> But is it possible to create a transparent form which is NOT ShowWindow = 2 ie Is it possible to make a normal form transparent (ShowWindow = 0 or 1)?

The SetLayeredWindowAttributes requires the WS_EX_LAYERED extended style set for the window. This style cannot be assigned to a child window (WS_CHILD).

ShowWindow=0 -- the form is a child window of the main screen
ShowWindow=1 -- the form is a child form of the active top-level form

* retrieves a handle to the specified window's parent or owner
DECLARE INTEGER GetParent IN user32 INTEGER hwnd

? _vfp.HWnd
? GetParent(_screen.HWnd)
? GetParent(_vfp.HWnd)

Some other ways, not SetLayeredWindowAttributes, must be sought to control the transparency of child windows.