Top 10 Wallpaper Tools & Tweaks
A good wallpaper provides a pleasant backdrop to productivity. A great wallpaper changes your whole computer experience. See some of the best image sources, software and usability tweaks we’ve come across and rolled up for your downloading pleasure.
10. Wallpaper that looks like a desktop
Computer engineers spent all that research time making PCs resemble real-life workspaces, so why not indulge them a little while cleaning up your work space? Desktop wallpapers, in the strictest sense of the term, use visual representations of a wooden desk, a document stack, sticky notes and other tools you’d use to organize a real desk to give you a place to put program icons and loose documents. Gabriel’s layered desktop on Flickr is a prime example of such a spatial hack, and it’s a good starting point for creating your own divided desktop.
9. Relive your time-wasting past (or present)
Nothing particularly tricky about this item, just a pointer to some pretty amazingly detailed, stylish, and joy-evoking wallpapers. DeviantArt member Orioto paints wallpapers so fresh and eye-catching, we’ve highlighted them twice. They’re note quite as stylised, but DesktopGaming has a wide-reaching collection of wallpaper sized just right for your system.
8. Match it with a custom theme
What good is having a slick, minimalist black background if all your program windows have to be cartoon-y, Windows XP blue? Break out of the blue/gray/Windows 98 lockdown by using Jason’s guide to custom themes, which cracks open XP and Vista’s theming restrictions and allows you to change your entire desktop’s look and feel and integrate your wallpaper into a smooth, stylish whole.
7. Embed a calendar
There are a lot of apps that can overlay a calendar on your desktop—Raindlendar comes to mind—but BigHugeLabs’ Wallpaper tool does the job nicely, with no added software and a pretty clean look. Load up images from your system, or point to images elsewhere on the web, and you’ve got quite a lot of resolution, placement, and font options to pick from.
6. Find a great source
You can spend all day hoping to find a green-ish, abstract image through Google, Flickr or other means that fits your 1440×900 and 1680×1050 monitors. Alternatively, you can try that search on one of our readers’ favourite multi-monitor wallpaper spots. Need more? We’ve also pointed out a great 70-wallpaper roundup that could play the perfect matchmaker between you and the wallpaper of your dreams.
5. Make your iPhone wallpaper productive
Your desktop’s not the only place where a background image can do more than just be covered up. gCalWall and Wallpaper Labeler, two free App Store finds for the iPhone or iPod touch, add calendar events, customised notifications and almost any other text you’d like to see on your device’s “Slide to Unlock” screen. Check out our screenshot tour to see if you’d benefit from having a very expensive reminder note in your pocket.
4. Use multi-monitor images with UltraMon or DisplayFusion
We have a hard time choosing between these two little Windows software bundles, both of which offer a lot of functionality in their free versions, yet enough of an upgrade to make paying a small bit worth it. Whichever way you go, these Windows apps make it easy to manage separate images, or stretched giganto-images, across two, three, or however many monitors you’re rocking. If you like to rotate, images, pull from Flickr, or otherwise mix up your images, well, they’ve got you covered there, too.
3. Rotate your wallpaper
Save your right-click finger some stress and keep your desktop fresh by rotating your background images automatically. We like how freeware apps Wallpaper Clocks and Desktopia shift wallpapers to match clock faces or the current amount of sunlight. For Windows users, Wallpaper Juggler is free, open-source, and can automatically grab and download wallpaper from great sources. Linux users have quite a few rotation options. The key to a great, time-sensitive wallpaper is having a good set of images. When I’m rocking Ubuntu Linux, for example, I sometimes keep the Dawn of Ubuntu set loaded to provide a background awareness of just how long I’ve been working (or having a great day).
2. Add killer customisations
They go way beyond wallpaper, but some of the best total desktop packages we’ve seen ’round these geeky parts—the Enigma, Lightning at Sunset, All About the Icons, and many more—are fully explained by their authors. That means links to the wallpaper sources, yes, but it also means the customisable clocks, text displays, and other features that look so perfect paired up with their chosen wallpaper can be easily added to your own desktop. You only have to go as far as you want, and there’s lots of room for customisation.
1. Roll Your Own
Want killer wallpaper that’s really hard to find? Make it yourself. We’re not suggesting you bust out Microsoft’s Paint and paint your own landscapes (though feel free, really), but try some of the more intriguing wallpaper generators out there. Repper flips any image into striking wallpaper suitable for tiling. Collagr makes classy, well, collages from Flickr sets, and Top Draw generates abstract graphics on the fly. Want more fine-grained control? We like how Mike Matas used iPhoto and a plug-in to make a “Life Poster,”, but the look can just as easily be accomplished in Picasa, and sized for the desktop instead of the office wall.
Let’s hear—and, more importantly, see!—your own wallpaper modifications, your favourite image sources, and other tips in the comments.
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@Phoshi: and not full of colors that you can't find icons or read their titles easily...
O-sama
Hey Adam you failed at English, its clearly wooden not woden you nub!!!! I'm so not reading Lifehacker anymore you guys suck.
I doubt I would be on Adams best list for writing that, but just putting out errors is fine, I mean, its better to fix typos than have typos correct?
tylerf
I'm looking for a good wallpaper switcher that supports different wallpapers for different monitors. John's Background Switcher works fine, but I get the same wallpaper on both monitors.
@haydenphb: The Rule was doing it assholishly. Like "Hey MORONHackers, you misspelled the a word, why don't you HACK YOURSELF A DICTIONARY LOL" sort of thing.
@Adam Pash: Wasn't there some sort of no-picking-on-Lifehacker-staff-for-typos... rule?
sxc.hu is great for images that can be made into wallpapers.
a simple pattern always looks nice as well. just set the display more to 'tile'. here are some attractive patterns to try out: [www.theinspirationgallery.com]
Regarding the final item in this Top 10, I have a very special and simple way of "hacking" iTunes into making great wallpapers. Simply play your favorite song on iTunes with the visualizer on as well. Make the visualizer fullscreen and, at a trippy moment you deem suitable, take a snapshot of it with the Print Screen button on your keyboard (I have also downloaded 3rd Party Prt Scr featured here: [tinyurl.com] for extra credit). Then, with limited Photoshop skills, one may edit the photo they have just taken and then use it for a killer made-it-yourself desktop. Or, you could always skip Photoshop and use the original picture for an equally awesome wallpaper. Question, comments, concerns, you know what to do.
For "Roll your own" I think Apophysis is rather nice.
[www.apophysis.org]
Can take a few minutes for it to churn out something desktop sized, and I'm sure there will be a script somewhere for making it make a new one each day.
@tylerf: Thanks for the heads up, all fixed.
@PaladinMJ: I know it's on the PS3. I've had a PS3 since launch. That's how I know about it's existence. :-/
All I wanna know is if there's a similar program for Windows.
I'm rather fond of DisplayFusion. It makes it quite easy to set different wallpapers on a multi monitor setup. The free version does everything I need of it.
[www.binaryfortress.com]
yospiff
@MC Double Def DP: that is the PlayStation 3 desktop, on the game system!
PaladinMJ
@tylerf:
What is this 'UK', you speak of.
/irony
regarding the ipod touch/iphone one, why not just take a screenshot of your notes by pressing the homescreen and lock button at the same time then set it as a wallpaper? you can write whatever you need to remember in your notes. you could even take a screenshot of other stuff you wanted. then go in saved photos on the photos app and set it as wallpaper.
works on ipod touch 2g for definate.
xxx
skinned.eep
@tylerf: Number 10: "use visual representations of a woden desk"
tylerf
Typo - "woden", I think its wooden, spelt wooden in UK.
tylerf
@Andrew von Fightmaster: I agree- John's Background switcher should be getting more love here.
Back before I upgraded to Windows 7, which has a built-in wallpaper changer, I used John's Background Switcher. It could randomly pick images out of a folder, meaning I could add images to that folder to be included in rotation without adding them in the program, as well as some other cool features like making a collage of Facebook or Flickr pictures.
Just another suggestion.
Andrew von Fightmaster
I've been wondering about a wallpaper program for quite some time now, and this seems to be the perfect place to ask.
+ Watch video
At about 0:53, you can see the user has the ability to move the wallpaper around, or zoom in and out to fit the wallpaper on his screen the exact way he wants. I've been looking for a long, long time, but is there any Windows program that does the same? The closest I could find is FastStone Image Viewer, and while one of my favorite programs, I want a little more flexibility.
I have to say my Favorite Wallpaper Tool is
WPChanger [www.snapfiles.com]
It is no longer in Development, But it works just fine
It rotates your wallpaper like the others do but it is my favorite light weight.
All the options are a plus too.
I've always preferred simple, abstract images. Much easier to put meters over, and not too busy! I do stuff on my PC, thus I don't want my wallpaper confusing me :(
@deanbmmv: Seconded. I have some rather excellent apophysis wallpapers. the 3d hack for apophysis (still in beta i think) in particular is great. Also friends are really impressed :P
Alfonzo
nice post :)
bl.ueyez
Rainmeter's the best. Oh, and customising themes. And good wallpaper of course. Did I mention Object Dock?
@Bryan Price: Display Fusion
idodialog
@johndec: You just can't "waste" RAM. All you can do is "fill it up". If you are always below 100% usage then using a couple of percent on wallpaper or a changer or goodies will not affect anything!
Stop worrying, be happy. It's a computer, it can cope!
idodialog
"both of which offer a lot of functionality in their free versions"
UltraMon does not have a free version, just a trial period. UltraMon rocks but I could never justify shelling out $40 bucks for it.
gpzbc
Instead of a calendar like rainlendar I use [www.stoicjoker.com] v1.01 for vista, you can display the date, time and day or whatever in the normal space that just the time would fit in you can also change the font and font color. You can change the order that the information is displayed in as well. It also allows for some short cuts, it's pretty cool and only uses 1 to 2mb of RAM on my system. Vista Home premium SP2.
steelew
InterfaceLIFT widescreen wallpapers is my favourite hands down
@skinned.eep: i actually didnt know that shortcut, thanks for the heads up
@haydenphb: You're speaking my lingo. Only to add, that I use Irfanview for the edits..... just simple edits... Or if I'm feeling ambitious, it will be PaintShop. Sometimes even Windows Paint or the built-in pic editor are enough.
Also, I'd like to recommend Purrint for saving screen caps on the fly.
paintbox
i currently use Active Desktop Calendar as a way of keeping my appointments. furthermore rocketdock is a nice aplication if you want to tidy up your desktop.
screenshot:
[i295.photobucket.com]
daron
i use rocketdock to give my desktop a nice (smoother) touch, and Active Desktop Calendar to keep up with my appointments. All the other customizations appear to stretch the startup time of my system just a little bit to much.
rocketdock does the job quite fine, imho.
screenshot: [i295.photobucket.com]
daron
I prefer to just have a simple desktop, without using any customization tools.
@Phoshi - Same here
Anyway. This is my desktop
[farm3.static.flickr.com]
Guybrush Threepwood
I've never understood the motivation to make your desktop beautiful. Most of the time, I have a window maximized, so I never see the desktop anyway. Might as well not waste RAM for something I never see.
johndec
It's from the same website, www.vladstudio.com, that provides the wallpaper clocks, but I think the companion program is one of the best things I've ever found.
If you like the wallpaper designs of the artist (which I do), then it's really nice to have not only an automatic wallpaper changer, but one that also accesses new wallpapers as they come out!
Unfortunately, you have to pay to register to get the high quality wallpaper images in all different sizes, but I think it's worth it. Wait until a holiday, and usually they have a sale for the lifetime membership =D
[www.vladstudio.com]
Enigma and Samurize have been my pick for a long time, but I have become addicted to the wallpaper switching themes in Windows 7. I am going try out Desktopia!
rasroygbiv
@johnconners: I had to work at missing it the first time! I just expected it to be under the More Options options list.
Poke my eye out, will ya? :)
@Bryan Price: Cool! And it'll be easier to find in the next version, I promise! :)
@johnconners: Looking under the wrong set of options!
I found it (although it took me long enough! :( )
Thanks!
@idodialog: You have to have the Pro version for that to work.
@Bryan Price: There's a 'Multiple Monitors' section on the settings dialog of JBS, choose 'Different pictures on each monitor'.
Wow, what a great post! Lovehacker
@undefined: I could, if only for the fact it's not only great at wallpapers, but has commandline switches. Doesn't play too nice with visual styles, though - switching to basic kills it then.
@kseve: yeah it should do like a cheesy camera flash and noise when you do it lol
skinned.eep
[yfrog.com]
Cyber-bizz-czar
My personal favourite for the Gnome Desktop ist Shiki-Colors. It just looks beautiful.
rawfan
ULTRAMON RULES!!!
Simieski