Crash when New Document from images (jpg) if they are rotated

[vern.zimm]

I did submit a bug report, but I'll leave this here in case anyone else encounters it in the meantime...

PDF-XChange 11.0.1 Portable on Win11 Pro

Consistent crash when trying to create a new document from images if the images are rotated from their original orientation. Happens for .jpg/.jpeg but not for .bmp. I have not tried other file types.

Not rotating them, or rotating them back to their original orientation fixes it.

[Dimitar - PDF-XChange]

Hello vern.zimm,

If you have already provided our colleagues with the crash dumps generated by PDF‑XChange Editor, then they have been forwarded to our developers for further investigation.

We will keep you posted on any progress about this issue.

Regards.

[vern.zimm]

I don't have admin rights on the computer I use at work, so I can't change it to generate them. There isn't a log I could send you?

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, vern.zimm

There should automatically be CrashDumps generated for the Editor. Please check under %localappdata%\Crashdumps for anything with "edit" in the name.
If it is too large to send by email, please let us know and we can prepare an upload link for you.

Kind regards,

[rakunavi]

Hello all,

I have identified a reproducible crash in PDF‑XChange Editor related to JPEG files that contain an EXIF Orientation attribute other than the standard value 1. This problem appears to have been introduced in Version 11.0.0. All builds up to build 410 did not exhibit this issue. This strongly suggests that a change introduced in Version 11.0.0 affected the JPEG import routine used by From Images.

Summary of the issue

• When importing certain JPEG images via New Document → From Images,
  PDF‑XChange Editor crashes immediately if the JPEG contains an EXIF rotation flag (Orientation values 2–8).
  
  This issue can be reproduced with publicly available test images, such as those from the well‑known EXIF orientation examples repository:
  • https://github.com/recurser/exif-orientation-examples
  Any JPEG in that set with Orientation 2–8 will trigger the crash.

Important observation

• The same JPEG files do NOT cause a crash when imported using either of the following:
  
  • New Document → Combine Files into a Single PDF
  • Windows Explorer context menu → Combine in PDF‑XChange Editor
  Both of these methods process the same images successfully.
  
  This strongly suggests that different JPEG parsing routines are used internally, and only the parser behind From Images fails when handling EXIF rotation metadata.

Reproduction steps

1. Download any JPEG with EXIF Orientation 2–8 from:
   　　https://github.com/recurser/exif-orientation-examples
   　　　　Landscape_2.jpg, Landscape_3.jpg, Landscape_4.jpg, Landscape_5.jpg, Landscape_6.jpg, Landscape_7.jpg, Landscape_8.jpg
   　　　　Portrait_2.jpg, Portrait_3.jpg, Portrait_4.jpg, Portrait_5.jpg, Portrait_6.jpg, Portrait_7.jpg, Portrait_8.jpg
2. Open PDF‑XChange Editor
3. Select New Document → From Images
4. Choose one of the affected JPEGs
   → The application crashes immediately.

Verification Video

• In the first half of the video, after downloading Landscape_2.jpg from the URL listed above, I first demonstrate that the file can be successfully imported using the Combine Files into a Single PDF feature. Next, I demonstrate that the application crashes when I try to import the file using the From Images feature.
  
  
  Animation.gif
  
  The crash dump captured during video recording have already been uploaded to the server at the address provided via email by @Dimitar around August 2025.
  
  
  • filename: CrashDump_rakunavi.zip
    size: 172 MB (181,386,312 bytes)
    SHA256: 5d6c68e3f54dc3c94f4462537cb073febe7b5c9b7e26e8e50e7d39f06dac393a

Hoping that the above information will be of some help to you.
Thank you for your hard work on this great software.

Best regards,
rakunavi

- PDF-XChange Editor PRO Version: 11.0.1
- OS Version: Windows 11 Pro / Home 25H2 Build 26200.8655
- PC Model: GMKtec Nucbox M7 Pro with HUION Kamvas Pro 19 / Lenovo IdeaPad C340-15IWL

[vern.zimm]

rakunavi, that sure does sound like the thing! The only thing I have to add is testing with .bmp and .png do not seem to trigger this. Nice writeup!

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello,

Thank you for the added details Rakunavi, I have managed to reproduce this issue, and passed it along to the Dev team for further review. I cannot promise when it will be resolved, so please do use the workarounds mentioned above.

Kind regards,

[Dimitar - PDF-XChange]

Hi,

Our developers have confirmed that the issue you guys reported will be fixed in the next build.

Once the new version is released, updating should resolve the problem without requiring any additional steps on your side.

Best regards.

[rakunavi]

Thank you both for your support.
And @vern.zimm, I'm glad I could assist with that.