Announcement

**Eric Pearson** · 7 Jun 2001, 08:02 AM

Mark --

Graphics Tools uses 100% standard techniques to create a graphics window and perform drawing operations. There is nothing unusual about the window.

I have never heard of a desktop icon reappearing like that, over any type of window. And if your graphics window covers the task bar clock, clearly a clock-update should not affect your window.

My first thought is a buggy video driver. Do you see this behavior on more than one type of computer, for example one that does not use an LCD screen?

When the icon reappears does it appear to have the focus? Does pressing Enter start another instance of the program, or is the keystroke being seen by your program?

-- Eric Pearson, Perfect Sync Software

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Perfect Sync Development Tools
Perfect Sync Web Site
Contact Us: mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

[This message has been edited by Eric Pearson (edited June 07, 2001).]

**Scott Turchin** · 7 Jun 2001, 08:21 AM

Or by some strange chance is hte program icon going to the splash screen from internally?

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Scott

**Mark Newman** · 7 Jun 2001, 09:39 AM

Eric-My apologies, I didn't mean to imply anything about Graphics Tools, just
provided it as background info. (Heck, I bought GT with my own money, not
the company's, and I'm happy as can be with it. This app is the first serious
one I've done with GT and I've gotten several compliments on it, as well as
questions like, "How did you get VB to run that fast?" )

Currently this app only runs on a specific hardware setup (it's a dedicated
manufacturing system) so I can't easily test on other platforms. I'll see if
I can cook up some test code using the same techniques.

The video driver is a likely suspect, as it's a custom one for the LCD. But
doesn't Windows have to ask for repaints or do video drivers do much more
on their own these days?

Scott-Not sure I follow you; could you rephrase?

Thanks!

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Mark Newman

**Semen Matusovski** · 7 Jun 2001, 09:56 AM

Mark --
Sounds like using an hDC of the screen.
For example, hDC = GetDC(hWnd), but hWnd = 0.

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E-MAIL: [email protected]

**Eric Pearson** · 7 Jun 2001, 10:13 AM

> My apologies, I didn't mean to imply anything about Graphics Tools

No apology necessary, I didn't take it that way. You should always eliminate the "top layer" first, and I just wanted to reassure that you Graphics Tools wasn't doing anything unorthodox, so you can probably rule it out. It's just a plain ol' window. I also didn't want other readers to assume that this is "a Graphics Tools thread" and fail to suggest other possibilities.

> The video driver is a likely suspect, as
> it's a custom one for the LCD.

It's amazing how many bad ones are out there. I have been living with a buggy Trident driver for three years now. I tried to update it last year, and afterward my system would not even boot. It took me a DOS-boot-floppy and about 10 hours of work just to get back where I started, so now I just live with the display glitches. (When I scroll a Spread 3.0 Grid with a highlighted block, for example, it creates large inverse-color rectangles outside the boundaries of the grid. But only on this workstation.)

> But doesn't Windows have to ask for repaints
> or do video drivers do much more on their own
> these days?

Windows performs zero actual repaint operations. Virtually 100% of the GDI subsystem -- the API functions that are used to control the display -- are simple wrappers for standard-name functions that are actually performed by the current video driver. Your program calls an API function, and Windows simply passes the request to the driver. The driver handles the actual operation in all cases. You're right in saying that Windows "asks" for the repaints, but how it is done, and exactly what gets repainted, is often up the the driver. As in the case of the Spread Grid, it does not always work perfectly.

I have never heard of an effect like this, so if I were you I would rule out the driver first. Is an updated video driver available for the custom hardware?

-- Eric

------------------
Perfect Sync Development Tools
Perfect Sync Web Site
Contact Us: mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Eric Pearson** · 7 Jun 2001, 10:39 AM

Semen makes a very interesting point... If for some unknown reason the graphics window creation process failed, Graphics Tools would default to drawing on the desktop. The fact that GetDC(0) returns the desktop window DC doesn't seem to be documented anywhere. Nice catch Semen!

It would be easy to test this theory... Change the size of your graphics window so that it does not fill the screen. If you don't see the edges of the graphics window when you run the program, then it never got created.

-- Eric

------------------
Perfect Sync Development Tools
Perfect Sync Web Site
Contact Us: mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Semen Matusovski** · 7 Jun 2001, 10:51 AM

> The fact that GetDC(0) returns the desktop window DC doesn't seem to be documented anywhere.

It's documented in MSDN in GetDC function description. http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ps...vcons_4esj.htm

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E-MAIL: [email protected]

**Eric Pearson** · 7 Jun 2001, 11:13 AM

I guess I shouldn't have said "anywhere". Thanks for the reference, Semen.

-- Eric

------------------
Perfect Sync Development Tools
Perfect Sync Web Site
Contact Us: mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

[This message has been edited by Eric Pearson (edited June 07, 2001).]

**Mark Newman** · 7 Jun 2001, 11:43 AM

I've put together a small test app which does cause the icon to reappear,
at least sometimes! On my NT 2K system, the icon reappears about 1 out of
10 tries. At least this rules out video drivers, for now anyway.

The variability in the results tells me that perhaps I'm trying
to do the graphics operations too fast.

When the icon does reappear, it doesn't have the focus.

Here's the code:

Code:

' AA.bas
'

#Compile Exe "aa.exe"
#Register None
#Dim All
#Resource "aa.pbr"

#Include "win32api.inc"

#Include "C:\swtools\GfxTools\GfxTools.INC"

' This function isn't in "win32api.inc"
Declare Function EnumDisplaySettings Lib "user32.dll" Alias "EnumDisplaySettingsA" _
	(ByVal lpszDeviceName As Long, ByVal iModeNum As Long, lpDevMode As DEVMODE) As Long

' Global variables
Global gtScrnModes()  	As DEVMODE
Global glNumModes   		As Long
Global glStartMode  		As Long
Global glScreenWidth 	As Long, glScreenHeight As Long, glColorDepth As Long

Declare Sub SplashScreen()
Declare Sub GetScreenSettings()

'***************************************************************************

Function WinMain(ByVal hCurInstance  As Long, _
                 ByVal hPrevInstance As Long, _
                 lpszCmdLine         As Asciiz Ptr, _
                 ByVal nCmdShow      As Long) Export As Long

   Local Msg         As tagMsg
  	Local wndclass    As WndClassEx
  	Local szAppName   As Asciiz * 80
  	Local hWnd        As Long

	GfxOption  %GFX_MODULE_INSTANCE, hCurInstance

	szAppName              = "aa"
	wndclass.cbSize        = SizeOf(WndClass)
	wndclass.style         = %CS_HREDRAW OR %CS_VREDRAW
	wndclass.lpfnWndProc   = CodePtr( WndProc )
	wndclass.cbClsExtra    = 0
	wndclass.cbWndExtra    = 0
	wndclass.hInstance     = hCurInstance
	wndclass.hIcon         = LoadIcon( hCurInstance, "logo" )
	wndclass.hCursor       = LoadCursor( %NULL, ByVal %IDC_ARROW )
	wndclass.hbrBackground = GetStockObject( %WHITE_BRUSH )
	wndclass.lpszMenuName  = %NULL
	wndclass.lpszClassName = VarPtr( szAppName )
	wndclass.hIconSm       = LoadIcon( hCurInstance, ByVal %IDI_APPLICATION )

	RegisterClassEx wndclass

	' Create a window using the registered class
	hWnd = CreateWindowEx(%WS_EX_TRANSPARENT, szAppName, _
							"LCD Test", _
							%WS_POPUP Or %WS_CLIPCHILDREN, _
							0, 0, _
         				GetSystemMetrics(%SM_CXSCREEN), _
         				GetSystemMetrics(%SM_CYSCREEN), _
         				0, ByVal %Null, _
         				hCurInstance, ByVal %NULL)

	' Display the window on the screen
	ShowWindow hWnd, nCmdShow
	UpdateWindow hWnd

	' Main message loop
	While GetMessage(Msg, %NULL, 0, 0)
		TranslateMessage Msg
	 	DispatchMessage Msg
	Wend

	Function = msg.wParam

End Function

' **********************************************************************

Function WndProc (ByVal hWnd As Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, _
                  ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long
'
' Function: Message handler
' Accepts : Standard WndProc params
' Returns : False if the message was handled by this function, True to let
'				the Windows default handler process it
'
	Select Case wMsg

		Case %WM_CREATE
			' Get the screen setup data
			GetScreenSettings

		  	' Initialize the graphics window to the current screen size
                        ' minus 10 pixels on each side to test the GetDC() item.
			InitGfx hWnd, 10, 10, glScreenWidth - 10, glScreenHeight - 10, %TOOLSET_WINDOWS

			' Show the graphics window...
			GfxWindow %SHOW

			' ...and then the splash screen
			SplashScreen

		Case %WM_CHAR
			' Terminate on the ESC key
			If wParam = 27 Then SendMessage hWnd, %WM_CLOSE, 0, 0

		Case %WM_DESTROY
			PostQuitMessage 0
			WndProc = 0
			Exit Function

	End Select

	WndProc = DefWindowProc(hWnd, wMsg, wParam, lParam)

End Function

' **********************************************************************

Sub SplashScreen()

	GfxWindow %FREEZE

   ' Clear the graphics window to Black
	BrushColor %Black
	GfxCLS

	DrawFrom 100, 75
	DrawFrame 500, 300

	BrushColor Rgb(150, 150, 150)
	DrawFrom 150, 150
	DrawFlood %FLOOD_SURFACE, %Black

	' Draw the program name
	GfxFont "Arial", 20, 40, 4, %Black, 0, 0
	DrawFrom 210, 90
	DrawTextBox "AA" & $CRLF & "LCD Test", %TEXT_WORD_BREAK + %TEXT_NO_PARTIALS, 400, 300

	' Program rev
	GfxFont "Arial", 10, 20, 2, %Black, 0, 0
	DrawFrom 210,220
	DrawTextRow "Revision 0.0.0", 0

	' Show the legal stuff
	GfxFont "Arial",10, 20, 2, %Black, 0&, 0
	DrawFrom 210, 270
	DrawTextBox "©2001 AA Corp." & $CRLF & "Press ESC to quit.", %TEXT_WORD_BREAK + %TEXT_NO_PARTIALS, 400, 300

	GfxFont "Arial",8, 16, 2, %Black, 0&, 0
	DrawFrom 490, 350
	DrawTextRow Format$(glScreenWidth) & "x" & Format$(glScreenHeight) & "x" & Format$(glColorDepth), 0

	GfxWindow %UNFREEZE

End Sub

' ****************************************************************************

Sub GetScreenSettings()
'
' Get the current screen settings
'
	Local hdc As Long
	Local szDevice As Asciiz * 80

	' Get existing BitsPerPixel (color depth)
	szDevice = "DISPLAY"
	hdc = CreateIC (szDevice, ByVal %NULL, ByVal %NULL, ByVal %NULL)
	glColorDepth = GetDeviceCaps(hdc, %BITSPIXEL)
	DeleteDC hdc

	' Get the current screen size
	glScreenWidth = GetSystemMetrics(%SM_CXSCREEN)
	glScreenHeight = GetSystemMetrics(%SM_CYSCREEN)

End Sub

The resource file just has 2 lines:

#include "C:\Program Files\PBDLL60\Winapi\resource.h"
logo ICON earth.ico

Thanks!

------------------
Mark Newman

[This message has been edited by Mark Newman (edited June 07, 2001).]

**Eric Pearson** · 7 Jun 2001, 12:08 PM

It's not the video driver, it's not Graphics Tools, it's not a Device Context problem, and it's not drawing too fast.

Get rid of WS_EX_TRANSPARENT and everything should work fine.

Here is what Win32.HLP says about WS_EX_TRANSPARENT...

Specifies that a window created with this style is to be transparent. That is, any windows that are beneath the window are not obscured by the window.

And that's exactly what you are seeing. Windows that are beneath your app, such as the icon and task bar items, are showing through. Because the graphics window is a child of the main window, it too is being affected.

-- Eric

------------------
Perfect Sync Development Tools
Perfect Sync Web Site
Contact Us: mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

[This message has been edited by Eric Pearson (edited June 07, 2001).]

**Mark Newman** · 7 Jun 2001, 12:26 PM

Eric,

Works like a charm!

I though I read somewhere that WS_EX_TRANSPARENT should be used when
you want to "take over" the whole screen, but obviously not!

Many thanks!

------------------
Mark Newman

**ARTHUR KOHL** · 7 Jun 2001, 02:03 PM

Where is the GfxTools.Inc?

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**Eric Pearson** · 7 Jun 2001, 02:10 PM

Arthur --

GFXTOOLS.INC is part of Graphics Tools, which is a PowerBASIC add-on that is published by my company, Perfect Sync Software. Just click on one of the links below for more information...

-- Eric

------------------
Perfect Sync Development Tools
Perfect Sync Web Site
Contact Us: mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

**Russ Srole** · 7 Jun 2001, 03:06 PM

Arthur,

I've been using it for about 9 months now & the combination of
PBDLL, Graphics Tools & EzGui has made the transition from Dos
to WinBlows a lot easier! I've been able to concentrate on the
products I'm developing, instead of every detail of windows and
that has made a hugh difference in my ability to get some new
product out the door.

Russ Srole
Editing Technologies Corp.

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