Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!att!mcdchg!ddsw1!dattier From: dattier@ddsw1.MCS.COM (David W. Tamkin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: Re: Desterm 2.0... Summary: VT102 character color control Message-ID: <1990Dec30.012206.20467@ddsw1.MCS.COM> Date: 30 Dec 90 01:22:06 GMT References: Reply-To: dattier@ddsw1.MCS.COM (David W. Tamkin) Organization: Contributor Account at ddsw1, Wheeling, Illinois Lines: 35 lcs@remus.rutgers.edu (Lyle C. Seplowitz) wrote in : | I have recently downloaded Desterm 2.0, an excellent terminal program. | Thank you Matt for this superb program. I second that (being a registered owner). | There is still one problem that has held over since the original version. | I selected "Light Cyan" as my "Char Color". However, shortly after using | the terminal in VT102 mode the character color changes to "Cyan" (the | darker version). While this is minor, the darker color can be hard on the | eyes. Is this a problem with Desterm or with the VT102 control codes? The VT100 series include escape sequences for changing the cursor color. Some hosts think they know better than the user what the user likes and abuse that feature, changing colors in the middle of the text instead of keeping the capability in abeyance until it is needed for graphs or pictures. There is no way to query the user's current background color, so I've frequently found that text suddenly becomes hard to read or totally invisible. Another VT100 series function is regulating the brightness of the text. On the C128 that means that the I bit of the color code is turned on or off. That's likely the specific thing that is changing your character color from light cyan to dark cyan: your system is receiving the escape sequence to shut off full brightness, but you're using a dark background color against which dark cyan is hard to read. Suggestions: find a character color/background color pair where either the dark or the light character color is legible against that background color, or if it's a Unix system, hamstring the brightness control feature out of your terminfo (or switch to ansi instead of vt100, which worked for me). David Tamkin Box 7002 Des Plaines IL 60018-7002 708 518 6769 312 693 0591 MCI Mail: 426-1818 GEnie: D.W.TAMKIN CIS: 73720,1570 dattier@ddsw1.mcs.com