AlternaTIFF Troubleshooting FAQs

Watch an animated demo on troubleshooting TIFF files (requires Flash Player)

Documents Provided as TIFF Files on ODFL.com

Scanned documents, such as Delivery Receipts (DRs, PODs), and scanned Bills of Lading are provided in .tiff file format, which require a Tiff viewer to view and print. We recommend AlternaTIFF, a third-party viewer that also has print capability. If you do not have this plugin installed, you may download it for free from AlternaTIFF's web site.

Common Issues

Below are the most common challenges customers encounter while using Tiff files on ODFL.com. More extensive troubleshooting assistance for the viewer can be found on AlternaTIff's website. These troubleshooting tips assume that you have already installed the Tiff Viewer plug in. If you have not, we have provided instructions for doing so.

I see the toolbar for AlternaTIFF but there is only a dark gray area below it.

If your screen resembles Fig. 1 below, you need to register the viewer. Click the registration message and follow the instructions for registering. If you do not see a message saying that the TIFF viewer is not registered, you may need to download the latest IE service pack. To do this choose Online Support under the Help section within Internet Explorer. After arriving at Microsoft's site download the Service Pack update for Internet Explorer. It is under the Download Software link.

Fig 1: AlternaTIFF installed, but not yet registered.

I see the document in my browser, but it will not print.

If your documents appear in your browser like Fig. 2 below, and your print outs look like one of the ones shown in Fig. 3, it is likely that QuickTime is opening your documents. This can happen two ways - 1) AlternaTIff is not installed, or 2) AlternaTIFF IS installed, but another plug-in is opening up files with the .tiff extension. If AlernaTiff IS installed, please read the troubleshooting tips on AlternaTIFF's web site about how to prevent other plug-ins from opening the files.

Fig 2 : Document in browser with QuickTime plug in.

 

Fig 3 : Documents printed from browser with QuickTime.

The document looks fine on the screen, but is "squeezed" or distorted when it prints.

If your documents looks correct when viewing it on-screen, but appears similar to Fig. 4 below when printed, it is likely that you are using the browser's print button, or File > Print rather than using the print button in the AlternatTIFF toolbar. Please see Fig. 5 below for the location of the AlternaTiff print button.

Fig 4 : Document printed with browser print button.

 

Fig 5 : Browser print button vs. AlternaTIFF print button.

 

I can print the document from AlternaTIFF, but the area below the image comes out completely black.

Prints that resemble Fig. 6 below are caused when the original scanned document is smaller than a standard letter size document. The only way to remove the black portion is to save the Tiff image to your computer, then use graphics software of your choice to crop the image, or cover the black portion of the image with white before printing.

Fig 6 : Small document with black background

 

In IE5, the bottom of the screen is white and there is no toolbar.

You will need to reinstall the Tiff Viewer.  Double-click the executable file to install and click 'Setup.' This time make sure you check the last box (Modify my Windows registry...).  Then click 'Install.'

Internet Explorer won't load the plug-in at all; it only displays a rectangle where the image should be.

You will need to reinstall the Tiff Viewer.  Double-click the executable file to install and click 'Setup.' This time make sure you check the last box (Modify my Windows registry...).  Then click 'Install.'

I'm using Windows 2000 and have followed all of the instructions but still can't see an image.

There are two options:

1. You may use a browser other than Internet Explorer and it should work fine.  or
2. you will need to either rename or delete the following key from the Windows Registry: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MIME\Database\Content Type\image/tiff

I'm still having problems viewing documents with the Tiff Viewer.

Feel free to call Old Dominion's INFOCALL1 © service at 1-800-235-5569, email webmaster@odfl.com, or for more extensive troubleshooting visit AlternaTIFF's Installation webpage.

 

Using the AlternaTIFF plugin to view your documents:

Icon	Tool Name	Description
	Print	Prints the image to your local printer
	Open	Load a TIFF file from your computer's hard drive into AlternaTIFF.
	Save	Save the imageto disk, as the original TIFF, or in BMP format.
	Copy	Copy image to clipboard. After pressing this button, you will be able to Paste the image into other graphics applications.
	Zoom	When in Zooming mode (the Magnifying Glass on the toolbar), left-click anywhere on the image to activate the full-screen zoom function
	Pan	In Panning mode (the Hand button on the toolbar), you can click on the image and drag it to scroll other parts of it into view.
	Best fit	Shrinks or enlarges the image to the largest size that will fit entirely within the window.
	Fit to window width	Shrinks or enlarges the image so that it is the same width as the window.
	Fixed size	Sets the image size to some percentage of its natural size. The percentage used is set by the arrow controls beside this button, or from the right-click menu.
	Orientation	There are 4 orientation buttons, which allow you to immediately rotate the image to any multiple of 90 degrees.
	Smooth image	Black and white images can be "resampled" as a smaller grayscale image, to make them clearer.
	Negative image	Swap black with white.