Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-sdd!apollo!dawson
From: dawson@apollo.HP.COM (Keith Dawson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re: Background screen software
Keywords: background, picture display
Message-ID: <46bd533a.c4b0@apollo.HP.COM>
Date: 9 Nov 89 21:05:00 GMT
References: <1349@bnr-rsc.UUCP>
Reply-To: dawson@apollo.HP.COM (Keith Dawson)
Distribution: na
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Apollo Division; Chelmsford, MA
Lines: 26

There is no supported way to get a picture truly in the background (on the
root rectangle) while the Display Manager owns the root.

You can run Domain/X11 in the X-owns-root mode, however; now you can put
any picture desired on the root rectangle. 

The MIT-supplied client program xsetroot lets you tile the root rectangle
with any given color, pattern, or bitmap. This client is available with
all versions of Domain/X11.

A public-domain version of GIF for X11, called xgif, has an option whereby 
it draws a GIF image in the root rectangle and keeps it properly refreshed
on exposures, etc.

Here at Apollo we run a modified version of xsetroot that supports GIF
format directly by command-line option, so it is the X server that keeps
the root rectangle refreshed, not a client program -- much more efficient.

-->Keith
____________________________________________________________   My opinions
Keith Dawson  Hewlett Packard Co.         508-256-0176 x5739   are my own.
              Graphics Technology Division / East  
              300 Apollo Dr.  (CHR.03.DE)
              Chelmsford, MA  01824                      USA   My convictions
              Internet: dawson@apollo.hp.com                   are not for
              UUCP: {mit-eddie,yale,uw-beaver}!apollo!dawson   public display.