The picture that forms that background of your Desktop is called “Wallpaper” (or “Background”). Not to be confused with the pictures or patterns that appear when the computer has been left idle for a while, which is the “Screen Saver” (So called because, on older monitors, it helped to prevent “screen burn”, where parts of the monitor would become damaged from displaying the same thing for prolonged periods).
Wallpaper from a Toshiba PC
By default, your PC is probably set with the Windows 10 Standard Wallpaper, as seen above, or maybe it has been set to the Brand of your PC.
Pleasant as these pictures are, it can be nice to personalise your computer, using your own pictures. Maybe you have taken photos of some memorable holidays, or have been sent photos of your family. A son’s wedding, or daughter’s graduation. A new baby, or a gathering of the whole family. You can choose what you get to see!
Personalising
Three Little Symbols
First, I would suggest “Restoring” your browser window, so that you can see part of your desktop while reading this Article (the “Squares” button, top right). Now, right-click on a clear area of the Desktop, and you should get a Menu. The last entry will be “Personalize” (excuse USA spelling!). Click this, and you will be presented with the Background Settings window. (Again, “Restore” this, so we can see everything! If you wish, have a read about using Multiple Programs at once).
Background Settings Window
You can now choose your settings!
The top picture is a preview of your Desktop. Below this is the Menu to choose “Picture” (a single picture of your choice), “Solid Colour” (a plain background) or “Slide Show” (to make your Background change at regular intervals).
Below this are some suggested Pictures, and a Browse button. Also a “Fit” button.
Picture
If you wish to use a single picture as your Wallpaper, select Picture from the Background Menu, and then click Browse. This will open a Mini-Explorer for you to find and choose the picture you desire.
“More Options” View Button
Tip: Use the “More Options” View Button to alter the View of the Pictures so that you can see them more clearly! Keep clicking it to see different Views, or click the little down-arrow to get a choice!
Choose your Picture, and click the “Choose Picture” button! The background will change to the Wallpaper that you have chosen!
Wallpaper Shortcut!
Tip: A different way to do this is to open File Explorer, find your chosen Picture and right-click on it. The Menu that appears will have “Set as desktop background” as an option!
Solid Colour
If you wish your Background to be a solid colour, chose this option, and you will be given a selection of colours to choose from. Or if none of these suit your taste, you can click the closest, and then choose “Custom Colour”, to adjust it.
Slide Show
If you select this option, you can choose a folder that contains pictures, and your Wallpaper will change between those pictures.
The default time for each picture is 30 minutes, but you can set this as low as 1 minute, or as high as 1 day.
You can also choose to “shuffle” the pictures, displaying a random one each time, or leave them in the order they are in the Folder.
You can choose your Pictures Folder, or any other Folder for this.
Some people like to make their own “Wallpapers” folder, and copy specific pictures into it, and I would recommend doing this, as it avoids Windows trying to display pictures that are not meant as Wallpapers, such as very small pictures, or pictures that are not the right shape.
Choose a Fit
At the bottom of these options, is this Menu, offering such settings as “Fill”, “Stretch”, “Tile”, etc.
These are how Windows deals with Pictures that are not the exact same size as the Screen. Why not try a few, to see how they work.
To Finish:
Why not let me know what you use as your Desktop Wallpaper!
