I wanted to see what MS uses for their main panel size so I opened the default 777 up in Photo Shop. MS uses index color for all their panels. The size of the panel is 10.667 inches by 8 inches at 96 dpi and is only 768K in size.I then opened some panels in other aircraft and noted they not only varied in size but most were done using RGB color. The same 10.667 inches by 8 inches using RGB is 2.25M. That's almost 3 times the size. It is easy to covert the RGB to Index and save the memory but should I. It seems to me that the 768k will load faster and allow for better frame rates. Am I wrong? Your comments are appreciated.My screen is set at 1024 x 768 at 32 bits. (96dpi)

It does not matter as FS always internaly any bitmap (gauge and panel) to an internal format which is always the same for all graphics elements. I've read some thread about people having problems with gradients showing well in paint program but with banding in FS. This is the reason why, no matter how much you tweak in the paint program...Hope this helps!

Depends on the computer. If you're running a higher end system with a top of the line video card, a 32bit (2.25mb) image all the way around is fine. If you're running a slower system and all the views are 32bit, it could slow things down. Generally, I find it best to use a high quality 32bit image for the main panel and then use the index color (256bit 769kb) side panels. Not quite as nice, but they still look good and don't use near as much ram and switch quicker on less than optimal rigs. Switching from 32 bit to 256bit in photoshop is just a quick click under the mode tab; so it's not a big deal.

Thanks for the feed back. I will use the RGB for better color and detail.KSPI