At 05:54 PM 9/29/00 +0800, Guy Worthington wrote:
>Can I insert text into the topframe boundary?  My attempt doesn't get
>the boundaries to abut and consequently looks too toothy.
>
>\starttext
>
>\startframedtext[topframe=off]
>    \textrule[top]{method() fence}
>    The value of variables inside this fence are isolated 
>    from the values outside.
>\stopframedtext
>
>\stoptext

Now, did you expect the following solution? 

% output=pdftex 

\setupcolors[state=start]

\def\FrameText#1%
  {\startuseMPgraphic{FunnyFrame}
     picture p ; numeric w, h, o ; 
     p := btex \strut#1 etex ; 
     w := \overlaywidth ; 
     h := \overlayheight ; 
     o := \the\bodyfontsize/2 ;
     p := p shifted (4o,h-ypart center p) ; draw p ; 
     drawoptions (withpen pencircle scaled 1pt withcolor red) ; 
     draw (3o,h)--(0,h)--(0,0)--(w,0)--(w,h)--(xpart urcorner p+o,h) ;
     draw boundingbox p enlarged(o,0) withcolor red ; 
     setbounds currentpicture to unitsquare xyscaled(w,h) ;  
   \stopuseMPgraphic}

\defineoverlay[FunnyFrame][\useMPgraphic{FunnyFrame}]

\defineframedtext[FunnyText][frame=off,background=FunnyFrame]

\def\StartFrame#1{\FrameText{#1}\startFunnyText}
\def\StopFrame                 {\stopFunnyText }

\starttext

\StartFrame{method() fence}
  The value of variables inside this fence are isolated 
  from the values outside.
\StopFrame

\StartFrame{is this object stuff}
  The value of variables inside this fence are isolated 
  from the values outside.
\StopFrame

\typefile{test}

\stoptext

It makes a nice demo for the metafun manual,

Hans