HOWTO: Change the Desktop Wallpaper

Document ID: IR04010

The information in this article applies to:

AutoPlay Media Studio 4.0

SUMMARY

This article explains how to change the desktop wallpaper.

DISCUSSION

Changing the desktop wallpaper on a user's computer is very easy; basically the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WallPaper" registry value must be edited. The "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WallPaper" registry value contains the full path to the image file that will be used as the desktop wallpaper.

The following file types are supported as wallpapers: *.bmp, *.gif, *.jpg, *.dib, and *.htm.

So in order to change the end use's desktop wallpaper simply use a Registry.SetValue action to set the value of "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WallPaper" to be the full path to your desktop file.

Example:

For example, here is a Registry.SetValue action that will set the desktop wallpaper to "C:\MyProgram\MyGraphics\Me.bmp":

Main key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Sub key: Control Panel\Desktop
Value name: WallPaper
Value type: REG_SZ
Value data: C:\MyProgram\MyGraphics\Me.bmp

Note: The changes will not take effect until the system is rebooted.

You can set the desktop wallpaper to use three different styles: Center, Tile, and Stretch. In order to apply those settings you will have to modify the value of the following two registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WallpaperStyle
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\TileWallpaper

In order to apply the styles use the following guide:

Center

WallpaperStyle = 0
TileWallpaper = 0

Tile

WallpaperStyle = 0
TileWallpaper = 1

Stretch

WallpaperStyle = 2
TileWallpaper = 0

MORE INFORMATION

KEYWORDS: Wallpaper, Background, Desktop, AutoPlay Media Studio 4.0, Registry.SetValue

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HOWTO: Change the Desktop Wallpaper