progeCAD support, tips and troubleshooting forum. progeCAD works very similar to some versions of AutoCAD. Moderated.

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#431 by flynt
Thu Feb 05, 2009 3:28 am
I'm having some problems printing a drawing with an image underlay using Progecad 2009. I've tried printing to a Fuji Xerox C2200. The image with overlaid data prints ok at A4 size, but only the overlaid data prints at A3. In both cases the print preview looks ok. I also tried on a HP Designjet and again only the overlaid text etc printed with no image. I therefore tried a different drawing that also had an image and it worked ok. I'm guessing it has something to do with the size of the image. The image that doesn't work is a 27MB .png file.

#435 by flynt
Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:17 am
Thanks for the quick reply. I was about to send off the files when I thought I'd better check the problem again. Wouldn't you know it, after spending hours trying to get it to go yesterday, today it works! I can't recreate the fault, so I won't send the data.

#487 by riroko2
Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:05 am
I don't think it's the sunspots.

I am also using picture background on many of my drawing mainly orthophotos, which are fairly large in size.
Using Progecad09 (PG09) it starts already sometimes!? just zooming in the picture, it disappears. Zooming out it's there again.
Similar with printing. Sometimes the picture might be there on the screen, but the show on the print preview and doesn't print.
I also had this problem, when PG08 was new. It got better with the different updates, but still happens at times with PG08. In those cases I have to go back and use PG07, where I haven't got any problems with my picture backgrounds.

I also think it has got to do with the output size of the print. The same scene on an A4 print might be alright to print, but it can disappear on an A1 print. I suspect the resolution of the image increases with the print size, until at one point it just can't handle it.

At this stage I don't know if I should upgrade to PG09, because, as I said, many of my drawings have got orthophoto background.
#488 by riroko2
Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:28 am
One other thing with background images:
It seems like PG09 (and also PG08) and the ProgeSOFT PDF Wizard have got problems, whenever the background picture is on an angle (rotated). Printing with the pdf wizard italways distorts the image on the pdf especially when the edge of an image appears on the print area.
I've created an example with PG09:
Image

The white line in th middle of the picture from top to bottom is where two background images are joined together. Because they are rotated, you can see distortion at the join of the images, on the right edge of the print and at the top left corner.

Usually with PG08 I was bypassing that problem using an acrobat 5.0 pdf writer. But unfortunately PG09 crashes immediately, when I just try to select this printer.
#489 by caddit
Thu Mar 05, 2009 3:43 am
Hi,

I don't think it's the sunspots.


Well, maybe not now... they come and go... :lol:


Using Progecad09 (PG09) it starts already sometimes!? just zooming in the picture, it disappears. Zooming out it's there again.
Similar with printing. Sometimes the picture might be there on the screen, but the show on the print preview and doesn't print... I also think it has got to do with the output size of the print. The same scene on an A4 print might be alright to print, but it can disappear on an A1 print.


Maybe our testing didn't use large enough images. Could you please ZIP and email one or two example files to our developers at:
Image
As a work-around, could you please test what happens when you decrease the quality-resolution of your images with a free tool like GIMP and see if that helps? (When you save as .JPEG file format, GIMP asks you what quality the JPEG should be saved as)

The PDF write printer problem might be related or it might not. We will test once we have an example of your work to test in the lab.

But unfortunately PG09 crashes immediately, when I just try to select this printer.


Do you mean that progeCAD 2009 crashes when you try to select your "acrobat 5.0 pdf writer"?

#490 by riroko2
Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:19 pm
Ok, I'm trying to zip up and send the file I'm working on at the moment. (could still take a while, uploading a 65MB file). The file contains 38 tiles of orthophotos, which I've already reduced to lower quality jpgs of around 2MB each (original size of one tile was 110MB tiff each). I don't want to reduce it any more, otherwise I would loose too much detail. I know it is a lot of images, but why shouldn't it be working, when it was working alright with PG07.

I've saved the sample file in a state, that if you try to print the model space with the settings at the moment (same scene as picture above) it showed just the line-work on the print preview. (I've just tries again after starting PG09 again and I could print with background, but distorted (see above)).
So I don't know, as flynt mentioned, sometimes it is working, sometimes it is not.

As a work-around, could you please test what happens when you decrease the quality-resolution of your images with a free tool like GIMP and see if that helps? (When you save as .JPEG file format, GIMP asks you what quality the JPEG should be saved as)


As I explained, I can't really decrease the quality any more, but I have experienced this problem also with PG08 using just one fairly small (maybe a few 100kb) image background!?

The PDF write printer problem might be related or it might not. We will test once we have an example of your work to test in the lab.


Also the distortion problem does happen with only one small image. an annoying workaround for me, in case of just one background image, is to add some white border around the image, that the image extent is greater than the print window. Then it works (most of the time) with no distortion. That was using PG08. But this doesn't work in my sample file, where I have adjoining tiles of background images.


Do you mean that progeCAD 2009 crashes when you try to select your "acrobat 5.0 pdf writer"?


Yes PG09 crashes when I just click to select the acrobat pdf writer, or sometimes it freezes PG09 and I have to kill PG09 using the task manager. I can still use the pdf writer using other application including previous versions of Progecad. So it's only happening with PG09.

#597 by riroko2
Mon May 04, 2009 4:22 am
I am still having problems printing drawings with image backgrounds in Progecad09. I am using version 9.0.20.2 now. Using different pdf writers it doesn't print my jpg background pictures. As you have got my previous sample file, you know that I'm using a number of orthophoto tiles as an image background.
Once I got the drawing with the linework and 1 out of about 20 tiles printed, using the progecad pdf writer. Once I got the linework plus a few more tiles printed with big gaps in the middle, using the Acrobat 5.0 pdf writer. But most of the time also using other pdf writers I just got the linework without any background pictures at all.

Opening the same file in Progecad 2007 it prints everything with all background pictures without any problem.

I would really like to know, if you are making progress on that, and why is it working with the older Progecad07 but not with Progecad 2009?
#598 by caddit
Mon May 04, 2009 8:13 am
Hi riroko2,


You problem has been briefly reviewed by a panel (including CADDIT and progeSOFT) and has been granted special testing status.

We will be sending you a special tool for reporting system data from the crash event direct to progeSOFT development for analysis of the cause for your problem, along with further instructions.
#647 by caddit
Wed May 27, 2009 1:13 pm
Hi riroko2,

Sorry about the delay in developement of a fix for this, but we might have one for you now. Please replace the AdekoRaster.dll in your progeCAD folder with this version:

http://www.progecam.com/cad/progeCAD/su ... Raster.dll

The drawing being sent to the printer is very large, so if the printer have the option something like "Sent drawing as bitmap, Process on the computer" please activate it, because if not the printer can give memory insufficient error.

Please tell us if the fix resolve the problem.