"The File Appears Damaged"

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Atli Arnarson
Posts: 1
Joined: 22.11.2019 14:25

"The File Appears Damaged"

Post by Atli Arnarson »

Hi,

I've been using Helicon Focus with great results for many years. Ever since I started using it, I've been seeing an error message when I open DNGs from Helicon Focus in Adobe Camera RAW. It says "This File Appears Damaged" and a white sign, representing torn paper, appears in the upper right corner of the image screen. The image file otherwise doesn't seem to be corrupted, but the error sign is slightly distracting since it obscures a part of the image.

The error message only appears when I open images created using rendering methods B and C. Images created using rendering method A are not affected. I typically use radius 8, and smoothing 4. I do not retouch or add text/scale in Helicon Focus.

I've been using different versions of Camera RAW, Helicon Focus, Windows, as well as different PCs and camera models in the Canon EOS system. The error message consistently appears. In addition to Helicon Focus, my workflow involves Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera RAW, and Photoshop.

Have other Adobe Camera Raw users reported similar problems? Any solutions or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

- Atli
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Catherine
Posts: 1156
Joined: 29.04.2019 22:38

Re: "The File Appears Damaged"

Post by Catherine »

Could you please let us know if the problem persists in the latest version - v.7.6.1: https://www.heliconsoft.com/software-downloads/ ?
BarryArnold
Posts: 2
Joined: 16.02.2020 14:43

Re: "The File Appears Damaged"

Post by BarryArnold »

Hi Catherine
I am using Helicon Focus v7.6.1 (Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6) as part of a thirty-day trial and I have seen the error message "The image appears to be damaged" multiple times in Lightroom's develop module.
My workflow is to complete the rendering and file saving in Helicon Focus first, before importing the rendered files files into Lightroom for editing.
I have not maintained a proper log so I cannot be definitive. However I can tell you that the issue does vary depending on which render method has been used.
This morning, I created a stack of 11 raw images (CR2) using Helicon Remote and then rendered them using the three different methods, in each case using the default settings, saving the output as DNG. I also saved a fourth DNG file after retouching the C version.
Lightroom was happy with the A and B versions, but reported a damaged image for both of the C versions (i.e. both the un-retouched and the retouched image).
I am finding Helicon Remote and Helicon Focus to be very user friendly and generally excellent products and I am likely to purchase a licence when my trial period ends in 12 days time.
Nevertheless, this issue is spoiling an otherwise great product.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Barry
BarryArnold
Posts: 2
Joined: 16.02.2020 14:43

Re: "The File Appears Damaged"

Post by BarryArnold »

Hi Catherine

I believe that the problem is not related to which method is used to render the stack, but rather which order the different methods are used. The first render always appears to load into Lightroom's Develop Module without any problem, regardless of which method has been used. However, the second and third renders generate the error message "The image appears to be damaged".

Today I stacked 9 CR2s in Helicon Focus rendering three separate DNG images - using method C first, then B, then A. Lightroom's Develop Module happily accepted the stacked image that I had rendered first, i.e. using method C in this case, but reported the error for both the B and A images. So I closed down Helicon Focus altogether, reopened the program and reloaded the nine images. This time I used method B for the first render, then used A. This time, Lightroom accepted the DNG created with method B, but reported the error for the image rendered using method A. Again I closed down Helicon Focus and started the whole process again from scratch rendering the files using method A only. Finally Lightroom was happy with the A image.

Obviously this is a rather tedious and time consuming workaround, because each CR2 file has to be converted to DNG every time Helicon Focus is reopened.

My free trial period ends tomorrow and I will be purchasing a licence. The benefits of Helicon Remote are, for me, just about sufficient to outweigh this issue with Helicon Focus. But please try to fix Helicon Focus asap; this bug is undermining an otherwise great piece of software.

Kind regards

Barry
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Catherine
Posts: 1156
Joined: 29.04.2019 22:38

Re: "The File Appears Damaged"

Post by Catherine »

Yes, now we've managed to reproduce the problem. We'll be investigating this further.
Thank you for your input, we'll be working to offer a solution for this.
amballin
Posts: 2
Joined: 23.03.2020 22:28

Re: "The File Appears Damaged"

Post by amballin »

I have the same issue running on Macos Catalina with HF 7.6.1 Pro unlimited. I have found that only the first file saved as dng is okay, all subsequent files get the damaged message in LR, this is independent of rendering method. I am willing to test a beta version of the fix it that will help. Thanks
ntompson
Posts: 1
Joined: 18.07.2021 04:58

Re: "The File Appears Damaged"

Post by ntompson »

Hi - I have discovered the same issue. I'm using HF 7.6.1 Registered Pro Unlimited with Lightroom Classic CC (10.3) on macOS Big Sur 11.4. I haven't been using HF long, but this is the first time I've encountered the issue. In this case, I created a bunch of different stacks using the A / B / C methods / parameters - 10 in total. I could use them fine in LRC until I created a stack of the 10 images in the library view in LRC. After doing that, the "image appears to be damaged message" appeared. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong, in the sense that I can still develop / edit / export.

Overall, I have to say I am a bit surprised by the bugginess of the HF software. The GUI looks clunky with lots of odd rendering issues and things just don't appear to work that will. This is expensive software: I expected better software quality.
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Catherine
Posts: 1156
Joined: 29.04.2019 22:38

Re: "The File Appears Damaged"

Post by Catherine »

Please update to the latest version of Helicon Focus from our website: https://www.heliconsoft.com/software-downloads/
This should resolve the issue.
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