The following GDI features are available only in Windows CE, not in Windows-based desktop platforms.
| GDI feature | Windows CE supports |
|---|---|
| Bit Block Transfer | The new TransparentImage function, which transfers all portions of a bitmap except for those drawn in a specified "transparent" color. |
| Colors and Palettes | All of the pixel formats supported in Windows-based desktop platforms, as well as a soft return 2-bits-per-pixel (bpp) format. |
Windows CE does not support the following GDI features found in Windows-based desktop platforms.
| GDI feature | Windows CE does not support |
|---|---|
| Bitmaps | Compressed bitmap formats. |
| Colors and palettes | Dithering or a standard palette. If there is no color table associated with an image, the color palette selected in the device context (DC) becomes the default color table.
Windows CE does not arbitrate between the palettes of the background and foreground applications. The application running in the foreground has complete control over the system palette. |
| Device contexts (DC) | Information device contexts.
Streching or polygon-fill graphic modes. Class or private type device contexts. Multiple mapping modes. It supports only the text-mapping mode, which maps the logical coordinate systems to the physical coordinate system in a 1:1 ratio. |
| Fonts | Multiple font styles. Windows CE allows either raster or TrueType fonts to be used on a specified system, but not both. |
| Graphics objects | Paths or metafiles. |
| Pens and brushes | Dotted pens, inside frame pens, pen endcap styles, hatched brushes, or wide, dashed pens, though it does support wide pens and dashed pens. |
| Printing | Print spooling or the printing of multiple copies. Windows CE has no print manager.
Windows CE does not send graphical information directly to output devices. Instead, it passes all graphical operations to device drivers which, in turn, send the information to display devices and printers. One of the reasons Windows CE has a small footprint is because it does not need to maintain hardcoded routines for interfacing with multiple output devices. |
| Regions | Non-rectangular regions. Like Windows 95, but unlike Windows NT, Windows CE represents regions using 16-bit values. |
| Shape and line drawing | Functions necessary to draw an arc, a beizer curve, a chord, a pie, a polypolygon, or a polypolyline. |