Tommy Boomfiger

sometimes when i try to save a pic in IE it only lets me save it as a bitmap and i cant choose any other format. if i close out ie, sometimes it works again, but it will go back to this problem after a few different pics. any ideas on what it can be?

im using the latest ie on xp pro all patched up and hotfixed, etc. i dont have this problem in opera

petabyte

I've seen this one a few times... usually you only need to clear your temp files..

http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q260650

Internet Explorer Does Not Save Graphics Files in the Proper Format

This article was previously published under Q260650
SYMPTOMS
When you use the Save Picture As command for a graphics file in Internet Explorer, you may be able to save the file only as a BMP file, even if the file is in another format (such as GIF or JPEG). The file name may also appear as "Untitled."
CAUSE
There are several reasons why this issue may occur.
This issue may occur if your Temporary Internet pages cache is full.
This issue can occur if you have "Do not save encrypted pages to disk" selected in Tools, Options, Advanced Tab and are loading the page over a secure connection (https).
This issue can occur when you connect to a Web site using an address that contains <username:password>. For example, the server is accessed through http://<username:password@site>/default.htm, instead of http://<site>/default.htm.
For more information about an additional cause for this issue, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
250747 Right-Clicking, Selecting 'Save Picture As' Does Not Save Image with Correct Extension

WORKAROUND
You can use any one of three methods to work around this issue.
Workaround for Cause 1
To resolve, delete the temporary internet files by selecting Tools, Options, General tab and select the Delete Files button.

NOTE: To locate the Temporary Internet Files folder, click Options on the Tools menu, click the General tab, and then click Settings. The current location is indicated in the Settings dialog box.
Workaround for Cause 2
To workaround, uncheck "Do not save encrypted pages to disk" from Tools, Options, Advanced Tab. Then select View, Refresh to reload the page.


Workaround for Cause 3
Method 1
Open the Temporary Internet Files directory and locate the image that you attempted to save.
Right click the image and click Open.
When the image loads into Internet Explorer, right click the image and click Save Picture As. The correct file type and name should be correct.
Method 2
Type in the direct path to the image that you wish to save.
When the image loads into Internet Explorer, right click the image and select Save Picture As. The correct file type and name should be correct.
Method 3
You can also save the file in .bmp format, and then use a graphics editor to convert the file to the desired file format.

Tommy Boomfiger

thanks man, i emptied my temp internet folder and it seems to work.

petabyte

you're welcome.. I thought that'd fix it..

ArkiStan

wait...I thought that if the original file was BMP, then you can only save as BMP, and if the original was JPG, you can only save as JPG. Are you saying IE is actually capable of converting files into a different formats when saving?? Never knew that was possible. I always downloaded as is and then converted through photoshop.

Tommy Boomfiger

yep, i just checked it and photoshop recognized one of the pics i saved only as a bmp. the original file was a jpg.