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Informix Error -1136

-1136 Window is too large to fit on the screen.

The window dimensions that are specified in the WITH clause of this OPEN WINDOW statement conflict with the size of the screen. The entire window cannot be displayed, so the statement is not executed. If the WITH clause specifies dimensions, you can use smaller ones; if it specifies a form, the SCREEN statement in the form specification sets the dimensions. Alternatively, you might be able to get the window into the screen by changing the origin that is provided in the AT clause. The dimensions of the terminal for UNIX systems are determined when the program starts by reading termcap information (or terminfo information, depending on the value of the INFORMIXTERM environment variable). Screen dimensions that are correct for one user of the program might not be correct for all. On DOS systems, the window size is always 24 lines by 80 characters.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-1136 fires when a window's dimensions (whether given explicitly in a WITH clause or via a form's SCREEN statement) don't fit within the current screen/terminal size — per the official guidance, this is a size-conflict, checked against the terminal dimensions in effect (termcap/ terminfo on UNIX).

  1. A window's WITH clause dimensions larger than the current terminal, per the official guidance — the direct, common cause.
  2. A form's SCREEN statement dimensions larger than the current terminal, per the official guidance — the same conflict, defined at the form level instead of the statement level.
  3. The window's origin (AT clause) combined with its size pushing it past the terminal's edge, per the official guidance's suggested fix of adjusting the origin.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Reduce the window's dimensions, per the official guidance, whether set via WITH or the form's SCREEN statement.
  2. Adjust the origin point in the AT clause, per the official guidance, if the size itself is fine but the position pushes it off-screen.
  3. Verify the terminal's actual size settings, per the official guidance, particularly on UNIX where termcap/terminfo determines it.
Examples
A window too large for the terminal
OPEN WINDOW w1 AT 1, 1 WITH 30 ROWS, 100 COLUMNS
-- -1136: the terminal is only 24 lines by 80 columns
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Check the terminal's actual dimensions (via termcap/terminfo on UNIX, or the DOS 24x80 default) against the window's requested size and origin.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -1135 — "The row or column number in DISPLAY AT exceeds the limits of your terminal." A related terminal-size error, about a single DISPLAY ... AT position rather than a whole window's dimensions.
  • -1137 — "Cannot open window." A related window error, about insufficient memory rather than terminal dimensions.

The window's dimensions or position don't fit the current terminal — reduce its size or adjust its origin.