Image display problems can be caused by a number of issues. Below are some of the most frequent questions/issues our clients report and some suggestions for troubleshooting.
Plan Cannot be Loaded
You may receive a message that file size has been exceeded when loading a Plan.
This is usually caused by trying to load plans from a network drive that is not a Mapped drive.
Solution: Map the network drive in Windows Explorer and assign it a letter, use the letter when browsing for image files.
Plan Doesn't Display
The Cover Sheet indicates the Plan(s) are located (text is black), but the program cannot display them.
- Is there something wrong with the image itself, has the file been damaged? Check to make sure the image can be opened outside of OST.
- Check to make sure the image file type is supported by OST (see the Related article for compatible file types)
- Is the Image layer is turned off? See the On-Screen Takeoff User Guide for instructions on turning Layers on/off.
- Is the Overlay Original Image layer turned off? See the On-Screen Takeoff User Guide for information on showing the Original, Overlay, or Both images.
- Does the image work in a new bid? Create a new Bid and add that image to it. If this works, there may be something wrong with your Bid.
- Try converting the image to TIFF - your computer could be running low on resources. You may want to try rebooting your computer to clear memory, just to be on the safe side.
- Is the path to the image greater than 128 Characters? Does the file open on your Desktop versus the Network? Although On-Screen Takeoff may be able to locate the file, the process that displays the image may not be able to render it if the file path is longer than what Windows subsystem's can handle. Try copying the file to your local desktop (shortening the file path), adding that image to your Bid, and see if it works.
- Can anyone else open the image. Can your IT Administrator open the image? This may be a 'rights' issue on your computer. Have someone else sign into your computer and try to view the file.
- Have you updated your video and printer drivers recently? Note: In some instances an image can appear white and only display in Full Screen mode if the video card drivers are damaged or need to be upgraded. Please have your IT Administrator assist with troubleshooting this issue.
Quality Issues
Plan Displays but it may be blurry, low-quality, or missing details, shading, or artifacts.
- Use Enabled Color PDF to improve resolution - see Enabling Color/High-Resolution Plans to Improve Image Quality for details. Note: If you didn't have this option enable when you loaded the plans and converted them, you will need to re-add them to your project and then convert them to get color/ high-resolution TIFFS.
- Image Size may be too small. The Architect or author may have distributed the plans with a "Printer Page Size" that is too small (such as 4x3 or 8x5 but the actual Page Size may be 30x42 or 36x48 ). If this happens, please follow the instructions in OST - PDF Quality Issues to re-print your PDFs at Architectural size. If that does not work, contact the architect or author of the files and ask them to provide architectural sized drawings.
Plan Cannot Be Found
This error usually means that someone has moved, renamed, or deleted the folder where your images were stored or the location where they were stored (CD, network or share drive) is not longer accessible.
See the Related articles for assistance. The image may have been moved or deleted or the folder may have been renamed. As a reminder, On-Screen Takeoff cannot move or delete images itself - the program only stores a link to the image files. On-Screen Takeoff can Convert an image to TIFF, however, the original image is not changed.
Open the Cover Sheet of your project and note the location where OST is trying to find the files then figure out what is happened. There are articles in the User Guide for reconnecting images and changing the image folder.
