Knowledge Base

An incompatibility arises when a mimic that uses the Transparent colour is transferred from the 65,536-colour palette to 16, 24 or 32 bits TrueColor.

In bitmaps shown in mimics created on a PC with 65,535 colours, the Transparent colour is degraded when the application is started on a PC with 16, 24, or 32 bit colours.  (The option for 65,535 colours is no longer supported on recent PCs.)

Explanation: When you select the Transparent colour, it returns the RGB code for the current pixel in the bitmap as displayed and stores its RGB value. This RGB code is adjusted graphically to the nearest supported value when translated to 32 bits.

The work-around consists of deselecting and reselecting the Transparent colour for each object. It is a very lengthy process for large applications.

To avoid the problem:

• From the start of development, put the graphics board into 32 bit mode.

Then even if the application is run on a destination PC whose graphics board is set to 8, 16 or 24 bit processing, the colour will remain transparent.

Note

If a .BMP image with Transparent colour is used in several mimics:

• Always put the .BMP image into a symbol, so that the transparent colour need only be changed in one place.