RLE Bitmaps Print Without Colors

ID: Q120785

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a
Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1

SYMPTOMS

An inserted bitmap that has been saved in RLE (Run Length Encoded) format may not print with color, or shades of gray, from Word 6.0 for Windows. The graphic will display all colors in the document.

STATUS

We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

WORKAROUND

Save the graphic in a Windows bitmap (BMP) format.

MORE INFORMATION

The RLE format reduces the file size of a bitmap image by storing pixel color by run length, or the number of similar-colored pixels that are side- by-side. BMP files, on the other hand, store the color values for each pixel in the bitmap. A line in a BMP file may appear as

   blue,blue,blue,red,red,white,white,white,white

whereas the above line would appear in an RLE file as:

   3 blue,2 red,4 white

RLE files can have .BMP extensions that Word sees as a bitmap format.

If you try to open an RLE file having a .BMP extension in Windows, PaintBrush gives an error message stating:

   The format of this file is not supported.

KBCategory: kbgraphic KBSubcategory: Additional reference words: 6.0 6.0a winword graphics image paintbrush word6 pbrush grey greyed

Keywords          : kbgraphic
Version           : 6.0 6.0a
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: August 5, 1997