PNG images rendered incorrectly in Windows XP... always like this?

What program do you have associated with .png files..? May just need to associate something to it.

I just tried it with a PNG image I found on the internet and it worked okay. I checked and if it matters, Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is associated with PNG in Folder Options / File Types.

Could it be a problem with the PNG you are trying to use?

Crow, I'm not sure what you mean. I do have any programs that "associate" with PNG images. Ztruker, the program is setting the PNG image as a background manually when the file has already been downloaded to your desktop. Not when it is set as a background via a browser. If you set a PNG image via browser everything is fine, but try setting a PNG image from your desktop/Fax Viewer and it might end up with highlighted text. I'm pretty sure about it. How about this, I'll upload a small image [PNG]. Download it and set it as the background. You'll have to right-click and "View Image".

I downloaded the PNG file I mentioned previously to my desktop and set it as th4e desktop background via Display Properties, Desktop tab and browsed for the file. As I mentioned, it worked correctly.

I'll try the PNG file you uploaded and see what happens.

Edit: I downloaded the PNG you uploaded and set it as my desktop background. Worked okay but very pixilated as the image is small, icon sized.

[external image: Posted Image]


Applications associated with extensions… in other words… the app that opens the file.

Crow, my window looks exactly like yours. The column is identical. - Er, Ztruker… how about setting the image to "Tiled". On my system it has the highlighted text. It will look like this on my system. It looks like 8-bit color. Maybe 16-bit. O.O

Set it to tiled and it's fine. [attachment removed] This is on a Samsung 19" LCD at 1280x1024. Video is an old Nvidia Riva TNT2.

Er, well I guess this occurs on all Windows XP machines. I'm not sure if it occurs in Vista. I mean the highlighted text when you use PNG images. : / and the low bit color of the icons : P Thanks again.

Using a PNG requires Active Desktop to be active so that's probably what causes it.

Active Desktop?

your correct, it is 8-bit… The image uploaded that is. And as ztruker mentioned it is awfully small so if you try to set it to "stretch", it wont look worth a flip. However, if you'll convert it to jpg or gif, (that is an image of atleast 600x600) i think you'll see it will work just fine. Thats interesting ztruker, about having to have active desktop set… hadnt heard that before. laern something new everyday ..

Crow and drragostea. I did some more checking on this and it doesn't look like Active Desktop has anything to do with this. It's strictly a function of the image being used for the desktop.

It's strictly a function of the image being used for the desktop.

Thank you both. Well, I'll have to conclude that PNG images (a majority of it) will have this "weird" effect on the desktop. I guess that's the solution. PNG images are not rendered so good with Windows XP. And maybe Windows XP and below only. I know that changing it to another may format will not cause this (like JPEG) and might or might not reduce the size of the original PNG image.

Thanks all.

I guess it's an "Yes" to my thread title.