donc@key.COM (Don Chamberlain) (10/06/90)
I've just started using Sun OpenWindows 2.0. I really like the environment except that I have a black and white monitor and I can't stand the default window colors. The glare from the white window background is overwhelming. I've everything and asked everybody here for a way to run in ReverseVideo. Nothing seems to work. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Don Chamberlain (amdahl!key!donc@juts)
mouse@LARRY.MCRCIM.MCGILL.EDU (10/07/90)
> I've just started using Sun OpenWindows 2.0. I really like the > environment except that I have a black and white monitor and I can't > stand the default window colors. The glare from the white window > background is overwhelming. > I've everything and asked everybody here for a way to run in > ReverseVideo. Nothing seems to work. (Why is it that everybody seems to consider white-on-black reverse video? On character terminals black-on-white is normally considered reversed.) Try specifying explicit foreground and background colors: % xrdb -merge *foreground: white *Foreground: white *background: black *Background: black <insert-your-favorite-eof-character-here> If after that a client runs black-on-white, check (xrdb -query) to see whether explicit resources for it have been specified, and if not, generate a bug report to whoever is responsible for the client in question. For example, for xterm, examine the output of xrdb -query for things like "xterm.foreground". Just what the leading portion ("xterm" in my example) is depends on the program and should be determinable from its documentation. der Mouse old: mcgill-vision!mouse new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu
cflatter@ZIA.AOC.NRAO.EDU (Chris Flatters) (10/08/90)
Don Chamberlain writes:
I've just started using Sun OpenWindows 2.0. I really like the
environment except that I have a black and white monitor and I
can't stand the default window colors. The glare from the white
window background is overwhelming.
I've everything and asked everybody here for a way to run in
ReverseVideo. Nothing seems to work. Any suggestions would
be appreciated.
You can run XView based clients (cmdtool, mailtool etc) in reverse video
by specifying
Window.Color.Foreground: white
Window.Color.Background: black
in your .Xdefaults file. This will put all bordered windows (canvases,
tty subwindows, text subwindows and terminal subwindows) into reverse but
will not touch panels and window decoration. I don't think that a user
can change the foreground/background colours of XView panels.
Anyone who wants to run X applications (not just OPEN LOOK) in reverse
video should be aware of the effect known as halation. On a CRT white (or
very light) characters appear to be surrounded by halo of light when
displayed against a dark background. This makes white on dark text more
difficult to focus on than dark on white and hence more difficult to read.
If you find the glare from a white window disturbing you will be
increasing your chances of eyestrain by running in reverse video.
The following comment may sound smart-arsed but if you are experiencing
excessive glare from white (or very-light) window backgrounds your best
policy is to adjust the brightness/contrast controls of your CRT or to
adjust the lighting of your workspace until your display is comfortable
to look at. In some cases software is not as configurable as hardware.
Chris Flattersimp@marvin.Solbourne.COM (Warner Losh) (10/09/90)
In article <9010071954.AA28300@zia.aoc.nrao.edu> cflatter@ZIA.AOC.NRAO.EDU (Chris Flatters) writes: >This makes white on dark text more >difficult to focus on than dark on white and hence more difficult to read. I find that I can't stand to have black letters on white background. I guess it comes from working for years with 300 baud terminals that gave you one choice. I have noticed no ill effects. >If you find the glare from a white window disturbing you will be >increasing your chances of eyestrain by running in reverse video. @begin(soap_box) Too many screens just plain can't give a flicker free black on white (ever notice the wavy lines in them?). This flicker causes more eye strain that I care to deal with. It is a hardware problem, granted, but the software should allow for it. For my part, I'll keep reporting applications that ignore ReverseVideo as buggy (or, to be more accurate, inconsistent with other X applications). In any event, it is what I'm used to. Being forced to use black on white is my biggest complaint with the Mac. @end(soap_box) Warner -- Warner Losh imp@Solbourne.COM How does someone declare moral bankruptcy?