im making a simple sprite file format by making a header (which is only 8 bytes by the way, two ints ), then placing all the bitmaps in a row in the file....now when i extract the file from the sprite file im cheating for the moment by writing it back to a temporary bitmap then loading it to an HBITMAP with the win32 function LoadImage () (then blitting it to a surface blah blah blah). It fails to load the temporary bitmap but pbrush opens it fine. I noticed that the temp bitmap is slightly bigger (about 10 - 40 bytes) than the original (remember it opens fine in paint). Any ideas? ----------------------------- -cow_in_the_well ''When in doubt, empty your magazine.'' - Murphy''s Combat Law