Quick hack question.

Would it be possible to make Dopus5's backdrop window totally transparent on the OS4 version, obviously it would need to be user optional either through tooltype, environment prefs or env-var?

I'm asking as I recently got a copy of CANDI which I'd like to be able to actually see. I have workbench running in the background with Dopus5 on top. I was thinking that a transparent backdrop window would let CANDI show through (I know, unlickable partition icon, I'd simply hide those in workbench prefs).

Maybe if 'Enable backdrops' is off the backdrop window could be transparent by default?

What do you guys think?

@Severin

that would be super cool, but wouldn't it be better to have enabled candi in dopus 5 also, and when you switch screens (multitask) you activate/deaktivate the candi? i would guess you would get high performance penalties when running transparent backdrop in opus, is that possible btw? i have never seen this?

still, it would be super cool to have an option like this.

@Severin

Yes, you can change transparency on a window, relatively simply, but there is a problem, text inside the window also becomes transparent, and so it makes it hard to read whats in the window, its not so useful.

@LiveForIt

i think he means the whole opus desktop

or maybe not

sorry

@LiveForIt

I do mean the whole desktop, Dopus5's main window, where you double click to open new listers etc.

I don't see why the text would be transparent, the alpha level of text can be set seperately to the window.

@Severin

Is DOPus running in a window or a screen?

You could make the window transparent, and it would show throuigh whatver was below, text icons etc can be no transprent by using a alphahook (as amidock must do for example).

But the screen can't be transperent. So you wouldn't see through ther DOpus screen to the workbench screen below.

@broadblues

I have Dopus set to use the workbench screen so it's a full size borderless window on top of workbench. To get CANDI running on a custom dopus screen would not be a quick hack...

could this be potential new feature to implement? having the option 0-100 transparency in custom screens?

@noXLar

What for? It would look a mess, the only thing I can think of where it would be vaguely useful is having mplayer running full screen behind whatever screen your working on but that would just be really annoying after a while.

Visually at 100% transparent it would be the same as running everything on one screen but without being able to interact with anything on the other screens.

@broadblues

I like to do that on Excalibur, any example code anywhere?

Now I'm using a alpha bitmap on the window, works, but can't change the bitmap after it applied to window.

@Severin

you got a point there, but i was thinking about background picture/wallpaper that was in a way transparent, just the opus desktop, so you have visual workbench. perhaps wb icons&windows wasn't appearing but wb programs and opus listers.
maybe too choose which wb programs was allowed to show inside opus.

sorry, just sharing and idea don't take me serious

@noXLar

As far as I know dopus5 in workbench:Use mode opens a background borderless window on top of the workbench background borderless window. If you start things from workbench via buttons or filetypes they will always be above the 2 background windows.

imagine a wall (workbench) with wallpaper on top (dopus), anything you do with that wall from the time you added the wallpaper will be on top of the wallpaper.