When displaying a color palette, it is possible to control how the palette is displayed or presented using the [-palettetype] argument. There are three different presentations of the color palette which include:
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1 - Color Bar
2 - Color Cell
3 - Color Wheel
By default, the visualization display will share its colormap with all other applications running at the same time; that is, it does not use a private colormap, but rather makes use of the default colormap. It is possible to specify that the visualization display allocate its own private colormap or "grab" all available colors for its own use. This is done using the [-priv] argument. When [-priv] is specified, moving the mouse pointer into the display window will cause the display to have its private colormap installed; moving the pointer out of the display window will cause the private colormap to be de-installed. This results in the "technoflashing" phenomenon characteristic of private colormap installation.
Color allocation can also be controlled and set to either read-only or read/write using the [-alloc] argument. When set to read-only, once a color cell has been allocated, it can have its color set only once; from then on, the color cell can be shared by multiple applications, but not changed. If the visualization display requires the color displayed to change, it must re-allocate the color cell, forcing a re-display of data. This can be an expensive procedure. In contrast, after a read/write color cell is allocated, it can have its color changed at any time without re-allocation; the data being displayed does not need to be redisplayed, and the color update process is much more efficient. However, the colors used in the visualization display cannot be shared by other applications.
The input file containing the color data to be displayed in the palette is monitored by default; the file is checked every 2 seconds for change, and if it has been modified, the palette is updated accordingly. The interval at which the input file is checked for modification may be specified using the [-update] argument.
On creation, the window which displays the color palette may be placed manually (the default method), or placed automatically. For automatic placement of the color palette window, specify the desired location in device (screen) coordinates using the [-x] and [-y] arguments.
While the color palette display window should be created with a default size that is appropriate to display the data, a width and height for the window can be specified explicitly using the [-width] and [-height] arguments. Alternatively, you may allow the palette display window to size itself initially, and then use the window manager to interactively modify its size as desired.
% putpalette -i image:mandril
% putpalette -i image:lizard
% putpalette -i image:moon