Per-pixel alphablending support in a window manager?

[Alterion]

so i'm new to linux and i wondered if this can be achived with any current window manager if not am i right in think this is the kind of thing that KDE4 will support?- to get a feel for what i mean check out this skin for windowsblinds http://www.deviantart.com/view/29094815/ it enaqbles all sorts of cool effects like alphablended corners ect..:mrgreen: A

[welsh_spud]

I believe that this (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=115974&highlight=knome) HOWTO has what you are looking for.

Here is a screenshot (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/gallery/showimage.php?i=1734&original=1&c=2)

[Alterion]

That is about half-way to what i want- it provides the transparency effects but thier just simple transparencies. To get a better idea look at the corners of the skin i posted and then look at the screenshot you posted- by defining the alpha-channel we have perpixel alpha blending and the option for certain area's to be poaque while others are translucent ect

[vayu]

That is about half-way to what i want- it provides the transparency effects but thier just simple transparencies. To get a better idea look at the corners of the skin i posted and then look at the screenshot you posted- by defining the alpha-channel we have perpixel alpha blending and the option for certain area's to be poaque while others are translucent ect

I still don't understand what you are describing. I see the rounded corners in the windowblinds screenshot are smoother looking, is that it, or is there more?
The description describes several things that are "per pixel".

[Alterion]

that is essentially it but per-pixel means that each pixel of the window can be assaigned a differnt transparency value to all of the others around it. It allows for smoother corners ect Its essesntially the difference between a .png image and a .bmp image at 80% opacity i can;t really explain it further than that.

[red_Marvin]

He might mean alpha blending combined with anti-aliasing.

[Kvark]

It sounds like instead of setting the whole window to have for example 70% opacity he wants to set different opacity values for each individual pixel in the window. So that some pixels in a window can have for example 20% opacity at the same time as other pixels in the same window has 60% opacity.

The only thing thats needed to achieve that is proper support for transperant png images but I have no idea if any window/composite managers have that yet.

[mcduck]

I think Compiz does what you want. But it only has one theme.. :)

[joflow]

I think Compiz does what you want. But it only has one theme.. :)

Right now I'm in love with the cairo + compiz combo. Best thing ever to hit desktop computing.

[MKlemm]

AFAIK what we can see in the Compiz screenshot above isn't a real example of per-pixel alphablending, since the transparent/blending part is only the window title bar, over which the WM/CompMgr has total control.

I doubt that real per-pixel alphablending will be possible with the current version of compiz, since applying the alpha mask actually takes place inside the application, which might contain its own model of combining graphics layers. The window manager/compiz currently only treats windows "as a whole", without looking at what an application really does "inside" the window, so it also doesn't apply any alpha masks from set in the application to the surface it renders the window on.
A "hack" would be necessary to achive that: Compiz would need to have an interface on which an application can set it's own alpha mask that Compiz associates with the application's window, and Compiz would use that when rendering the application window. To my knowledge, there is no such interface yet.
Recently, the Java Runtime Environment has added support for this, but it doesn't currently work with Compiz correctly, as I could verify. The other new features, like shaped windows and evenly translucent windows work very well, if you have turned on Compiz...

[klange]

Major bump there Mr. MKlemm.

Anyway, if anyone happens to be interested in this ancient topic - it was done and quite simply. Obligatory screenshot (http://random.ogunderground.com/compiz/cftheme/fusion-live-theme.png). Most apps don't support it, and forcing them to almost always ends badly.
Apps with support (http://www.cimitan.com/murrine/rgba-support/list). Also, on a side note, with DRI2 (on Intel), OpenGL apps have proper alphas under certain conditions.

[insert necromancing picture here]

[madjr]

lulz

[acelin]

And people said my theme (the original one) couldnt be done!

[madjr]

And people said my theme (the original one) couldnt be done!

who said that :o

anything can be done with enough work :)

[FuturePilot]

Major bump there Mr. MKlemm.

Anyway, if anyone happens to be interested in this ancient topic - it was done and quite simply. Obligatory screenshot (http://random.ogunderground.com/compiz/cftheme/fusion-live-theme.png). Most apps don't support it, and forcing them to almost always ends badly.
Apps with support (http://www.cimitan.com/murrine/rgba-support/list). Also, on a side note, with DRI2 (on Intel), OpenGL apps have proper alphas under certain conditions.

[insert necromancing picture here]

*drools* :D
Were did you get that wallpaper?

[hanzomon4]

who said that :o

anything can be done with enough work :)

Like turning ID into science? I think not...

joking folks..

Sweet theme by the way

[MKlemm]

Oh, sorry for the bump...

And I'm happy to see that this is actually supported now!

But now comes the question: How can you make your own application support this? Is there any docs?

Thanks,
Mirko

[klange]

It's about three lines at the start of a GTK application that switches it to an ARGB colormap and *viola*, the Murrine engine will draw with clear stuff. I'd have to look it up, it's not something I tend to remember. I think the newest version of Clearlooks (SVN only) will do it, they're both from Cimitan...

(Also, works with Metacity+compositing, of course)

[MKlemm]

It's about three lines at the start of a GTK application that switches it to an ARGB colormap and *viola*, the Murrine engine will draw with clear stuff. I'd have to look it up, it's not something I tend to remember. I think the newest version of Clearlooks (SVN only) will do it, they're both from Cimitan...

(Also, works with Metacity+compositing, of course)

Thanks a lot! I think if it's that simple, I'm gonna find it!