I think I know the answer to this one already, I'm just kind of hoping I'm wrong. Got an Allegro program running in windowed mode, animation runs in the background ... I click on another window and all animation ceases (as is expected). Is there a way to get the program to be constantly running aund refreshing the window even without focus, or do I need to get all Win32 on it?

set_display_switch_mode()?

Doesn't seem to work as advertised ... I'm to use SWITCH_BACKAMNESIA, yes? No effect. Should I be calling it anywhere in particular, like before or after set_gfx_mode()?

For Windows, you need to call it after setting the graphics mode.

You win. Works perfectly now; thanks.

what about MacOS X (10.4.6)(G4) or Linux (PPC)

You should use both, SWITCH_BACKAMNESIA and SWITCH_BACKGROUND. Which one works depends on your operative system and whether the application is fullscreen or just windowed.

They work the same way on those platforms.