Classic IE Bug: "Save picture as ..." defaults to untitled.bmp

[PinkPanther 0]

Hi all,

 

This is an old bug, where trying to save an image from the IE window defaults to saving that image as a .bmp file with the name "untitled" even when the image has a name and is of some other format.

 

Now, here is the kicker; I am aware of the multiple solutions that are on the web, most of them come from Microsoft Knowledge Base articles, such as clearing the internet cache (temporary internet files) and/or increasing it's size, deleting "damaged" and "unknown" objects from the installed programs folder, and even deleting all of the entries in this folder.

 

None of these has worked on my system; Thay have all been tried already; please keep that in mind.

 

Other testing I have done:

 

The files are not to blame, loading the exact same URLs and images in a different browser (Mozilla and Opera) saves the image in it's correct format and using the given name of the image.

 

In IE itself: let's say that you are viewing an image gallery that uses thumbnails, which when clicked load the larger image all by itself into the window. Loading the image (meaning clicking on the thumbnail) creates the problem at hand; the image will only save as an untitled.bmp. However, if I instead right-click on the thumbnail and choose "Save targer as .." then the image saves properly - I find that incredible odd.

 

This does not happen with every image; in the example above, some of the images in a gallery will load and save perfectly fine, but most will generate the bug. I have not been able to pick up a pattern as to which images cause the problem and which do not, but I have noticed that once the bug happens to an image, there is no going back, whereas an image that was fine CAN suddenly exhibit the bug after repeated testing.

 

Anyway, I hope this is enough information ... thanks in advance for any ideas.

[PTS 0]

I know what is causing the problem. This is going to sound strange, but it is true. Even though the image appears to be fully downloaded, all of the information for the file is not there. So in turn, IE does not know what type of file it is. In most cases if you just redownload the same page the file will save in its proper format.

[Down8 0]

That's not true. Repeated re-downloads, including refreshed (via shift+F5) tries won't always fix it. This is a pain in the ass bug, and it's been around for too long.

 

-bZj

[PTS 0]

Dude, I didn't say refreshing would fix it every time. There is, as you said, some weird happenings in IE that it can't or just does not always get all of the information for the file.

 

One example I can give you is like this..

 

My roommate and I visit the exact same web page using IE 6. He can save the file as a Jpeg, just as it should be, but I can only get it as a Bitmap. And this is no matter what I do to correct it. For some reason his IE gets the information correctly and mine does/did not. I don't understand that at all. The only difference in his computer and mine is the screen resolution.

[mims1979 0]

I have, and have had for years, this same issue, mine only happens when i use http://username:password@whatever.com/

 

Any image that I tell IE to save on that page will pop up as untitled.bmp. I agree with you as well, I've tried all the "delete internet files", "remove activeX objects" etc. And as I said, I've been dealing with this for years, all the way back to Win98, personally, I've never seen a machine that does work correctly in that instance. I know over the past 6-7 years I've loaded OS's tons of times, loaded IE tons of times, and it always turns out the same way. I've tried it immediatly after a reload, different service packs, different updates, etc, I can't seem to get anywhere on this. Every couple months I search around for an answer again and never find anything that helps.

[theefool 0]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;810978

 

In the end, do the following:

 

Quote:

RESOLUTION

To troubleshoot and resolve this behavior, empty the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder, and then delete the files in the Downloaded Program Files folder that are listed as either Unknown or Damaged. To do so:

1. Start Internet Explorer (if it is not already started).

2. Empty the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder. To do so:

a. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.

b. Click the General tab.

c. Under Temporary Internet files, click Delete Files.

d. When you are prompted to delete all temporary Internet files, click OK.

3. In the Downloaded Program Files folder on your hard disk, remove the files that are listed as either Unknown or Damaged. To do so:

a. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.

b. Click the General tab.

c. Under Temporary Internet files, click Settings.

d. Click View Objects.

 

The list of program files that are downloaded to the SystemRoot\Downloaded Program Files folder on your hard disk appears in the Downloaded Program Files window.

e. In the Status column, note the files that are listed as either Unknown or Damaged. Remove these files. To do so, right-click the file, and then click Remove.

f. When you are prompted to confirm the removal, click Yes.

g. Close the Downloaded Program Files window, and then click OK two times.

[theefool 0]

Some more info:

 

Internet Explorer does not save graphics files in the proper format

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260650/EN-US/

 

Right-Clicking, Selecting 'Save Picture As' Does Not Save Image with Correct Extension

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/250747/EN-US/

[mims1979 0]

Yes, thats what I'm saying, I've seen/tried/tried/tried.... all those solutions time and time again, it doesn't make a difference. For example, visit http://usern:passw@www.ntcompatible.com/index.php and try to right click and save the logo at the top, it will still give you "untitled.bmp" instead of "ntc.jpg" It doesnt matter if the pages us password protected or not, anytime you visit a site with the username:password@site.com its going to do that. Does it not work the same way on your PC?

 

[theefool 0]

I hate to say this, but it works fine for me(IE sp2). Maybe it is because I'm on my work computer and I'm running on a 400 mhz P2.