wierd image viewing problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave B
  • Start date Start date
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Dave B

Here's a baffling problem...

There's a dating site I describe to, and it allows you to set different
search criteria. It shows pictures,of course. I can browse the site and look
at pictures and all that, with no problem at all. The problem starts when I
do a search where the age limit exceeds age 49. When I do that, suddenly
pictures don't appear (not even the little "x" shows up - just a blank spot
where the picture should be). If I go back and try to view things that I had
been able to view just moments before - no pictures! And here's the weird
part: if I go to a WHOLE DIFFERENT SITE ALTOGETHER -I can't view pictures.
If I close internet explorer, and reopen - I'm back to normal - until I try
that particular search criteria again. I've tried this on 2 different
computers, with the same result - so it's got be something on the site
that's causing it. By the way - hitting refresh, or right clicking and
choosing "show picture" has no effect on this problem...

Thanks!

Dave B
 
Gee thanks - but I like 'em that age. Besides - I'm really curious about
what could possibly be causing this problem regardlessof the age of my
dates. But thanks for the suggestion... ;)
 
How many pictures are there and how big are the size of the files?

Clear the IE cache. I.E./Tools/Options/General/Delete files (and delete
offline content.) It's often recommended that the Temporary Internet Files
(folder) be kept at
40-50 MB. Bigger isn't necessarily better.
If still no joy then have a look at this page for other issues.
http://www.generation.net/~hleboeuf/ieimage.htm
 
By the way - hitting refresh, or right clicking and
choosing "show picture" has no effect on this problem...
Click to expand...

If the images can be cached Refresh is not the best technique
to use to avoid Red-X.

What happens if you set Work Offline (Alt-F,W) and clone the
page in a new window? (Ctrl-N)
(Reply Stay Offline to any prompts that you get.)

If that works it means that the page is cached.
Sometimes you may see the Red-X resolve into an image
when you do this. (That implies either that the image was downloaded
or already existed in the cache and it was the refresh of the image which
failed.)

However, since the Show Picture command is not working for you
I suspect that the image is not available. Here are some tips for testing
that idea. If you are lucky that same right-click menu will give you a
Properties page from which you can get the URL of the image.
(E.g. doubleclick within the Address (URL): field and the use Select All
and Copy. (I like to press Menu-A, Menu-C to do that but the only really
important idea is to make sure that you are selecting the *entire* URL.))
Once you have the URL paste it into the Address bar of your cloned window.

One more bit of set up before testing that URL: make sure that
Show friendly HTTP error messages (Options, Advanced tab) is *off*.
Then click Go, etc. to see either the image or the real reason
for the Red-X.

Now remember that I said above "If you are lucky"? Chances are
that you won't be lucky and the thing you right-click is just a link.
However, you can make use of the link's URL as context for finding
the coding of the link and its associated image file in a View Source
display. Unfortunately sometimes the coding isn't so straightforward
that you can just copy a URL for the image out of there either but there
is usually enough information from both the full address that you have
for the link and the filename for the image that you can generate a
usuable URL for the supposed image.

If you have IE5 Web Accessories installed you can test images
in a similar manner using its Images List feature. It is started
from a right-click option in the IE window which opens a special
new window. Press F5 to refresh the display. Click on the links
besides any images which remain as Red-X. Unfortunately
the tool has not been updated to assist with all possible coding
styles in IE6 but it is easier to use it as a starting point, especially
if you have quite a few images that you want to test.


Oops. The above procedures should help you in general
but I just reread your description again and think I know what
the problem is more likely to be.

This is the clue:
If I go back and try to view things that I had been able to view
just moments before - no pictures! And here's the weird part:
if I go to a WHOLE DIFFERENT SITE ALTOGETHER
-I can't view pictures.
Click to expand...

<TITLE>817177 - Image Files Do Not Appear When You View a Web Page with Internet Explorer 6 SP1</TITLE>

If the images were cached you can use the TIF viewer to find
any suspect .jpg in there and then drag them to a Notepad window.
(Tip: use the Details view and sort by Last Accessed
(Alt-T,O,Alt-S,V Alt-V,D Alt-V,I,A))

Drag the .jpeg to a Notepad window and see if there is
some noticeable XML in the header. Other eyecatchers
in the headers of the images that caused me a hang were
UTF-8 Apple and PropertyList.

Unfortunately the only workaround that I know of is to avoid
letting IE try to open that particular type of image.

Turn off Show Pictures. (That same IE5 Web Accessory has
a tool called Toggle Images.exe which accelerates this but
it's just a radio button in the Advanced tab Multimedia section.)

Now use Show Picture on all images except the ones that you
know you can't see. Again, as long as the images are cached
you can even view the ones that you avoid by dragging them
to a different image viewer. (My recollection is hazy but I think
that you can even drag them separately to an IE window to view
them without causing a hang.)


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
 
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