Displaying JPG images

[Fairlight]

Simon--er, no...it was Don Coleman--said:
> 
> suggestions.  Ideally, I would prefer a viewer program that I can:
> 
> Control the size and placement on the desktop

That's not a problem.

> Not allow for editing (no MSPaint)

That's also trivial.

> Be found by default in the same location on each Windows client (XP & 
> WIN2000 mostly w/ only a couple 98's)

Not a problem.

> Display the image while my fP app. remains the active windows session 
> (important).  I would not want to have to close each "image" windows 
> session after each image has been displayed but have that same windows 
> session display each new image in that same window.

Not take focus on starup, mmm?  Or at least give it back to the last active
window prior to invocation?  Hmmmm.  *ponder*

Reading new images via fresh calls...  *ponder again*  Perhaps possible.
I'd have to try a few things.

> Ken suggested using start C:\path\to\file to keep fP in control.  
> However, when I execute it via @KEY there are two problems I need to 
> resolve. 
> 1) After the start command is executed the image windows session is the 
> active session, not the fP session.

I don't think there's a way around that from within fP.  The problem is
that the application (whichever would be doing the focus work) needs to
talk directly to the window manager.  If fP needed to retain focus, it
would need to do that after SYSTEM returns--reclaim its focus.  If the
image viewer needs to give focus back...that may or may not be more
complex, as it may need to determine which application to return focus to
within the window manager--or at least not grab focus, which I'm not sure
is even doable inside Windows' wm.  I'd have to research that.

> 2) Each time I execute the @KEY routine a new windows session containing 
> the image is begun which then has to be manually closed.  I need to have 
> a single windows session containing the image which is "refreshed" by 
> each new image.

MUST be refreshed, or could close the old and open the new?  Hmmm...I think
I even know a way to accomodate the refreshes.  There may be several ways.
One might be a client/server model.  Another would be possible in unix, but
is not in Windows, since (despite it being possible) they -still- haven't
implemented USER, which -really- should be implemented ASAP.  But I'm at a
loss as to executing one program repeatedly and only using the one window.
At least under the window toolkit I'm using.  I know Media Player does it,
so I know it's possible.  Ditto WinAmp.  It's possible in win32, but darned
if I can immediately think of how it'd be implemented.  This'd take some
thought.

> Don't know if this is possible or not.

Oh, it's undoubtedly possible to get the refresh, one way or another.  The
focus model may also be doable.  I know I have -some- application around
here that temporarily gains focus and gives it back.  I just have to figure
out which one and figure out how it works.

Offhand, I can't think of anything prepackaged that fits the bill for your
needs.  Everything either does multiple instantiations or steals focus--or
both in 99% of the cases.  And that covers over a decade of using various
graphics software.  Most of which -would- also allow editing and all that
lot, which is undesirable, as agreed upon.

I dunno.  What would this be worth to you?  :)  Seriously, if I were to
code it, given the constraints imposed on the program, it would exceed
"public service" limits of charity, sorry.  I'd imagine that others around
here might want to pick it up, but I've made that assumption before and
been wrong, unfortunately.  An idea of audience size and rough worth would
help in evaluating whether it's even worth considering further, and under
what terms.

mark->
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