8 bit pseudcolor and 24 bit support in linux

[spweda]

24 + 8 bit overlay video card

Hi,

If it possible to support 8 bit pseudcolor and 24 bit true color simultaneously in linux? Since some EDA only supports 8 bit display, one way to solve this problem is to start another Xserver in 8 bit mode, but I would like to search for a better solution.

Thanx

 

[Nobody]

i have the same problem . even worse is that some windows manager flash the color around the focus xwindow's outline frame . that make me feel un-comfotable .

 

[lovanca]

I don't think it would be possible to have two X servers running at the same time on a single Linux machine. Maybe if you really want to do that, you can try running several Linux machines at the same time using UML but I do not know anything about that.

Maybe a more pragmatic question is : do someone knows a window manager or a theme of a window manager, which does not flash even if you are running a Xserver in 8bit mode ?
I would be very interested by the answer...

Lovanca.

 

[tlihu]

As far as I know, this problem can be addressed in two ways:

Hardware - There are few cards do support visual overlay under certain conditions. Please check xfree86.org for details.

Software - Using VNC. When starting VNC server on the LINUX, add option -cc 3. And then you can use VNC Viewer on the same LINUX machine to run the very apps. The penalty, of course, is degradation in overall performance.

Good luck!

 

[kittykat77]

I don't think it would be possible to have two X servers running at the same time on a single Linux machine. Maybe if you really want to do that, you can try running several Linux machines at the same time using UML but I do not know anything about that.

Lovanca.

Yes, it is possible to run several X servers on a single Linux machine. You'll have to log in several times :

My setup :

First at the console prompt :
startx -- -bpp 32
The above will start the X server in truecolor mode

Then if you really need application at 8-bit mode, type
ctrl-alt-F2
The above will get you to another login console which you will login and type
startx -- -bpp 8 :1
The above will open another X-session at the :1

You can change between sessions by typing "ctrl-alt-F7" (truecolor) and "ctrl-alt-F8" (8-bit mode)

Of course your XF86Config file must be configured to run 8 and 32 bit. Mine has
8,16 and 32

Hope this helps...

 

[spweda]

Yes. It is possible to open two X servers in Linux environment. I used the Red Hat Linux 7.2.

If your video card support overlay mode, you could add Option "Overlay" in the
X86 configuration file. However, this kind video card costs at least $350 .

 

[ttspice]

Somebody told me some gfx card supports psuedo color in linux,
it should work...

 

[ByteEnable]

I also would like to have 8bit apps on my 16,24bit desktop. I have not tried this but Nvidia has this to say:

Option "OverlayDefaultVisual" "boolean "
When overlays are used and this option is enabled (the above statement is set to on ), this option sets the default visual to an overlay visual thereby putting the root window in the overlay. Note: This option is not recommended for RGB overlays.
Default: Option "OverlayDefaultVisual" "off" .

https://download.nvidia.com/XFree86_40/1.0-4191/NVLinuxNotes4191.pdf

Byte

 

[spweda]

I have a Nvdia video card in my HP 8565. Although I could put the option overlay on, it still did not display 8/24 bits simultaneously. You need a high end video card to have the overlay on.