Disappearing WimpVisualFlag

When using ColourFiler *WimpVisualFlags -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows needs to be applied as described here. Adding that setting to the to the other WimpVisualFlags in PreDesk.ThemeSetup seemed like a good idea but every time the Theme settings are saved by the Configuration tool the -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows flag is lost.

A Theme Design doc states that NoIconBoxesInTransWindows is one of several flags that are “Out of scope” which means the “flags will be settable via the theme definition but not presented in the user interface since they relate to finessing and technical options intended to augment a theme design, rather than settings a user may prefer to change”. As I understand that the flag, if present, should be preserved.

Titanium OS5.29 19Mar23, Theme Setup plugin 0.07.

After a bit more learning curve, setting WimpVisualFlags -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows in the theme CoFlags file does cause the flag to be persistent but oddly it is not effective.

To get the flag to actually work there is a separate setup file containing the flag in PreDesk to run after ThemeSetup.

Not enabling textured windows makes the whole issue go away, the WimpVisualFlags -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows is not needed.

does cause the flag to be persistent but oddly it is not effective.

Is there something else using the *WimpVisualFlags command in your boot, either explicitly in an Obey file or on the quiet in code? WimpVisualFlags isn’t cumulative – you need to specify all of them every time otherwise the ones which aren’t specified will be defaulted. You could probably find any uses through cunning design of an alias, or modifying the Wimp to write them out to a trace file of some sort.

I just added a -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows to my normal theme’s CoFlags file and, irrespective of the textured window background on or off state, the box round things on the pinboard was gone.

or modifying the Wimp to write them out to a trace file of some sort

You mean like a syslog of the whole OS from when it initially starts up?

You mean like a syslog of the whole OS from when it initially starts up?

Are you thinking, perchance, of small Japanese spiney creatures? Does such a thing actually exist?

Are you thinking, perchance, of small Japanese spiney creatures? Does such a thing actually exist?

Actually I was thinking of the SysLog implementation¹ that Julie started, promising but not completed, nor available source for anyone else to continue. Reporter can probably do the job, but for stuff like this it’s overkill, plus users need a simple built in recording setup with a “tick this box to increase logging verbosity”

¹ As I recall Harinezumi stops logging as the system enters the Desktop and this is most definitely a desktop item.

I just added a -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows to my normal theme’s CoFlags file and, irrespective of the textured window background on or off state, the box round things on the pinboard was gone.

That is so here with vanilla OS5. The issue I a seeing is when using ColourFiler. With Textured windows backgrounds set grey boxes appear around file names in the coloured Filer windows.

The full circumstances of the issue are that both Textured window backgrounds is set and the WimpVisualFlag -RemoveIconBoxes is present.

Removing -RemoveIconBoxes from PreDesk.ThemeSetup is a fix bodge but saving the Theme puts it back again.

The catch is that -RemoveIconBoxes is the default.

WimpVisualFlags isn’t cumulative – you need to specify all of them every time otherwise the ones which aren’t specified will be defaulted.

Thanks for the heads up.

WimpVisualFlags -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows on its own works because it excludes -RemoveIconBoxes

Having failed to think of anything that could go into CoFlags to inhibit -RemoveIconBoxes the setting has been defaulted to FALSE in Configure2.PlugIns.ThemeSetup.h.loadtheme

--- ADFS::ROOL.$.DiscDev.Disc.RiscOS.Sources.SystemRes.Configure2.PlugIns.ThemeSetup.h.loadtheme00	2023-03-20 08:59:59.0 +0000
+++ ADFS::ROOL.$.DiscDev.Disc.RiscOS.Sources.SystemRes.Configure2.PlugIns.ThemeSetup.h.loadtheme	2023-03-20 08:59:59.0 +0000
@@ -44,3 +44,3 @@
 #define WIMPVISFLAGS_RGB_COLOUR(k) ((k)[1] | ((k)[2] << 8) | ((k)[3] << 16))
-#define WIMPVISFLAGS_DEFAULT       FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, TRUE, \
+#define WIMPVISFLAGS_DEFAULT       FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, \
                                    FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, \

As briefly tested that looks to be doing job.

So far I have not noticed anything change on the removal of -RemoveIconBoxes.

To sum up, it is an interaction between ColourFiler and a WimpVisualFlag.

Reporter can probably do the job, … with a “tick this box to increase logging verbosity”

That is all that is required in Reporter. One tick on “Start Reporter at start of Boot sequence”, and Save. Please let me know if I can make it any easier?

Note that it is now much safer than it was at one time!

I have just one suggestion for Reporter (which has been enormously useful during development of my IPP stuff): make the default buffer size bigger.