In retain mode, graphics are retained in the segment store only. They are not directed to the current device as they are created.
In retain mode, the presentation space does not have to be associated with a device context when graphics are being defined. It is possible to define graphics and store their definitions without sending them to a display screen or printer. The concept of attribute currentness, however, is relevant only when you are drawing graphics to an output device. For example, the color or other attribute that is current when you define a primitive is the color in which the line is drawn. That color or other attribute might not be the color that is current when you you actually draw the primitive. This is described in Attribute Currentness.
Many of the GPI queries that return current attribute values are invalid in retain mode because current attribute values have no effect when graphics are not sent to an output device.