Back"I just upgraded to AmigaOS 3.1 from 2.x, and DataTypes doesn't work! Why?"
Usually, this problem occurs when you keep the old S:startup-sequence file, instead of using the one installed with the 3.1 upgrade. DataTypes looks for #?.datatype files in a directory called LIBS:DataTypes, but the AmigaOS 3.x stores them in a directory called SYS:Classes/DataTypes. Therefore, the startup-sequence contains a line which adds SYS:Classes to the LIBS: assign. To fix the problem, either use the startup-sequence provided with the 3.1 upgrade, or add the line "Assign >NIL: LIBS: SYS:Classes ADD" to your startup-sequence.
"Why does my Workbench backdrop picture look terrible?"
Commodore software engineers added a new feature to AmigaOS 3.x, a pen-sharing system, so programs can share a screen, and dynamically allocate the colors they need. Since each screen only has a limited number of pens (up to 256 on AGA), programs set their required precision for color matching, depending on the importance of getting the right colors. The picture.datatype asks for the lowest precision when allocating colors, as the system designers considered a backdrop picture a frill. Besides that, the picture.datatype just doesn't remap pictures very well.
Use the ObtainBetterPens (v0.2, 3,861 bytes) patch to boost the requested precision for all pen requests. This uses up the free pens on your Workbench, but usually results in a better-looking backdrop picture. As an alternative, use FastIPrefs (v40.28, 32,183 bytes), a replacement for the system IPrefs program, which includes a new WBPattern Preferences editor that allows you to set the precision for pen requests. Not only that, it uses less memory, and speeds up the backdrop picture loading. In addition, you can also try picture.datatype v43, which optionally dithers pictures when remapping them.
Last update: Tue Aug 13 18:27:42 1996 Copyright 1996 by Jonathan Gapen. Maintained using hsc for AMIGA.