I have another weird problem now...and Smith/Micro isn't giving me any useful suggesions, so I thought I'd try here.

When I try to apply a bump map to a character Poser 8 fails, and shuts down.  I have tried using PSD, JPG and BMP formats for the map and all have the same reaction.  (I created the map in Photoshop CS3)

This is a figure and a bump map that worked in Poser 7.  What is different with bump maps in poser 8?  I don't see anything in the manual.

Weirdly, if I use the "Materials/Advanced" tab, Poser 8 doesn't crash.

I tried changing the preview to "SreeD" from "OpenGL" and that didn't fix the problem

 

Here are the steps:

Step 1 - Open poser file - The first file uses the Poser 4 Male and the Poser 4 Male Turtle Neck shirt. All files I have used including Poser 8 models have this problem.
Step 2 - Navigate to the "Materials/Simple" tab
Step 3 - Click on poser model that I wish to add bump map too
Step 4 - Click on "Bump Map" file select area on the simple tab
Step 5 - When "Bump Map" selection box pops-up, select graphic file containing desired map (PSD, JPG, or BMP)
Step 6 - Poser freezes and becomes "Non-Responding", no error messages either from Poser or Windows
Step 7 - Open Windows 7 Task manager and terminate the job using "End Process

For the most part, most users here prefer using the Advanced tab for the Material room.  We have more control and access.  Now, as to whether this reflects an OS problem with Poser, we do not have enough information to determine the correct course of action.  So far, it appears to work when using the Advanced tab, I would continue using this method until someone could offer a better explanation.