Fixed IrfanView Version 4.38 freezes when saving image after using the "Paint" dialog

[1rf@n@t0R]

Problem: IrfanView Version 4.38 (Release date: 2014-06-23) freezes when saving image after using the "Paint" dialog.
[Sounds crazy, but I've had sporadic problems like the one mentioned above.]

How to reproduce:
1. Open IrfanView.
2. Open a true color PNG, i. g. a screenshot of about 1280x1024 pixels.
3. Hit F12 to bring up the "Paint" dialog.
4. Paint a few rectangles (doesn't matter if filled or not) onto the image.
5. Try to save the image with File/Save (original folder) or File/Save as from the menu. Don't use keyboard shortcuts.

In 1 out of 10 cases IrfanView freezes (Task manager: "Not responding") after that.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

I am unable to reproduce it here.

What are you PNG save options?

Are you saving it as PNG when you use Save As..

[PunkCat]

I have had this issue for a while using 4.38 with Windows 7 and with XP SP3 before it. Maybe 25% of the time I will get a freeze after using the drawing editor. To reproduce:

- take screenshot using Alt-F11
- optionally crop the image
- F12 to start drawing editor, then do any drawing at all
- With the drawing menu still open *OR* with it closed, do Ctrl-S to save
- File save dialog box doesn't open, program freezes

I thought Citrix may be related, but a couple tests with and without Citrix running and everything works as expected. I hope this helps.

[t34]

Questions:

• What is your screen resolution?
• DO you use two diyplays

see [https://irfanview-forum.de/showthread.php?t=10197]

t34

[1rf@n@t0R]

Hi!

Questions:

• What is your screen resolution?
• DO you use two diyplays

see [https://irfanview-forum.de/showthread.php?t=10197]
t34

To follow up on this one:
- Happens to me also on my Win7x64 Professional PC at home, with ONE display 1280x960.
- Happens on my office PC, Win7x64 Ultimate, two displays, 1920x1200 and 1600x1200.
- Windows classic theme in both cases (no Aero etc., just imagine a Win2K machine).
- No Citrix installed.
- PNG save options: Compression 9, don't save transparent color, no PNGOUT plugin, (o) Binary encoding, no checkboxes checked regarding ICO.

How to reproduce:
- Usually, I open a saved PNG-screenshot (CTRL-C, double click on the PNG file, one instance of IV), then crop (using CTRL-Y and/or SHIFT-CTRL-Y) the draw some rectangles, arrows or lines (F12), close the drawing tool with the [X] on the right of the titlebar and try to save using CTRL-S. In about 1 out of 5 cases, IV freezes after the CTRL-S ("not responding" in the title bar) without the "Save"-dialog popping up. I have to use the "close program" option of the prompt appearing when I try to close IV with the taskbar context option "Close Window".

Disappointing.

Addendum: IV seems to do something with the dithering/antialiazing of the image when/after using the paint dialog (F12-option). Just grab http://jviolajones.googlecode.com/files/lena.jpg, show it at 400% (partial view suffices), hit F12 and compare. Dunno, if this is related. When I draw a few rectangles, arrows, etc., use [X] on the paint dialog and want to CTRL-S, in about 1 out of 5 cases, IV hangs, not showing the Save-dialog.

[geku-bw]

Hi,

I've got the same bug since 14 days, not longer. Didn't even change anything on the PC besides of MS-patchdays. Win7-64 Pro, one screen, as above ... no unnecessary gimmicks. Yesterday I reinstalled it and hoped for glory - none.

IV freezes up to 90 % when drawing something into a pic, newest action (5 minutes) ago: Freezing while trying to scan ...

[Jacques-PARIS]

Try : closing the paint plug ; working anything on the image (copy selection ; paste selection for instance) ; then save

[Mij]

There are a number of issues here that were discussed with the plugin author when he was still supporting the plugin on this forum (as MItaly). I cannot now locate where each one was discussed, so I am relying on memory and on what I understood of his replies for what I am writing now.

First the easy one (from PunkCat). The menu dialog for the Paint plugin is a separate window. If you have clicked on it to select something, then that dialog box becomes the active window and receives any key strokes that you press. If you want the Irfanview browser window to receive your Ctrl+S key strokes then click first on the (blue?) caption bar at the top to ensure that it becomes the active window again. You can actually click anywhere in the browser window but in Irfanview you always have to take great care not to make a slight movement of the cursor while the left mouse button is pressed down. Otherwise you may draw a tiny selection box on the screen that you do not notice and end up editing or printing the contents of that instead of the whole image.

Secondly, yes the image window is rendered slightly differently when using the plugin. When rendering an image that is zoomed to less than 100%, then pixels on the screen can be represented by more than one actual image pixel. The Paint plugin always renders a row on the screen with an image pixel that is the first of those represented by the first screen pixel. This gives more accurate positioning of objects painted on the screen but at the expense of apparent image definition, especially of thin lines like those of the selection box itself.

The development of the Irfanpaint plugin was not completed before the author moved on to other work. He made the code open source and left it available for anyone else to continue the development if they wished. Nobody took it up. What he left was, in his words, somewhat ugly code. In effect we have to use the plugin as it is or not at all. Personally, I would not be without it, warts and all.

Before I close the plugin, I always click the selection button (the one with the arrow icon at top left) and carefully click on the image to make sure I have not left a selection box on screen. I never have any problems with freezing after shutting down the plugin, but I have no idea if that is sufficient for all versions of Windows. I believe that you may find the Jacques-PARIS suggestion above helpful too.

[Panther]

In January 10th I registered here, but now on March 20th I got the permission to even write here! Wow! That's professionality.
(Sorry for this irony ...)

To the point: Yes, the bug appears with me, too. E.g. when I do the following:
Open a 24 bit colored JPG
call the paint tool with F12: straighten the picture along a line
close the paint window
mark a rectangle with the mouse in the picture
cut it out with Ctrl-Y
(try to) save it via the menue or Ctrl-S
IrfanView hangs, the file saving dialog is not displayed, you have to kill i_view32.exe

Sysinternals Process Explorer shows for i_view.32.exe no CPU usage time, a thread with the start address ntdll!RtlUserThreadStart, which is normal when saving an image, but there is only ONE thread, not many more as when the saving is successfull. The stack cannot be shown as the thread cannot be accessed.


This bug happens often, but not always, not with all JPGs, also with PNGs. Deactivating the background antivirus shield software changes nothing.

System:
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit SP1
graphics card ASUS EAH6450
screen res. 1920 x 1080 pixel

Regards,
Thomas

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years.
After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words.

"Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away.

Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throat.

"Bad food," he says. They nod and send him away.

Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words.

"I quit," he says.

"That’s not surprising," the elders say. "You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here."

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

I think it won't be too long before we get a new version 4.39, though I don't have any definite information on that. I do know that Irfan is working on a 64-bit version, and that that will need some work to get plugins to work with it.

To be frank, I don't think there is much point reporting bugs for a plugin that is no longer maintained by its author as who is going to fix them? It still works for me, without crashing, but the straighten tool stopped working for some reason. There are other ways to rotate an image.

We will have to work around bugs until the next IrfanView version is released. Then some bug reports will be useful.

[1rf@n@t0R]

Doesn't change a thing...

First the easy one (from PunkCat). The menu dialog for the Paint plugin is a separate window. If you have clicked on it to select something, then that dialog box becomes the active window and receives any key strokes that you press. If you want the Irfanview browser window to receive your Ctrl+S key strokes then click first on the (blue?) caption bar

For sure not the problem I am experiencing, because it for sure does not generate Win7's "(not resonding)" addition to the window caption.

Secondly, yes the image window is rendered slightly differently when using the plugin.

I'm aware of that. Was intended mainly as a hint to where the problem might be located.

The development of the Irfanpaint plugin was not completed before the author moved on to other work. [...] What he left was, in his words, somewhat ugly code. In effect we have to use the
plugin as it is or not at all. Personally, I would not be without it, warts and all.

For me, that plugin is just unusable. I would be pissed, if it fails 50% of the time. But by looking closer at it, it is more like 90% failure.

Before I close the plugin, I always click the selection button [...] I believe that you may find the Jacques-PARIS suggestion above helpful too.

Tried everything to no avail. Very sad because opening Powerpoint/Impress/Gimp/Inkscape for some trivial commenting is just way over the top.

[1rf@n@t0R]

I think it won't be too long before we get a new version 4.39 [...] To be frank, I don't think there is much point reporting bugs for a plugin that is no longer maintained

Second that. However: In an effort to deactivate the plugin (I hate it opening something that has errorneous behavior out of some habit), I renamed %ProgramFiles(x86)%\IrfanView\Plugins\Paint.dll -> Paint.dll.deactivated, but get an error dialog "Can't load PlugIn: 'Paint.dll'!" after hitting F12. Is there an .ini to patch or is Paint somehow hardcoded in the program? THX for clarifying.

We will have to work around bugs until the next IrfanView version is released. Then some bug reports will be useful.

Looking forward to the new IV version (4.38 still has the malfunctioning paint.dll) that will allow easy commenting screenshots. Much appreciated.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Irfan Skiljan won't be fixing this bug. If Paint.dll crashes for you, then don't use it. There are better ways to annotate screen shots. Try FastStone Capture. The free version 5.3 is adequate for basic image tasks.

[jewe.org]

In an effort to deactivate the plugin (I hate it opening something that has errorneous behavior out of some habit), I renamed %ProgramFiles(x86)%\IrfanView\Plugins\Paint.dll -> Paint.dll.deactivated, but get an error dialog "Can't load PlugIn: 'Paint.dll'!" after hitting F12. Is there an .ini to patch or is Paint somehow hardcoded in the program?

Yes, third-party plug-ins have dedicated menu entries and, at least some of them, dedicated keyboard shortcuts. For example, F12 starts paint.dll. If you have deleted or renamed that file, then don't be surprised you get an error when you hit F12. Just don't hit F12 or live with it.

To be frank, I don't think there is much point reporting bugs for a plugin that is no longer maintained by its author as who is going to fix them?

I agree. I have no information on Irfan's plans concerning Paint, but it seems to me since no one will be doing a 64-bit version of the plug-in, it's days are numbered.

Why cling to old, buggy, unsupported software, when there are so many free alternatives? I recommend Paint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net/index.html) - it's a great free tool and should enable you to do everything that IrfanPaint did, and then some.