posted
Recently I was trying to save pictures from my brother's wedding site to my hard drive, but all the pictures have been default saving on my computer as .bitmap files. This is true even when I right clock properties of the image on the web page and it says it is a .jpeg file. In short I would like to be able to save pictures as .jpeg files again and I am wondering why my computer is making me save them all as bitmap files.
Posts: 369 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Navigate to C:\Windows or C:\WinNT Depending on the operating system. Look for a folder called Downloaded Program Files and open it. Inside, right-click and select remove on each of the separate files in the folder. That should fix it.
Posts: 1170 | Registered: Jan 2003
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If you open the pictures with Paint, you can "save as" .jpg to where you want them. Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Do you know how to delete your temporary internet files? In-depth instructions. "System root" means your Windows or WinNT directory,
Posts: 1170 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
So, I take it you are looking at his photos on a webpage, right clicking on the image and selecting "save image as..." What does it say in the "save as type" field when you do that? Is the extension of the file you save actually .bmp (for bitmap)?
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
The wedding pictures you're trying to access off the internet are in whatever format they're in. If you right-click and "SaveAs" you're not going to be able to select a different format. Even if you somehow force a different extension (those three or four letters after the last "dot"), the picture is not somehow converted to that format.
What BYuCnslr said: once you've saved the files (and remember where you've saved them...), open them up with the standard "Paint" program (or another similar program of your choice) and "SaveAs", but chose the JPEG or JPG extennsion as an option--the program will (usually) automatically convert it.
BTW, DO NOT LISTEN to Justa Notha Name! He/She/It is just trying to get you in trouble! Anyone claiming to be "Computer Illiterate" needs to deperately try to stay the heck away from the Windows, WINNT, System, and System32 directories. There be dragons there--I've looked!
posted
The problem being experienced is the result of either broken or faulty COM objects (java or activeX scripts) that are commonly downloaded via the browser to perform various tasks. For example: if one clicks on the "Chat" link up at the top of the screen, it brings you to a logon screen. That screen is the result of a java script loading COM objects to act as a front-end to connect to a chat room hosted by Parachat. Many sites use similar types of scripts, often for mundane things (like neat-looking menus without using Macromedia's Flash). The damaged or faulty COM objects are usually a result of some page overwriting the already downloaded object to its own parameters, which makes it work fine for that given site, while not always working properly—hence the problem saving images—for other tasks that the browser is capable of doing. This is a flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, as other browsers have not been reported as being affected by this flaw since its inception.
The proper steps, despite nay-saying, is to first go to the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, choose Options from the menu, and look for the "General" tab. Under the "General" tab, there should be a section for "Temporary Internet Files" with a button allowing you to delete them. These temporary files are cached images and files from various sites you have visited recently. After deleting the files, click okay and close the web browser. Go to My Computer and open an explorer window (this is the file browser, not the internet one). Navigate to your Windows or WinNT directory, then find the folder called Temporary Internet Files and open it. Right-clicking and selecting "remove" for each will remove them. Do not use the delete key to remove them, use the right-click and select "remove" for each. After that, close your file browser and restart Internet Explorer.
If the COM objects were removed while a browser window was open, then there is a chance that they were not totally removed. Make sure to close your browser before removing them from the Temporary Internet Files folder. Also, it is best to remove the cached files via the Tools >> Options >> General menu before navigating to the actual folder to delete the COM objects.
Everything I just explained here, with the explanation of the nature of the problem, is directly from a Microsoft Knowledge Base article on this very issue. The warning about going into your system directory (Windows or WinNT) is a valid one, but following these directions and deleting absolutely NOTHING else should help to solve the problem. If the issue persists, I suggest downloading and running a program called "Spybot: Search & Destroy" to try and locate "spyware" that may be adding to the problem. However, the issue is a common one with Internet Explorer when a bad or broken COM object is downloaded. If all of these steps seem like too much to handle, then you could always visit www.mozilla.org and download (and install) their latest version of their web browser, which will most likely not have this problem.
What Bernard and Steve have suggested about just changing the extension name (from bmp to jpg) will not work, because the browser is accidentally converting the actual image compression to bitmap format, and changing the extension of a bitmap will not automatically make it a jpeg. It would require having to be recompressed as a jpeg, and there would be a noticable loss of quality. The problem is with a broken COM object. If BrianM dropped down the menu for "Save as Type" he would see only two options: bitmap and all files. I already know this because I have seen the problem myself and fixed it for many others, as well as my own computer.
Really, saying that I'm trying to get someone in trouble is just rude.
Posts: 1170 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
When you use even simple programs such as MSPaint to "SaveAs" it doesn't change the file extention, it actually puts it to .jpeg compression (and fyi .bmp is completely uncompressed, thusly bitmaps are so large).
quote:Really, saying that I'm trying to get someone in trouble is just rude.
It may seem rude, but it is a legetimate concern on the internet because many times it will be a hoax where someone is telling you to delete something along the lines of autoexec.bat, system.sys et cetera. That's why when you post something that has to do with the system root you DO want to post where you got the information in the first post. It's pretty much required etiquet now because, sadly, the internet isn't the safe trusting place of geeks it used to be... :: looks back on the days where the internet had a user base of less than a million :: :: looks back on the days where I could actually SPELL :: Satyagraha
Not to get into a big ol' pissin' contest with you, but:
1) I didn't tell BrianM to just change the extension, I told him to get the file into Paint, and SaveAs with the desired extension. I don't know about your "Paint," but mine (W2K Pro) allows JPEG/JPG as a file extension. But trying to use "SaveAs within IE will get you what you stated: the native format (BMP in this case) or "All Files" (*.*).
2) The "Downloaded Program Files" can hold a lot of other applications, besides the ones that are somehow preventing Brian from seeing or saving his files. It's a bit too agressive (in my book) to just wipe out that whole subdirectory in an attempt to fix an uncertain problem that can be easily overcom using other means.
And I stand by my statement (thank you, BYuCnslr) that one should not direct a self-proclaimed "Computer Illiterate" into the System areas.
The "Just wants to get you in to trouble" reference was meant as a humorous warning flag. Didn't mean to offend.
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