Writer: unable to crop an image

English
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#1

Hi,

What makes an image 'uncroppable" in Writer? Someone sent me a document with a few images in them. The document is a docx document. When I select an image and I want to crop it, the option isgreyed out in the Format > Image menu. So I have to open it in an external tool ant crop it. I know I can do it in writer but I don,t understand why it’s not working,

I’im using 7.6.4.1 on Windows 10.

Thanks,

L

EDIT: Here is a sample document. And I think I know the answer now: some of the images in the document I received seem to have a transparent background. That’s the case for the first image. The second isn’t transparent and it can be cropped.

Uncroppable image.docx (391.9 KB)

#2

@lduperval

Please upload a sample file (1 page) containing the problem here. Thank you.

#3

I added it in the original message with an added comment. So looks like I know why it’s not working now.

1 Like
#4

You can report the problem on Bugzilla.

How to Report Bugs in LibreOffice

#5

Using the Navigator, you’ll realise that the picture with people at computers is in fact a Drawing Object. As such, it can’t be manipulated as an image and tools for images can’t be reached.

Since your original file is .docx, the question is: how was is created from start? In Word? Then what is the source of this drawing object? Which application created it? Or which format is the original illustration?

Without these elements, it is impossible to tell if there is a bug or not.

#6

Hmm, interesting. I hadn’t realized that. I have no idea how the image was created, I would have to ask the creator of the image. I’m pretty sure it was added within Word, not Writer. But how? I suspect cut and paste from an app or something.

Thanks, that’s helpful. I’ll know for next time.

#7

Thinking about it, the original image looks like it was processed in a a graphics app like Photoshop or GIMP (the border has a transparency gradient and corners are rounded). It is then likely that the result was copied and pasted without going through an intermediate file (in which case, it would have a “standardised” image format). If behaviour is similar to what happens with Draw, the paste operation creates a drawing object (upon which no frame style can be applied and no image operation can be done).

As usual, foreign format documents bring their load of “surprises” and translation approximation.

#8

I suspect that’s what happened. But without knowing what tool the person used, I can’t really check.

#9

I had a quick look using Word and Writer. It seems if Soft Edges is applied in Word then it creates some sort of wrapper for the picture. Writer can recognise that it has soft edges and applies them, although with 5pt not the original 8.84pt. What Writer seems unable to do is to unwrap and extract the image.

If I set Soft Edges to No soft edges (not 0pt radius which leaves the wrapper) in Word, then Writer can crop, and the image is just a normal jpg.
Uncroppable image100047 - Word-NoSoft.docx (398.1 KB)

It looks like an incomplete interpretation in the import filter. Can you please report a bug

#10

@ajlittoz and @EarnestAl - sorry for adding a further comment…

What I found out:

  1. Select (Navigator F5) the drawing object PowerPlusWatermarkObject and set it to the foreground, customize its colour (just for better examining). Erase it.
  2. Select and cut the “image” (still drawing object image 12) - save file as an odt format - insert image as a bitmap (paste special). The image now can be cropped.
  3. Add some “watermark” if necessary.

Conclusion
Conversion problem from docx to odt. - Cheers
.

Obsolete
Obsolete1920×1200 105 KB

#11

Shoot, I forgot to remove the watermark when I uploaded the file. The watermark is not related to the problem.

#12

This is the bug and I added your comment in it:

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=158949

1 Like

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