Could not open a BMP file

GL
Posted By
Gary_Legon
Jan 19, 2004
Views
607
Replies
4
Status
Closed
I get the error message "could not open bmp because the file format module can not parse the file." I have viewed bitmap files before but this has suddenly become a problem. It is not a large file. I tried "open as" also and got the same result. These files (the bmp files) were viewable a while back, but something has changed or been corrupted. Any advice or experience with this? I use Win2000 and PS6.
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bmp file open

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GL
Gary_Legon
Jan 19, 2004
Good question. Besides PS, I tried Microsoft Photo Editor and Internet Explorer (for the hell of it) and they didn’t work. However, I also tried Imaging for Windows and that opened the BMP files just fine. If that’s a clue to making them open in PS, great but thanks to your question at least now I can open them. Any further question or comment. It would be nice to use PS with them.
Thanks for the nudge.
MM
Mac_McDougald
Jan 19, 2004
Mysterious.
Certainly when MS programs won’t open a BMP, which is a Windows format after all, something is amiss with the files.
Are you saying that Photoshop was the last program that saved them?

How large are they?
If 5MB or smaller, want to email me one? I’m curious.
doogle AT doogle DOT com

Mac
GL
Gary_Legon
Jan 19, 2004
It struck me as odd too. Yes, originally PS viewed them. You’ll see by an example that I’m emailing you (a map from a website that i was saving in order to print). I keep thinking that something else caused this and the best I come up with is that I recently was taking still frames from a video using Adobe Premier 6.5 to do it and was comparing the quality of TIFF, BMP, etc. I’m trying to pinpoint when things changed. This may not be connected but that was the last time I can recall using BMP.
MM
Mac_McDougald
Jan 19, 2004
Well.
The file opens fine for me in Photoshop 7.01, Elements 2, and Irfanview. No probs at all. Win98SE.
So, the mystery deepens, seems; I’ll check in this afternoon.

Mac

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