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bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

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    bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

    Very new to Alpha and probably asking a stupid question, but my company logo that I have used successfully in every other application will not work in an Alpha report. It looks great in the design view for the report when "absolute" is selected as the display mode, but shrinks to very tiny when printed. If I change the display mode to "best fit" the size in design view stays the same but it gets fuzzy and prints full size looking awful.The original graphic in Paint is 3"x1" and prints perfectly. The "best fit" setting looks like I am magnifying the original 50x, where am I going wrong? I have used this logo in Word, Excel, Filemaker, at the printing shop, all with no issues. I am using the "Bitmap" object in Design view to place the graphic on a printed invoice header. Thanks in advance for any help.

    Joe

    #2
    Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

    Hi Joe or is it Bill?

    Import the Logo into the code tab and then use the logo from there.

    Should get a better result from the library image.
    Regards
    Keith Hubert
    Alpha Guild Member
    London.
    KHDB Management Systems
    Skype = keith.hubert


    For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

    Comment


      #3
      Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

      Joe/Bill,

      I think you need to give us the bitmap file (zip it if it isn't already in a compressed format). What you describe should work as desired and in my tests with my bitmaps I see no difference when I import them into the code tab and use them via a library. Hard to know what to suggest without an example.

      Raymond Lyons

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        #4
        Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

        Bill is absolutely correct and I have complained about it for years, bug report and on this board. "Absolute" renders the image tiny tiny in the report and is therefore useless. The other settings grow or shrink the image so you have to play with the dimensions to get it right. Attached images show design mode and report preview. The image has a box around it to show how the image shrinks.
        Steve Wood
        See my profile on IADN

        Comment


          #5
          Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

          I guess I must be doing something wrong--I use images (logos, signature scans, photos) quite a lot and I have never had this kind of problem except once in a blue moon when the problem was in the original image file.

          Would still like the file that has the issue so I can see what I do wrong;).

          Raymond Lyons

          Comment


            #6
            Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

            I'm thinking it has something to do with me not being a graphic artist. Does the "absolute" setting mean the actual size in pixels? If that's the case, then wouldn't you have to have multiple sized(in pixels) images to deal with different display resolutions? The image I am using is low resolution (294x80) relative to my display resolution (1440x900), but works real well with other apps as I said before. I am using my boss Bill's account.

            Joe

            Comment


              #7
              Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

              why the reluctance to post the database with data removed so that others can help you? Perhaps you have the dimensions set wrong if you use "best fit".

              Comment


                #8
                Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

                I believe Steve has provided an example of exactly what I'm talking about. There really is no database started because if I can't use my logo, I can't use Alpha(without changing the logo). The logo was the first thing I was working with as I set out to create a new database to replace my existing one. I am in no rush to create the new database and I really wasn't planning on spending lots of time manipulating my logo, as I said I'm not a graphic artist. All I want is my 1" x 3" logo to print properly in a report, what should I do to make that happen? I really thought this was going to be a very simple question, as I figured many others had experienced the same issue. Raymond, when you say the problem was in the original file, what problem was in the original file? Maybe I have the same problem. And Steve, since you are obviously aware of this issue, what do you do to take care of it? Thanks for your replies.

                Joe

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

                  I make my images Best Fit and adjust the dimensions to make the image look decent. If I have multiple images that might be place in that location* I ensure each image has the same dimensions, meaning sometimes I crop to include white space in the image. Or, another workaround is to use Conditional Fields on the report and make a different sized box for each image.

                  *Like my Invoice which might have different logos depending on which Company is issuing the Invoice.

                  I hope you don't lose faith. This is one of a very few open issues with Alpha. This one seems to have remained un-determied in Alpha's bug process, I don't know why. I personally detailed the problem in an exchange with their engineer. On the web side, this is not a problem if the image is in the browser as HTML determines the dimensions. But if you run an Alpha-based Report on the web, you do have the same problem.

                  By the way, this whole problem is more obvious if you attempt to take an 8-1/2" by 11" graphic and lay it on a page as background. Absolute is the apropriate choice because you want the FULL dimensions, but it renders the image as a 1" x 1" square in the middle of the screen preview or printed report.
                  Steve Wood
                  See my profile on IADN

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

                    Not sure if this will help you, but I often put an image in a word document - get it to display as desired, and then make an image of it with snagit and typically save it a a jing.
                    Cole Custom Programming - Terrell, Texas
                    972 524 8714
                    [email protected]

                    ____________________
                    "A young man who is not liberal has no heart, but an old man who is not conservative has no mind." GB Shaw

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                      #11
                      Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

                      Steve- what format are your posted files in? When I try to download and open them, the only option I get is a pmig file and I haven't found anything that will open it.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

                        Steve me? I haven't posted any files that I see. Those images are screen captures in GIF but not intended to represent an inserted graphic.
                        Steve Wood
                        See my profile on IADN

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: bitmap looks like hell in "best fit"

                          Originally posted by Steve Wood View Post
                          Bill is absolutely correct and I have complained about it for years, bug report and on this board. "Absolute" renders the image tiny tiny in the report and is therefore useless.
                          I think that the problem here is the definition of what absolute is. In the docs, Alpha admits that this setting will give varied results. I have not done much with images in Alpha but decided to play around for 5 minutes to see what was happening. Alpha is taking the image at its actual (or absolute) size and sending it to the printer. So now you need to determine what resolution your print driver is using. I altered some bmp files to 1200 pixels per inch and bingo it displayed on the printout correctly. Tried it with a couple of other images and the same thing. So I would suggest that if you want to use "absolute" you would need to determine your print drivers resolution and alter your image to match. For instance, if your image needs to be 3 inches wide then using 1200ppi the image would need to be 3600 pixels wide.

                          At least this is my best guess for what is going on.

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