office 2008 or on my mac? Do you think it would be helpful to try to change the format on the pc (to a PNG file) and then try to open it on my mac?
Thanks for all your help with this. I am at my wit's end.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Also, the .bmp format is one that is best

avoided if possible ‹ it really isn't supported any longer on either the
Windows or OS X operating systems.

It's still supported under Windows and fwiw, it's a very simple, easy-to-read
format. PowerPoint converts all images to one of three formats internally (PNG,
JPG, GIF) so by and large, as long as it can Insert, Picture from File to bring
the picture in, BMPs are safe enough.

OTOH, as a Windows-native but not much used on Mac format, it's a bit odd to
standardize on 'em on any Mac computer.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Well, to be sure I just inserted .bmp after .bmp from several different
sources & had no problem whatsoever using Insert> Picture. Why you're
continuing to have difficulty I'm not really sure.

I haven't installed 2008 but on some other Office versions, some of the graphics
filters are optional install items. BMP on Mac would be a candidate for
"Optional" if ever there were one. Do you recall if the 2008 installer offers
optional filters? If so, that might be the problem ... filter not installed.

 

[cb82876]

Steve,
Do you know how to change the option install items? I don't recall this when I installed 2008, but I wasn't really looking for anything other than the straightforward install.
Thanks for your input.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Steve,
Do you know how to change the option install items? I don't recall this

when I installed 2008, but I wasn't really looking for anything other than
the straightforward install.

Thanks for your input.

I'm hoping Bob or Jim can jump on this one. I bought my current Mac from one
of the early Pharoahs. It's too long in tooth for 2008.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello Again Steve;

It's still supported under Windows and fwiw, it's a very simple, easy-to-read
format. PowerPoint converts all images to one of three formats internally
(PNG,
JPG, GIF) so by and large, as long as it can Insert, Picture from File to
bring
the picture in, BMPs are safe enough.

OTOH, as a Windows-native but not much used on Mac format, it's a bit odd to
standardize on 'em on any Mac computer.

Note that I didn't say BMP was no longer usable or had ceased to exist on
either platform, nor that it's "unsafe" in any way ‹ it's simply been
relegated to the tombs for the very reasons you used in your descriptive
first sentence Compared to newer formats BMP is monolithic, archaic &
incapable of the quality most users expect from graphics files, and
bit-for-bit it's quite inefficient compared to GIF & PNG. I don't know of a
single program or OS that continues to use it as a default, even for screen
shots ‹ many don't even offer it as an option.

Relative to the OP's situation, though, I don't think that "BMP" itself is
the problem. As I pointed out, I have no problem with them here nor have
there been any reports of issues such as what he's experiencing. There is
something else afoot that's preventing the insertion... That's why I asked
about success/failure with other formats, & from the more recent replies it
appears that the file itself may be damaged.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[CyberTaz]

You didn't miss anything Win Office offers optional graphics filters
which are additional & not included in the standard set. Most of them are
Windows-centric [although not necessarily unusable on a Mac]. IIRC, however,
they are available as a separate "package", not a part of the installation
options. At any rate, BMP is included in the standards on both platforms.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[CyberTaz]

I haven't installed 2008 but on some other Office versions, some of the
graphics
filters are optional install items. BMP on Mac would be a candidate for
"Optional" if ever there were one. Do you recall if the 2008 installer offers
optional filters? If so, that might be the problem ... filter not installed.

Hi Steve;

Unlike Win Office the only option I can recall is to *not* install certain
components. Even so, graphics filters aren't among them, AFAIK. All of my
Mac Office installations are plain vanilla "Standard" installations & I have
no problem inserting BMPs.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

You didn't miss anything Win Office offers optional graphics filters
which are additional & not included in the standard set. Most of them are
Windows-centric [although not necessarily unusable on a Mac]. IIRC, however,
they are available as a separate "package", not a part of the installation
options.

Both, actually. There are install options for graphics and text filters that
aren't included in the default install, but you can also download an installable
package of graphics filters.

At any rate, BMP is included in the standards on both platforms.

That moots the rest. On to busted BMPs then ....

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Note that I didn't say BMP was no longer usable or had ceased to exist on

either platform, nor that it's "unsafe" in any way ‹ it's simply been
relegated to the tombs for the very reasons you used in your descriptive
first sentence Compared to newer formats BMP is monolithic, archaic &
incapable of the quality most users expect from graphics files, and
bit-for-bit it's quite inefficient compared to GIF & PNG.

It uses simple RLE compression when it uses compression at all, so yep, BMPs can
be quite large. But they're as able to deliver quality images as any other
format that can store 24-bit pixel data.

I don't know of a
single program or OS that continues to use it as a default, even for screen
shots ‹ many don't even offer it as an option.

True, and probably for the reasons outlined above.

Relative to the OP's situation, though, I don't think that "BMP" itself is
the problem.

That was my guess too.

As I pointed out, I have no problem with them here nor have
there been any reports of issues such as what he's experiencing. There is
something else afoot that's preventing the insertion... That's why I asked
about success/failure with other formats, & from the more recent replies it
appears that the file itself may be damaged.

And absent missing graphics filters, I was headed there next too. ;-)

Regards |:>)

As always!

 

[CyberTaz]

Ahhhh!!!! Here's where we take off the gloves & go Mano a Mano ;-) You bring
out the "purist" in me

<snip>

But they're as able to deliver quality images as any other
format that can store 24-bit pixel data

<snip>

If it's 24-bit it *ain't* a BMP [no matter what type of extension some
developer may have stuck on it]. By definition, BMP has a single 1-bit
channel which displays each pixel as either Black (0 brightness) or White
(255 brightness). This evolved to allow for any two shades to be substituted
for B & W once color was supported on the PC. Anything with a greater pixel
depth (8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit) can be a *Raster* image, but by
definition it isn't a BMP. The term "bitmap" [or "bitmapped"] image gets
bandied about & interchanged with "raster" far too cavalierly [IMHO] &
applied to literally *any* image file which isn't clearly Vector. That's a
part of what leads to the confusion of many users.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[CyberTaz]

Thanks for the clarification... I install *nothing* on a Windows box unless
it's of the utmost urgent nature leaving me with no alternative.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

You didn't miss anything Win Office offers optional graphics filters
which are additional & not included in the standard set. Most of them are
Windows-centric [although not necessarily unusable on a Mac]. IIRC, however,
they are available as a separate "package", not a part of the installation
options.

Both, actually. There are install options for graphics and text filters that
aren't included in the default install, but you can also download an
installable
package of graphics filters.

At any rate, BMP is included in the standards on both platforms.

That moots the rest. On to busted BMPs then ....

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks for the clarification... I install *nothing* on a Windows box unless
it's of the utmost urgent nature leaving me with no alternative.

I thought that was your criterion for *touching* a Windows box. ;-)

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Ahhhh!!!! Here's where we take off the gloves & go Mano a Mano ;-) You bring
out the "purist" in me

Bring it, bring it. But fair warning, you're talking to a boy who's written
code that writes BMP files on the fly. I've cut 'em open and played with
their intestines. (And aren't we glad THAT'S a bitmap and not a full RGB
image). Below ...

<snip>

But they're as able to deliver quality images as any other
format that can store 24-bit pixel data

<snip>

If it's 24-bit it *ain't* a BMP [no matter what type of extension some
developer may have stuck on it]. By definition, BMP has a single 1-bit
channel which displays each pixel as either Black (0 brightness) or White
(255 brightness). This evolved to allow for any two shades to be substituted
for B & W once color was supported on the PC. Anything with a greater pixel
depth (8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit) can be a *Raster* image, but by
definition it isn't a BMP. The term "bitmap" [or "bitmapped"] image gets
bandied about & interchanged with "raster" far too cavalierly [IMHO] &
applied to literally *any* image file which isn't clearly Vector. That's a
part of what leads to the confusion of many users.

Some schnook at MS confused "bitmap" with "raster" too. He's got a lot of
company. But don't assume that because he misnamed it, the file contents
follow him into The Valley of Errata.

BMPs can be 1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color or b/w, or full 24-bit color.

From the MS Spec (and on the count of three, we can snicker it the insistence
on referring to the image as a bitmap, whether it is or not):


The biBitCount member of the BITMAPINFOHEADER structure determines the number
of bits that define each pixel and the maximum number of colors in the
bitmap. These members can have any of the following values:

Value Meaning

1 Bitmap is monochrome and the color table contains two entries. Each
bit in the bitmap array represents a pixel. If the bit is clear, the pixel is
displayed with the color of the first entry in the color table. If the bit is
set, the pixel has the color of the second entry in the table.

4 Bitmap has a maximum of 16 colors. Each pixel in the bitmap is
represented by a 4-bit index into the color table. For example, if the first
byte in the bitmap is 0x1F, the byte represents two pixels. The first pixel
contains the color in the second table entry, and the second pixel contains
the color in the sixteenth table entry.

8 Bitmap has a maximum of 256 colors. Each pixel in the bitmap is
represented by a 1-byte index into the color table. For example, if the first
byte in the bitmap is 0x1F, the first pixel has the color of the
thirty-second table entry.

24 Bitmap has a maximum of 2^24 colors. The bmiColors (or bmciColors)
member is NULL, and each 3-byte sequence in the bitmap array represents the
relative intensities of red, green, and blue, respectively, for a pixel.

 

[CyberTaz]

Ahhhh!!!! Here's where we take off the gloves & go Mano a Mano ;-) You bring
out the "purist" in me

Bring it, bring it. But fair warning, you're talking to a boy who's written
code that writes BMP files on the fly. I've cut 'em open and played with
their intestines. (And aren't we glad THAT'S a bitmap and not a full RGB
image). Below ...

<snip>

But they're as able to deliver quality images as any other
format that can store 24-bit pixel data

<snip>

If it's 24-bit it *ain't* a BMP [no matter what type of extension some
developer may have stuck on it]. By definition, BMP has a single 1-bit
channel which displays each pixel as either Black (0 brightness) or White
(255 brightness). This evolved to allow for any two shades to be substituted
for B & W once color was supported on the PC. Anything with a greater pixel
depth (8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit) can be a *Raster* image, but by
definition it isn't a BMP. The term "bitmap" [or "bitmapped"] image gets
bandied about & interchanged with "raster" far too cavalierly [IMHO] &
applied to literally *any* image file which isn't clearly Vector. That's a
part of what leads to the confusion of many users.

Some schnook at MS confused "bitmap" with "raster" too. He's got a lot of
company. But don't assume that because he misnamed it, the file contents
follow him into The Valley of Errata.

BMPs can be 1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color or b/w, or full 24-bit color.

From the MS Spec (and on the count of three, we can snicker it the insistence
on referring to the image as a bitmap, whether it is or not):


The biBitCount member of the BITMAPINFOHEADER structure determines the number
of bits that define each pixel and the maximum number of colors in the
bitmap. These members can have any of the following values:

Value Meaning

1 Bitmap is monochrome and the color table contains two entries. Each
bit in the bitmap array represents a pixel. If the bit is clear, the pixel is
displayed with the color of the first entry in the color table. If the bit is
set, the pixel has the color of the second entry in the table.

4 Bitmap has a maximum of 16 colors. Each pixel in the bitmap is
represented by a 4-bit index into the color table. For example, if the first
byte in the bitmap is 0x1F, the byte represents two pixels. The first pixel
contains the color in the second table entry, and the second pixel contains
the color in the sixteenth table entry.

8 Bitmap has a maximum of 256 colors. Each pixel in the bitmap is
represented by a 1-byte index into the color table. For example, if the first
byte in the bitmap is 0x1F, the first pixel has the color of the
thirty-second table entry.

24 Bitmap has a maximum of 2^24 colors. The bmiColors (or bmciColors)
member is NULL, and each 3-byte sequence in the bitmap array represents the
relative intensities of red, green, and blue, respectively, for a pixel.

Kudos ‹ it's refreshing to know that there is someone out there who truly
does understand the dilemma. I don't dispute the facts, but I still take
issue with the semantics I stand by my claim that the generic term
"bitmapped image" is one thing, but a file type of .bmp is something else.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

[snippage]

Kudos ‹ it's refreshing to know that there is someone out there who truly
does understand the dilemma. I don't dispute the facts, but I still take
issue with the semantics I stand by my claim that the generic term
"bitmapped image" is one thing, but a file type of .bmp is something else.

And there we land on the same page (b/w laser printed, bitmapped).

The extension doesn't necessarily reflect the contents accurately.