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Why do I get the message "Transparent controls not supported by this container"

When I insert an instance of the Symbol Factory ActiveX standard control into my application and try to change the BackStyle property to something other than Opaque - i.e. Transparent, I get a dialog that says "Transparent controls not supported by this container" and am forced to use Opaque backgrounds.  Why is this? What can be done about it?

The message "Transparent controls not supported by this container" appears when you attempt to set the BackStyle property on the Styles tab for the Symbol Factory Standard control to 0-Transparent if your ActiveX container does NOT support windowless controls.

The way ActiveX controls in general are implemented provides for 2 means of displaying the graphical object - with a visible frame around it (which is provided using a standard window object) or without the visible frame or "windowless". Not all ActiveX containers support Window-less controls. The Symbol Factory Standard Control operates in Windowless mode. 

When you put the control into your container it detects whether the container supports windowless controls. If the container supports windowless controls, we allow you to select the 0-transparent option for the background property. If your container does NOT support windowless controls then this message appears. This is the most common container compatibility issue and it only affects this property. In containers that cannot take a Windowless control you must use an opaque background and then set the background color to your desired color if other than the default. We have made changes in version 2.0 of Symbol Factory ActiveX so that we will attempt to match the background color of the underlying form when the instance of the control is first placed on the form to limit the amount of effort required.  If you find this limiting, you should contact your container vendor and ask them "when will you support windowless ActiveX controls?" - put in your enhancement request and let your voice be heard.

Examples of known containers that as of the last revision of this case did NOT support windowless controls: (Email us at support@softwaretoolbox.com if you have new information regarding a product on this list that says it now can handle a windowless control)

  • Office 97 and 2000
  • Wonderware InTouch 7.x through 9.x
  • RSView32
  • RSView Enterprise (ME, SE)

Known containers that DO support windowless controls:

  • Visual Basic 5 and 6
  • Visual C++
  • Indusoft Web Studio
  • Intellution iFix/GE Fanuc Proficy iFix