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vtol

Some PC's show my graphics as an ugly slight shaded color difference ?

I'm guessing its different monitors or brightness /gamma related.

ALSO, the color of RADIO / GROUP dialog colors are different on different computers.

Is there an easy fix for this?

Thanks for reading...

PGWARE · **Web Host** Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 1565

I don't believe so. I know the color of dialogs changed in Windows XP than what it previously was in the Windows 9x series. You'll always have color differences; each monitor uses its own color profile and is able to produce a certain number of colors; as well as the video card in the computer and it's capabilities. I just purchased a new 24 inch lcd today and vdsworld looks completely different regarding colors, and I was using a 20 inch lcd of the same brand previously.

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 12:35 am Post subject:

My words are allways confusing Smile

I'm thinking VDS and XP styles is the problem, I created the program in XP custom classic style(first pic), then XP style.

I'll just show 2 pics below the uglyness difference:
<both were from same monitor and video card/computer>

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 12:50 am Post subject:

Heres a couple more examples, I never realized styles would cause so much problems, guess I'll have to write under XP style only from now on.
I think old skool looks better Rolling Eyes

Hooligan · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:09 am Post subject:

It looks like the top pic is "classic" style, and the bottom one is the "XP" style. Look in the appearance tab of display properties....

Hooligan

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:12 am Post subject:

yeah I know, you'd think it would all come out in the wash Rolling Eyes

Hooligan · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:16 am Post subject:

I'm so brain-dead! I looked at the pics, but didn't see your text... I'll just shut up and slip back into my coma.... Embarassed

Hooligan

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:23 am Post subject:

naa, your brain dead when you do stupid things the way I do them(like XP styles) Laughing

I've not posted in a while so I had to agravate you guys a bit, hee hee hee hee heeeeee Very Happy

PGWARE · **Web Host** Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 1565

Yes the xp theme is a different color for the dialogs. For your bottom picture you should use a transparent style to avoid having to hardcolor the background to match the dialog color.

Theres definately changes, I believe also in Vista the dialog color has changed slightly as well. Try to avoid having to hardcode/color backgrounds on images and don't set a background color for controls so it will always use the default dialog color.

Or one option is to color the entire dialog (dialog color, and all controls) so no matter which version of Windows you are on it will look the same; the problem with this is if a user selects a different theme for Windows your app will not coorespond with that color scheme.

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:03 am Post subject:

Thanks,
I've been doing everything you mentioned, and but when I do backgrounds with check box's, its crazy too.

Sounds like we have to throw all the VDS5 dialogs out the window, and create every single thing(like radios/check box's) with our own graphics.

Or limit graphics globally.

Well, I think I'll go with add on DLL's (transparent pics) and all homemade dialogs with bmpCLICK, etc..

Thanks again for the hints on the right direction Smile

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:54 am Post subject:

oops, I changed my mine.
I think I'll read win ver and make different sets of graphics like I used to do.

Is there a way to detect if XP style is classic?
Measuring the TITLE BAR height prolly wouldnt work, considering the color factor, hmm..

Anyways thanks for your time and answers, I appreciate it a lot Cool

PGWARE · **Web Host** Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 1565

The background color for radios/checkboxes should be fine. You can set a style to these controls using the BACKGRND color (I believe that is the style name; it's been awhile since I've used vds) and that should use the same background dialog color.

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:10 am Post subject:

I never could change the radio or check background color, but I can get background color to work on line dialogs.

I get an ERROR when I did below and and some other variations:
dialog

DIALOG ADD,STYLE,BACKGRND,,9,,red,white
DIALOG ADD,STYLE,STYLE1,,9,,red,white
ADD,radio,test,127,16,101,58,testing,Enabled|Disabled,,,style1
ADD,radio,test,127,16,101,58,testing,Enabled|Disabled,,,BACKGRND

I found what you said in vds help below but dont know how to get it to work on radios and checks:

PGWARE · **Web Host** Joined: 29 Dec 2001 Posts: 1565

DIALOG ADD,STYLE,STYLE1,,9,,BACKGRND,white
DIALOG ADD,radio,test,127,16,101,58,testing,Enabled|Disabled,,,style1

Should be like that, where BACKGRND is used as one of the color names. I don't have vds installed so I can't test to make sure if it works.

I'm not sure what the problem with radios/checkboxes are, in your attached pictures they seem to display correctly and the same color as the dialog is. If you don't like the style of the controls then you should not add a manifest to your exe.

The only problem I seen was the first set of attached pictures, under the DISPLAY portion you have checkboxes which are not the same color grey as the background is. This is just the way XP works, the checkboxes I don't think can be changed in color to match that. You could try to make the control's size smaller so it only shows the actual checkbox box.

vtol · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:35 pm Post subject:

Yeah, your right, I made them smaller and fixed the underlayment.
I read about manifest once somewhere, but never learned anything, hee hee.

I'm guessing manifest has some kind of global style control involved.

I think I have a registered DLL somewhere that might give me full control of radio and check color.

But for now I'm gonna have a Classic and XP style toggle in my options till I find a way to auto-sense classic and or XP styles.

Thanks a ton and a half Big Smile