DEVICE calls need to be made before a graphics window is visualized. (A few DEVICE keyword settings even have to be made before the ***very first*** graphics window is opened in an IDL session, but most are valid so long as they are made before the ***next*** window is initialized on the display.) IDL graphics windows look at the state of DEVICE keyword settings only as they are being initialized, never after they are initialized. James Jones

The failure of an IDL Direct Graphics WINDOW to repaint all its contents is usually due to the inadequacy of the rules of your host's windowing system for repainting from its "backing store" when it detects window resize events. IDL's default backing store setting is 1, meaning let the operating system handle backing store. If you ever notice problems with this setting - as you are noticing now - or if your application is designed to be run on different machines, then the following command: DEVICE, RETAIN=2 will insure that IDL manages the "backing store" and that will insure that the window is "repainted" after every resize event. For a full explanation of how backing store works in IDL, go to the IDL Online Help index topic "RETAIN keyword" and follow the "Backing Store" link in that paragraph. James Jones