Browsing through previews in an old project I noticed a very annoying problem, which doesn't seem related to the “Unsupported image format” issue discussed here, so I am opening a new case…
Previews look fine in browser mode, but when some are opened in Viewer mode showed a corrupted image, distorted and in black&white !
here a screenshot I took of the preview I rebuilt from the master next to a JPEG I found of the same file:
http://tinyurl.com/kv7t22l
Some of the affected masters, viewed with Preview.app, show the same problem, while with other software is ok (Photoshop, Graphic Converter etc). This led me to think it could be a problem at OS level… but then other masters show the same problem in any software!
Any help will be much appreciated, as these are files I need for work!
This project used to be managed, then i moved to be referenced.
I've run every disk maintenance and Aperture library repair routine, to no avail.
Obviously the masters in the daily scheduled backups I have suffer from the same problem!
Please help!
iMac 27” 3.4 GHz, OS 10.8.4, 16GB ram, Aperture to the last version, system and library on SSD disk and masters on internal 2TB HD
DBMoore,
I followed your suggestion:
exported a corrupted original to the desktop; already the thumbnail is corrupted.
Tried to reimport it into Aperture, same result: corrupted image.
Still, if opened in Photoshop from within Aperture, or directly, it looks fine!
Deleting preview and generating it again has no effect.
I guess I’ll have to wait for the Apple people for a solution (keeping fingers crossed)
You say you exported the image to the desktop and the thumb nail looked corrupted on the desktop. Strange. While you are waiting for a Genius, open it from the desktop again into PS and make sure there are only three channels, (no saved masks). While open in PS do some spotting of dust or a very slight crop and save the image and reimport that to AP. Did the save in PS help the thumbnail / Preview in AP?
davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ
Thanks DBmoore!
I followed your suggestion and it actually worked!
I applied a tiny crop in Photoshop, saved and reimported in Aperture. Now it shows OK!
But just as I am writing, I receive this reply from Apple:
“Thank you very much for sending us the example images. Upon downloading and inspecting them, they do also appear incorrectly in Preview, (as you indicated), which would point to a wider incompatibility beyond Aperture.
As for any advice, I would suggest looking at what was applied differently in Photoshop to the affected images, as opposed to the images that don’t exhibit the problem. Identifying that difference may provide you with a possible workaround.”
Unfortunately I cannot trace back any adjustment done on the images, as they are from 2009 and never worked on since.
In the meantime you gave me the solution! I’ll apply it to all the affected images (fortunately only 16) and the problem should be solved.
Thinking back, I opened the image in PS from within Aperture, but in this way it didn’t work.
Thanks again
Maybe this points to the kind of embedded previews Photoshop was configured to save. Enabling maximum compatibility insures a flattened preview is embedded, which insures other non-Adobe products can use them.
Photographer | https://www.walterrowe.com | https://instagram.com/walter.rowe.photo
Walter that is a great point. That setting in Preference under File Handling… near the bottom, mine is set to always
Cheers
davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ
for some reason my last post doesn’t show up: so here it is again:
the Apple guy says:
“I’m glad the Photoshop option worked for you. It would appear that the issue was most likely due to the older settings from Photoshop CS3. “
Just wanted to report it for everyone’s benefit
Walter
sorry for such a late reply.
I thought to have set preferences to be alerted when replies were posted, but clearly i did something wrong. The day you replied I left for a two weeks vacation to South Africa (great place to shoot photos, btw!) from which I’ve just come back.
Thank you, I will follow your advice to report the problem to Apple and yes, I searched in the Apple Knowledge base and discussion but to no avail. It’s surprising anyway that I’m the only one to experience the problem, because the problem is definitely there and it seems serious.
I have several back ups of my library and Masters, but the incriminated files are corrupted in all of them!
The behaviour is definitely weird, because they show corrupted in Preview.app also, but look fine if opened in Photoshop!! (and in Aperture, if their preview is not in cache, look fine for a second, replaced immediately by the corrupted image!
Marco .. I wonder if you can resolve this by selecting a couple of the images and tell Aperture to reprocess the originals? It might force them to re-read the source file raw information again.
Photographer | https://www.walterrowe.com | https://instagram.com/walter.rowe.photo
Marco .. I would make a zip of your Aperture library NOW for safe keeping. Then open a case with Apple via the “Provide Aperture Feedback” in the Aperture menu, or via the Apple Bugreporter website (https://bugreport.apple.com). Apple may ask you for more data. If so, offer them a copy of your library. That can be tremendously helpful to them in researching your problem and finding the root cause.
Where else have you search for an answer to your issue? Have you checked the Apple Discussion forums on Aperture?
Photographer | https://www.walterrowe.com | https://instagram.com/walter.rowe.photo
Walter…
I tried, but the result is that now they show with the corrupted preview in browser mode too!
If I click on Show in Finder, though, and open the file in Photoshop or Graphic converter or the likes, the master tiff shows correctly (they are referenced files).
The fact that they show corrupted in Aperture, Preview.app and Quicklook (all Apple) and look fine in non-Apple apps, makes me think there’s something wrong at OS level…
Any hint?
Hi Marco
Im going to assume that these images did not get worked in Photoshop and are now back in AP, they are originals. Have you done the three steps to repair and Rebuild in the FAQ? I have had Walters’ idea work for me in the past. I also have deleted the Previews of the corrupted files and re generated them. If you have a lot and the Repair and Rebuild will work then you could also make a album of those bad files and export the originals to another safe place. Then delete the corrupted ones and reimport the originals you saved. Sorry but mostly work arounds. DBM
davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ
Aperture certainly does have some glitches. I had an entire shoot disappear. It shows previews, badged as if they were referenced files.
I have never used referenced files in Aperture so they certainly are not - yet the master files cannot be found anywhere on my system, they have vanished. I know they were there because the day after the shoot, I sent a couple to my wife.
I’ve had to accept that the images are gone forever. Even Backblaze did not save me from this one.
Marcus: that sounds frightening!
Walter: I did open a case at Apple, and they already replied asking me to send a couple of the incriminated files, which I did. Let’s see what they say.
DBmoore: the files are installation shots taken in 2009 by a pro photographer, who shot them with a Canon EOS-1D Mark II N and worked with Photoshop. Then she gave them to me, and I never worked with them since. As I said it’s my work archive.
I’ll try your suggestion also and report back.
Thanks!