PUB3: Can't Recolor Some .PCT or .WMF Pictures

Q136912

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Publisher for Windows 95, version 3.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
========

If you import certain types of Macintosh PICT (.pct) or Windows Metafile
(.wmf) pictures into Publisher and then try to recolor them, you may
receive the error message:

   Publisher cannot recolor this picture. The picture may be in a
   graphic format that Publisher does not support, or you may be
   out of memory.

CAUSE
=====

This can happen if the data in the picture uses the Run-Length Encoding
(RLE) data compression algorithm.


RESOLUTION
==========

You can convert the picture into a Microsoft Paintbrush object and then
recolor it. NOTE: These steps apply to Publisher under Windows 95 only. If
you are running Publisher 3.0 under Windows NT, the steps are slightly
different.

1. In Publisher, select the graphic that you can't recolor.

2. On the Edit menu, click Cut. The graphic will disappear from the page.

3. On the Insert menu, click Object.

4. In the list of object types, click Paintbrush Picture. A small
   Paintbrush drawing area will appear on your page.

5. On the Edit menu, click Paste. You will probably see this message:

      The image in the clipboard is larger than the bitmap. Would you
      like the bitmap enlarged?

   Click Yes.

6. Drag the corner handles of the Paintbrush drawing area until it is large
   enough to see the whole image.

7. Click outside the Paintbrush drawing area to update Publisher.

You can now recolor this picture.

NOTE: This type of graphic is very rare. It is also the type that does not
degrade if you convert it to a Paintbrush object.

STATUS
======

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

Additional query words: 3.00 pub95 pub3