This is urgent and I'm out of my depth.  I'm displaying pictures that
look great when you are using a hi-colour display (they only use
around 8 colours), but when you force it down to 16 colours, windows
refuses to let go of the system colours.  I've looked into
SetSysPaletteUse and stuff like that, but it isn't working and I don't
know how to get it to work.

The code I'm using is

   TempDevContext := GetDC(Handle);
   Display.ImageName := PicBase + CurrentGFile.FileName;

   SetSystemPaletteUse(TempDevContext,SYSPAL_NOSTATIC);
   TempPalette :=
SelectPalette(TempDevContext,Display.Picture.Bitmap.Palette,False);
   UnrealizeObject(TempPalette);
   RealizePalette(TempDevContext);
   SendMessage(Handle,WM_SYSCOLORCHANGE,0,0);

I'm trying to

Display a picture that uses 8 colours in a 16 colour display (colours
in control panel set to 16), and have it use the optimized palette
created for the picture instead of the windows system colours.

Thanks hugely in advance for any replies, Michael.

Hello,

As far as I know, Windows ALWAYS reserves a number of colors for its use
(in menus, windows and stuff), making it impossible to change them. If I
remember correctly in 256 color setups Windows reserves 20 colors (the
so-called system colors) so in 16 color setups you probably won't have
any available colors.
Yor best bet may be to try reduce the image's color-depth to 16 colors,
the ones that Windows provides (try going to http://www.download.com to
find an image editor capable of it).

Hope this helps,

Carlos A. R. Azevedo

The ONLY mode with a programmable palette is 256 color.

-- Tim Roberts, t...@probo.com
   Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.