[pdftex] \pdfximage with zero size PDF

[Martin Schröder]

2007/12/5, Will Robertson <wspr81 at gmail.com>:
> What are the feelings of those here about the behaviour in this case?
> I suppose I'd expect pdfTeX simply to insert a zero size box...

Very small pdfs are edge cases and don't work with most applications.
Historically Adobe Distiller produced pdfs with a minium size of 3bp x
3bp and Adobe Reader 4 required 1in x 1in. xpdf and gs have problems
with files smaller then .5bp x .5bp.

Changing the check in pdftex from <=0 to <0 is trivial, but leads to
other problems:
! Package graphics Error: Division by 0.
I don't think a change is worth the potential trouble.

> (To be more explicit about how this can occur, it arises if you use
> pst-pdf on a document that tries to load an eps image that doesn't
> exist (and you're running in nonstopmode).)

So you want some kind of error, right? :-)
To be on the safe side with pdflatex, you need at least .1bp x .1bp .

Best
   Martin