Why is it that when visiting some web-sites their 
pictures appear as a blank box with a small red cross in 
the top left hand corner.  If I right click and the drop-
down says "open picture" nothing happens.  It's 
infuriating.  It doesn't happen much, but it's a pain.  I have Adobe
5.1 and sprint but really don't understand how these things work
together.  Please reply in plain easy-to-understand, lamens language.
Thanks
Jellybean

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Request for Question Clarification by denco-ga on 21 Aug 2004 17:09 PDT

Howdy jellybean5-ga,

If you could provide us a few examples (http://www.somesitename.com) of
some sites where the pictures do not appear for you, this will go a long
way in helping us figure out if the problem is with your computer or a
problem with the web sites in question.  Thanks!

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by jellybean5-ga on 21 Aug 2004 18:04 PDT

I've only had this problem a couple of times.  Here's the URL of the
site that caused me to post this question.  The problem arises when I
click on the "Christmas" section of the site.  It's here that the
pictures are not shown.  http://www.bowlersrestaurant.co.uk/home.html)
 Apart from this site and maybe one other, I never usually have any
problems at all.

Hi Jellybean ~

The reason you're not seeing the graphics (pictures) and are seeing
the blank box with the red x in it is that the graphic isn't where the
coding on the page says it is.

For instance, across the top, according to the html coding, the first
missing picture is one called "CHRISTMAS PARTIES02.gif" ... and
checking to see if it is there shows that it is missing.

The other graphics that are missing (in order) are:

   "A GREAT TIME.gif"

and

   "XMAS PICTURE.jpg"

A web designer knows there shouldn't be blank spaces in the name of a
file (even a graphic file like a .jpg or .gif), and therefore, the
computer puts a %20 where the blank spaces are. Even so, the pictures
seem to be missing.

Often these files are case sensitive (that is, if you use capital
letters in the coding, the file has to be named the same way, in
capital letters - upper case), but in this instance, that's not what
happened.

Trying to guess and using different combinations, I was not able to
find the pictures online for you. I tried skipping the blanks, adding
the %20 where the blanks were, using lower case, upper and lower case,
etc., but could not find the pictures.

If the graphics aren't online - and in the place the coding says it
should be - they will appear as a "broken graphic link", that is, it
calls for a graphic which cannot be found.

In Internet Explorer, you get the square with the red X, in other
browser software, you get their own icon for a broken graphic.


Summary
==========

Every web page has certain coding which tells the browser software
where to find certain elements of the page.

This is from the background cover (in this case, the holly
background), to where to place graphics and/or text on a page.

In the case you specify, the graphic files simply are not there.

Whether it is because the graphics have been removed, just not named
corectlym or have been renamed in the web page coding is unknown; but
in any case, it would appear as a broken graphic icon instead of the
missing image.

I hope this answers your question in terms that help you understand
why this happens.

Regards,

Serenata
Google Answers Researcher

Thank you Serenata now I understand.  Brilliant research, I've
actually learnt something. Thanks again.

Sometimes the underlying picture file isn't missing, yet the little
red x box pops up. This happens to me regularly when reading news on
www.news.yahoo.com, both at home and at work, both of which are
broadband connections.  I click on a thumbnail news photo to display
the larger size photo and I get the little red x box (yet, usually the
tooltip photo description shows up).  Then I click refresh, someimes
two or three times, and finally the real photo replaces the red x box.
 So I know you can get the red x box even if the underlying picture
file is not missing.  I have a feeing it has to do with too much
traffic on the internet.

Howdy hkguy-ga,

With broadband connections, I think it is the caching done by the ISP
in order to "speed up" the connection that causes what you experience.

If the problem happens somewhat inconsistently on the same set of web
sites, then you are right in that it would most likely have to do with
connectivity versus the web site itself.  If it happens consistently
with specific web sites, then it is most likely the site itself.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher