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From: mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re:  Transparent windows
Message-ID: <9103100155.AA20914@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Date: 10 Mar 91 01:55:55 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 30

> How would I go about creating a transparent window in X.

Depends on what you want.

If the window is supposed to be completely nonexistent as far as
graphics output is concerned, look at InputOnly windows.

If you want to draw things in it, but don't care about changes
underneath showing through until the window is unmapped, consider an
InputOutput window with background None.

If changes underneath have to show through, try using SHAPE to shape
the window to fit the graphics, and then hope you're running on a
server that supports SHAPE (which, one hopes, is not much of a
constraint any longer).  Unfortunately, changing shapes tends to be
slow.  (If the transparent portions have to accept input just as if the
window were there, combine this with an InputOnly window.)

> It has to be the full size of the screen, or rather the same size as
> the root window, with no border...

InputOnly windows have no border.  Either of the other two solutions
may mean struggling to get the window manager out of your way;
depending on the window manager and the details of what you want to do,
this may range from trivial to impossible.

					der Mouse

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