On Mon, 20 Dec 1999, Rob Pitt wrote:
> Dear WinFrame users,
>
> I have just tried the 2.3 beta of my PaEDPac app on WinFrame. Unlike the
> 2.2 version which always gave a fatal error on loading, the 2.3 version
> almost works. Scott told me that 2.2 should have worked but it never did
> for me. Anyway, the 2.3 app loads and all the functionality is there - its
> just that the background is jet black. Makes black text hard to read! Card
> buttons and card fields exhibit normally on top of the black bg except that
> the colored buttons have a coarse criss cross pattern in the color.
> However, bg flds and bg btns are all black. Images loaded into the bg image
> are barely discernable through the blackness.
>
> I have previously seen this same behaviour on "low end" PCs. My solution
> here has been to advise clients to get a better machine and this advice has
> worked every time although it hasn't always been well received (there all
> doctors so they can afford to upgrade). WinFrame has a maximum 256 colors
> like some of these low end machines. Is this part of it or is it more
> likely a low RAM problem?
If I had to guess, it would be that it's just a bug in the WinFrame
offscreen pixmap emulation. We've seen problems like this with buggy
graphics card drivers, and many years ago with PC X servers (which are
based on a technology very similar to WinFrame). Not sure why 2.3
would be any different from 2.2.X, though, as the core drawing
routines haven't changed AFAIK.
Have you reported this as a bug to Citrix? We haven't had any contact
from them and would be happy to work with them to help get this
problem fixed. My guess is that they'd be willing and able to help,
given the competitive market they're in (and what with Microsoft
breathing down their necks). It just may take a little work to find
the right person to talk to there.
> I speak from relative ignorance because I am a reluctant Windows user. I
> develop on Mac using Virtual PC and I have none of these problems at 256
> colors.
Some versions of VPC and SoftWindows have their own problems running
MetaCard, including cursors that are upside down, all black, or
missing entirely, and images that don't draw properly. You may also
see these kinds of problems with some graphics cards due to bugs in
the graphics drivers themselves. Unfortunately, unlike emulation
software vendors, it's virtually unheard of for the graphics card
vendors to even respond to bug reports let alone fix them in a timely
matter. Turning off acceleration (using the Display control panel) or
switching cards are usually your only options in these cases.
Regards,
Scott
> Rob Pitt MBBS FRACP FACEM
> Director Paediatric Emergency Medicine
> Mater Childrens Hospital
>
>
>
> This is the MetaCard mailing list.
> Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/metacard%40lists.best.com/
> Info: http://www.xworlds.com/metacard/mailinglist.htm
>
********************************************************
Scott Raney [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.metacard.com
MetaCard: You know, there's an easier way to do that...
This is the MetaCard mailing list.
Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/metacard%40lists.best.com/
Info: http://www.xworlds.com/metacard/mailinglist.htm
