Image Generation Problems

This section contains troubleshooting tips for problems that occur with image generation.

Can't Generate GIF Images with JVM 1.4

The Pure Java AWT is automatically included with Java VMs 1.4 and higher. Because of this, if you are using Java VM 1.4 or higher, you must disable PopChart Server's Pure Java AWT in the Administration Console.

For more information on the Pure Java AWT, refer to "Using the Pure Java AWT and Custom Fonts" in Chapter A

PopChart Server is Unable to Load a Data File, Appearance File, Server Command File, HTML Table, or data from a Database

In order for PopChart Server to load or read a file or data source of any kind, it must be given permission to read data from the specified path or domain. By default, the only location that PopChart Server has permission to read from is anything in the document root directory (chart_root), or anything running on the localhost.

For more information on adding access permissions, see "Setting Path Permissions" in Chapter 3.

PopChart Server Positions my Graph, Legend, and Text Box objects Differently than How I Positioned them in PopChart Builder

Since data that you send to PopChart Server can be dramatically different than the data that was in an appearance file, PopChart Server will automatically resize objects and/or the appearance file in order to prevent overlap. If you want to make sure that an object stays anchored to the same place that you put it in PopChart Builder, you should use PopChart Builder's anchoring feature (see "Anchored Objects" in Chapter 1 of the PopChart Builder User Guide).

You can also disable automatic resizing in the actual appearance file. The following attributes of the PopChart XML Chart element allow you to control resizing for an appearance file: AutoResize, FitInBounds, and CollisionProtection. For example, the following Chart element disables all of PopChart Server's resizing capabilities:

Alternatively, you can disable automatic resizing in your appearance file through PopChart Builder. For more information, see "Dynamically Resizing the Appearance File" in Chapter 1 of the PopChart Builder User Guide.

Trouble displaying International Characters in Helvetica, Times, or Courier Fonts

PopChart Server supports international characters only when using the pre-installed Lucida font set. The Times, Helvetica, and Courier font sets may support some international characters, but there are no guarantees. If you need international character support, you should either import custom fonts or use the Lucida fonts.

For information about custom fonts, refer to Chapter 9, "PopChart Fonts."

Certain Characters Show Up as a Box in PopChart Server or PopChart Builder

Some fonts are unable to display certain characters. Helvetica, for example, is limited in the number of characters beyond 255. Change the font that is selected for that text to another font, such as Lucida Sans. With international characters, you may need to create a custom font for PopChart by using the Font Converter. This will also help with double-byte characters.

For information about custom fonts, refer to Chapter 9, "PopChart Fonts."

I Updated an Appearance File or Image but it Looks Like PopChart Server Used my Old File

Check to see if you have enabled the appearance file cache (refer to "Appearance File Caching"). If you have, you either need to flush the cache or restart PopChart Server before it will read your new appearance file.

You can flush the cache by clicking on the Clear Cache button in the Server > Home page of the Administration Console, or by using the @_FLUSH server command. If you are using the PopChart Embedder, you can flush the cache with the following line of code:

myPopChart.extraPCSCommands = "@_FLUSH";

Note: After setting this attribute, you must call the getEmbeddingHTML() method before the cache will flush.

No Drill-Down / PopUp / Roll-over Data Labels with GIF or PNG Images

These features are supported in GIF and PNG images via image maps. Because of this, feedback for these features in GIF and PNG images may be slow no matter how you embed your PopChart images. You will be unable to customize the appearance of your rollover data labels and PopUp text. In Netscape browsers, you may be unable to get PopUp text without also enabling a drill-down effect for the specified data item.

In the past, the JavaScript PopChart Embedder has not supported these features. The 4.0.5 version of the JavaScript PopChart Embedder supports drill-down, PopUp, and roll-over data labels. Make sure that you have upgraded to it.

If you are using the HTTP Request method, you will be unable to use any of these features.

Unable to Output HTML Data Tables

HTML data table output is only supported in PopChart Server Enterprise.

HTML data table output is not supported in the JavaScript PopChart Embedder or using the HTTP request method.

Unable to Load Files from Absolute Paths on UNIX Compatible Systems

In order to load appearance, PCXML, or data files from absolute paths on UNIX systems, you must place an extra slash in front of the path. For example, to load the file /home/mydirectory/myfile.txt, you would have to specify //home/mydirectory/myfile.txt as the file name.

This applies to PopChart Embedder methods and attributes (e.g. loadData(), appearanceFile) as well as PCScript and server commands (e.g. @_FILE, @_LOADREQUEST, graph.LoadFile())

Slow Generation Time or Large File Size When Importing JPEG Images

JPEG images do not import well into PopChart XML 4.0. You will need to save your appearance files in PopChart XML 4.0.1 format to take full advantages of imported JPEG images. To do this, go into PopChart Builder, select Edit > Preferences > Save and check the Save Using Latest PCXML Format box. You must be running both PopChart Server 4.0.1 and PopChart Builder 4.0.1 for this to work.