> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://codifi-fdm.gitbook.io/codifi-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://codifi-fdm.gitbook.io/codifi-docs/known-issues-and-edge-cases/known-issues/heic-photos-fail-in-reports.md).

# HEIC photos render as "Image cannot be loaded" in reports

### Symptom

Some photos did not appear in a generated report. In place of the image, the document contained an error paragraph beginning:

```
ERROR: Image cannot be loaded. Available decoders:
 - TGA : TgaDecoder
 - JPEG : JpegDecoder
 ...
```

It affected a minority of HEIC photos rather than all of them, which made it look random. Observed across several Chronicle Heritage paleontological monitoring reports in July 2026.

### Why this happens

Two things combined.

The error text was **misleading**. It lists the decoders available and does not mention HEIC, which reasonably led template authors to conclude that Codifi did not support HEIC at all. It does. The message came from a fallback path that ran after the real HEIC decode had already failed, and the real error was discarded before anyone could see it.

The underlying failure was a **decoder version problem**. The library handling HEIC predated some newer iPhone capture modes, in particular the HDR composite images produced by recent handsets.

Most HEIC photos rendered fine because report generation prefers a photo's generated thumbnail, which is a JPEG. Only photos with no thumbnail fell through to the raw HEIC file and hit the failure, which is why the problem looked sporadic.

### Workaround

No longer required. Before the fix, the options were to re-upload the affected photos as JPEG, or to have their thumbnails regenerated.

### Resolution

Fixed in **v3.3**. The decoder was updated, and the fallback path no longer swallows the original error, so any future decode failure reports its real cause rather than a misleading list of decoders.

Reports that previously showed the error render normally when re-generated. No action is needed on existing Projects, and no media needs re-uploading.

### Related

* [Media](/codifi-docs/reports/report-tag-conventions/report-tags-and-properties/media.md)
* [Troubleshooting Tips](/codifi-docs/reports/report-tag-conventions/troubleshooting-tips.md)

### Internal notes

CP-6096. Related earlier work: CP-5998 (HEIC to JPG conversion), CP-5953 (HEIC display on web), CP-5617 (HEIC attachment rejection on mobile).