colour differences when applying visual attributes

Because of the limitations of Forms 4.5 boilerplate text, I have developed my application using display items in place of boilerplate. My problem occurs when I apply the same visual attribute to the background canvas and display item to 'simulate' a coloured canvas with boilerplate text.

Under Windows 3.1, Forms 4.5.6.5.5 with a 1Mb video card running at 1024X768 with 256 colours, the canvas and display items turn out completely different colours. If I switch to VGA resolution with 65535 colours, the problem goes away and both object get the correct colour. The problem does not occur when running the form in Solaris 2.5/Motif (Unix).

My application only uses about 10 colours in total, so I'm wondering why a 256 colour pallette doesn't display the form properly.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Are there any workarounds available?

TIA, --
Sean Walmsley
Reactor Safety and Operational Analysis Dept, Ontario Hydro (H11-G26)
Tel. (416) 592 4608 Fax (416) 592 4966 EMail: Sean.P.Walmsley_at_hydro.on.ca Received on Fri Feb 09 1996 - 11:57:55 CST