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From: cflatter@ZIA.AOC.NRAO.EDU (Chris Flatters)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re:  OpenWindows ReverseVideo
Message-ID: <9010071954.AA28300@zia.aoc.nrao.edu>
Date: 7 Oct 90 19:54:31 GMT
Sender: root@athena.mit.edu (Wizard A. Root)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 37

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 Flatters