Turn window upside down?

mike · Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 29

I have an old "1994" integrated flat-panel display with
486dx4-100 computer. Windows 98SE, Chips & technology video chip.
I want to use it as a GPIB controller. The NI GPIB card won't run
in anything newer than win98 and I've only got 16MB of ram anyway.
But all the cables come out the bottom making it unweildy.
If I stand it on it's head, my mechanical problems are solved.
All I gotta do is fix it in software.

Is there a way to turn the whole screen upside down?

Ctrl-Alt- doesn't work. No obvious options in the
display drivers. I've found references to a program called
screenInvert.exe that claims to do what I want, except that
it cancels itself with any keypress/mousemove. But it's nowhere
to be found.

My primary application is written in VB6. Maybe there's a way
to "upsidedown" a window? It's not worth the effort to reconstruct
the whole application upside down from scratch.

Ideas?
thanks, mike
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Ken Halter · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 4150

"mike" wrote in message $Hd.4488@trnddc02...
> If I stand it on it's head, my mechanical problems are solved.
> All I gotta do is fix it in software.

You must've worked here at one time or another "The power supply's dead
and the cables are broken... can you fix it with software?"

> Is there a way to turn the whole screen upside down?
>
> Ctrl-Alt- doesn't work.

Sure glad of that.

> No obvious options in the
> display drivers. I've found references to a program called
> screenInvert.exe that claims to do what I want, except that
> it cancels itself with any keypress/mousemove. But it's nowhere
> to be found.

It'll have to be something your video card supports. Inverting isn't enough.
It needs to be rotated.

> My primary application is written in VB6. Maybe there's a way
> to "upsidedown" a window? It's not worth the effort to reconstruct
> the whole application upside down from scratch.

The easiest thing to do would definitely get those cables under control.
Even if there were some kind of "super API" that rotates every pixel on your
screen 180 deg, a 486 w/16 megs is going to be swamped doing nothing but
rotating pixels. iirc, ATI has video drivers that support rotation.

--
Ken Halter - MS-MVP-VB - Please keep all discussions in the groups..
In Loving Memory - http://www.vbsight.com/Remembrance.htm

Kevin Provance · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 800

You could always turns the monitor upside down. Pretty simple?

- Kev

"mike" wrote in message $Hd.4488@trnddc02...
|I have an old "1994" integrated flat-panel display with
| 486dx4-100 computer. Windows 98SE, Chips & technology video chip.
| I want to use it as a GPIB controller. The NI GPIB card won't run
| in anything newer than win98 and I've only got 16MB of ram anyway.
| But all the cables come out the bottom making it unweildy.
| If I stand it on it's head, my mechanical problems are solved.
| All I gotta do is fix it in software.
|
| Is there a way to turn the whole screen upside down?
|
| Ctrl-Alt- doesn't work. No obvious options in the
| display drivers. I've found references to a program called
| screenInvert.exe that claims to do what I want, except that
| it cancels itself with any keypress/mousemove. But it's nowhere
| to be found.
|
| My primary application is written in VB6. Maybe there's a way
| to "upsidedown" a window? It's not worth the effort to reconstruct
| the whole application upside down from scratch.
|
| Ideas?
| thanks, mike
| --
| Return address is VALID!

PeterD · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 245

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:24:05 -0500, "Kevin Provance"
wrote:

>You could always turns the monitor upside down. Pretty simple?
>
>- Kev
>
>"mike" wrote in message
>$Hd.4488@trnddc02...
>|I have an old "1994" integrated flat-panel display with
>| 486dx4-100 computer. Windows 98SE, Chips & technology video chip.
>| I want to use it as a GPIB controller. The NI GPIB card won't run
>| in anything newer than win98 and I've only got 16MB of ram anyway.
>| But all the cables come out the bottom making it unweildy.
>| If I stand it on it's head, my mechanical problems are solved.
>| All I gotta do is fix it in software.
>|
>| Is there a way to turn the whole screen upside down?
>|
>| Ctrl-Alt- doesn't work. No obvious options in the
>| display drivers. I've found references to a program called
>| screenInvert.exe that claims to do what I want, except that
>| it cancels itself with any keypress/mousemove. But it's nowhere
>| to be found.
>|
>| My primary application is written in VB6. Maybe there's a way
>| to "upsidedown" a window? It's not worth the effort to reconstruct
>| the whole application upside down from scratch.
>|
>| Ideas?
>| thanks, mike
>| --
>| Return address is VALID!
>

Mike, any CRT based monitor can be virtually flipped upside down (or
left/right, too) by swapping the wires on the deflection yolk (that is
the thing on the neck of the tube inside the monitor). This was a
common trick for things like backup monitors (where left/right needed
to be swapped to mimic a mirror) and for monitors that had to be
mounted upside down (like yours!)

Thorsten Albers · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 756

Ken Halter schrieb im Beitrag
...
> The easiest thing to do would definitely get those cables under control.

Maybe easier for him: He could nail his chair to the ceiling of his room
upside down - and then work upside down himself... O.k., a bit more
practical: Instead of turning his monitor upside down he could turn it by
90 degrees and then work lying on the side in front of it... There is
another rather easy solution with two mirrors... Smile

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THORSTEN ALBERS Universität Freiburg
albers@
uni-freiburg.de
----------------------------------------------------------------------

mike · Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 29

PeterD wrote:
> On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:24:05 -0500, "Kevin Provance"
> wrote:
>
>> You could always turns the monitor upside down. Pretty simple?
>>
>> - Kev
>>
>> "mike" wrote in message
>> $Hd.4488@trnddc02...
>> |I have an old "1994" integrated flat-panel display with
>> | 486dx4-100 computer. Windows 98SE, Chips & technology video chip.
>> | I want to use it as a GPIB controller. The NI GPIB card won't run
>> | in anything newer than win98 and I've only got 16MB of ram anyway.
>> | But all the cables come out the bottom making it unweildy.
>> | If I stand it on it's head, my mechanical problems are solved.
>> | All I gotta do is fix it in software.
>> |
>> | Is there a way to turn the whole screen upside down?
>> |
>> | Ctrl-Alt- doesn't work. No obvious options in the
>> | display drivers. I've found references to a program called
>> | screenInvert.exe that claims to do what I want, except that
>> | it cancels itself with any keypress/mousemove. But it's nowhere
>> | to be found.
>> |
>> | My primary application is written in VB6. Maybe there's a way
>> | to "upsidedown" a window? It's not worth the effort to reconstruct
>> | the whole application upside down from scratch.
>> |
>> | Ideas?
>> | thanks, mike
>> | --
>> | Return address is VALID!
>>
>
> Mike, any CRT based monitor can be virtually flipped upside down (or
> left/right, too) by swapping the wires on the deflection yolk (that is
> the thing on the neck of the tube inside the monitor). This was a
> common trick for things like backup monitors (where left/right needed
> to be swapped to mimic a mirror) and for monitors that had to be
> mounted upside down (like yours!)
>
Cool, except it's a LCD flat-panel display integrated into the same box
with the computer that needs to be stood on its head.

I get the message...I'll fix it in hardware with a stand.
Thanks, mike

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Return address is VALID!

Schmidt · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 806

"mike" schrieb im Newsbeitrag$6h7.20640@trnddc04...

> I get the message...I'll fix it in hardware with a stand.
Aren't the newer ATI- or NVida-Driver both capable,
to rotate the Screen 90°-wise (including Flipping) "per
Software-Switch"?

Just install the full version of Graphics-Driver-Support
from their sites (for ATI this would be called the "Catalyst"-
package and the NVidia-pendant is called "ForceWare").

Olaf

mike · Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 29

Schmidt wrote:
> "mike" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> $6h7.20640@trnddc04...
>
>> I get the message...I'll fix it in hardware with a stand.
> Aren't the newer ATI- or NVida-Driver both capable,
> to rotate the Screen 90°-wise (including Flipping) "per
> Software-Switch"?
>
> Just install the full version of Graphics-Driver-Support
> from their sites (for ATI this would be called the "Catalyst"-
> package and the NVidia-pendant is called "ForceWare").
>
> Olaf
>
>
Will this work on my
Chips & technology 65545 video chip?

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Return address is VALID!

Schmidt · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 806

"mike" schrieb im Newsbeitrag$v57.22518@trnddc05...

[Driver-based flipping]
> Will this work on my
> Chips & technology 65545 video chip?
Arrgh, ... with high probability - no.
I overlooked in your first post, that you are using
an older "embedded-PC" - sorry for the noise. Wink

Olaf

Thorsten Albers · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 756

Schmidt schrieb im Beitrag
...
> Arrgh, ... with high probability - no.
> I overlooked in your first post, that you are using
> an older "embedded-PC" - sorry for the noise. Wink

He also uses Win 98SE the support for which ATI has dismissed a long time
ago - presumably in pre-catalyst times...

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THORSTEN ALBERS Universität Freiburg
albers@
uni-freiburg.de
----------------------------------------------------------------------