Desktop Background - Change in Windows 8

How to Change Your Desktop Background and Slide Show in Windows 8 and 8.1

information   Information
Your desktop background can be a different picture set for each specific monitor, a single picture set for all monitors, or a slide show playing selected pictures randomly on all monitors.

This tutorial will show you how to set images of your choice as your desktop background wallpaper or slide show in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1,and Windows RT 8.1.

Note   Note
Using a picture that is the same size as the monitor(s) screen resolution will give you the best looking results.

If you have multiple monitors in a row, then using a widescreen picture that is close to the combined screen resolutions of the monitors will give you the best looking results. For example, a 3840 x 1200 widescreen picture looks great as one image across three 1920 x 1080 monitors using Fill. Your results may vary.


The default folder for Windows 8 wallpapers is located at: C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper\Windows


The hidden cache folder that stores a copy of the current desktop background image is located at:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\CachedFiles

If you are using a Microsoft account and have the Personalize setting turned on to sync, then the desktop background you currently have set will also be displayed on any PC that you sign in to with the same Microsoft account. The folder that contains this image on your PC is located below instead of the folder above:

%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\RoamedThemeFiles\DesktopBackground

Tip   Tip
For free desktop backgrounds from Microsoft, see: Desktop backgrounds - Microsoft Windows





OPTION ONE

"Set as Desktop Background" or Slide Show by Right Clicking on a Picture


1. Do either step 2, 3, or 4 below for what you would like to do.​
2. To Set a Single Picture as Desktop Background
A) In Windows Explorer, navigate to the picture that you want to set as desktop background.​
B) Right click or press and hold on the picture, and click/tap on Set as desktop background. (see screenshot below)​
Image.jpg
3. To Set Pictures as Your Desktop Background or Slide Show
A) In Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder that contains the pictures that you want to set as a slide show.​
B) Select more than one picture in the folder, right click or press and hold on the selected pictures, and click/tap on Set as desktop background.​
NOTE: You could also press and hold the CTRL key while clicking on pictures randomly to select them in the folder, then release the CTRL key when finished selecting pictures.​
C) The selected pictures will now play as a slide show on all monitors randomly, and changing the picture at the time you already had set in step 10 of OPTION TWO below.​
D) Open your Advanced Power Plan Settings. Under Desktop background settings for Slide show, make sure that you have the setting as Available, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)​
Power_Options.jpg
4. To Set a Single Picture as Desktop Background in Internet Explorer
A) While in Internet Explorer, right click or press and hold on a picture that you want to set as desktop background, and click/tap on Set as desktop background. (see screenshot below)​
NOTE: Sometimes you may need to click on a picture in Internet Explorer first to view it's largest size.​
IE-1.jpg
B) Click/tap on Yes. (see screenshot below)​
IE-2.jpg






OPTION TWO

To Change Desktop Background or Slide Show in "Personalization"


1. Do step 2, 3, or 4 below for how you would like to open Personalization.​
2. Right click or press and hold on your desktop, click/tap on Personalization, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)​
Personalize.jpg
3. Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Personalization icon, and go to step 5 below.​
4. While on the desktop, open the Charms bar, click/tap on the Settings charm, click/tap on Personalization, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)​
Step-1B.jpg
5. Click/tap on the Desktop Background link at the bottom. (see screenshot below)​
step-2.jpg
6. To the right of Picture location, either click/tap on the drop down menu arrow to select a picture folder location, or click/tap on the Browse button to navigate to and select a picture folder location. (see screenshot below)​
NOTE: This will allow you to be able to select the pictures in the folder to set as your desktop background. To remove a folder from the Picture location, see: How to Remove the Windows 7 Desktop Background Picture Location History.​
location-1.jpg
7. Do step 8, 9, or 10 below for what you would like to do.​
8. To Set a Single Picture as Desktop Background for All Monitors
NOTE: If you have more than one monitor, then the same selected picture will display on all monitors.​
A) Click/tap on a image to select (check) it, then go to step 11 below.​
OR
B) Right click or press and hold on an image, and click/tap on either Set as desktop background (one monitor) or Set for all monitors (multiple monitors), then go to step 11 below.​
9. To Set a Picture as Desktop Background for Specific Monitors
NOTE: You will not be able to do this step have if you only have one monitor. This will allow you to have a different picture on each monitor.​
A) Right click or press and hold on an image, and click/tap on Set for monitor #. (see screenshot below)​
Multi-1.jpg
B) Repeat step 9A if you have more monitors that you would like to set a specific picture for.​
C) When finished, go to step 11 below.​
10. To Set a "Slide Show" as Desktop Background for All Monitors
NOTE: If you have more than one monitor, then each monitor will show a different picture from the slide show.​
A) Select (check) as many pictures that you would like to be included in the Slide Show. (see screenshot below)​
NOTE: You could also press and hold the CTRL key while clicking on pictures randomly to select them in the folder, then release the CTRL key when finished selecting pictures.​
Slideshow-1.jpg
B) Set the Change picture every time option for how often you would like the pictures in the slide show to change. (see screenshot below)​
Slideshow-2.jpg
C) Check the Shuffle box if you would like the selected pictures to be played randomly in the slide show. (see screenshot above)​
D) If you like, and if available, check the When using battery power, pause the slide show to save power box. (see screenshot above)​
NOTE: This option is only available if your computer has a battery (ex: laptop or tablet), or is connected to a UPS.​
E) Open your Advanced Power Plan Settings. Under Desktop background settings for Slide show, make sure that you have the setting as Available, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)​
Power_Options.jpg
F) Go to step 11 below.​
11. Under Picture position, click/tap on how you want the selected picture(s) to show on the desktop background. (see screenshot below)​
position.jpg
12. When finished, click/tap on the Save changes button at the bottom. (see screenshot under step 6)​
13. You can now close the Personalization window if you like. (see screenshot under step 5)​



That's it,
Shawn


 

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Thanks for this great tutorial!!

Do you know if it is possible when using the slideshow function to force that the same wallpaper is shown on each screen when using multiple monitors.

I tried searching the internet and the only thing i can find is how glad people are that there's a new feature that Windows 8 is showing a different wallpaper on each monitor.

I only prefer the same wallpaper on each monitor.

Hopefully you or someone else can help me out.

Thanks in advance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Hello Wienen, and welcome to Eight Forums.

So far, I don't know of a way to not have the slideshow display a different wallpaper on each monitor when you have more than one monitor. :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
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    Custom self built
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    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
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    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
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    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
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    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello Wienen, and welcome to Eight Forums.

So far, I don't know of a way to not have the slideshow display a different wallpaper on each monitor when you have more than one monitor. :(

Thanks Brink for your quick reply!!

To bad for me :( i'l keep searching an if i'l find a tweak i will let you know!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Hello

I would like to set up slides show as background.
My Pictures folder contain tens of orginized folders and subfolders with pictures.
It is well described in tutorial how to set up slides show from content of one folder (i.e choose all pictures inside folder).

Question is: How to choose all pictures in all folders.

I really appreciate your help.

Cheers

Alex
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Hello Alex, and welcome to Eight Forums.

You could select your Pictures library to have all images from all included folders available for the slide show.


Hope this helps, :)
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
ok... I like to stick my wallpapers in the wallpapers folder... can I safely do this on windows 8 and NOT have the computer pitch a fit?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5
Hello xraiderv1,

Sure, you can have your images saved where you like. It's the same as it was in Windows 7 with this. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
makes it easy. I've on occasion had an oops where I moved something and suddenly my wallpapers arent loading, at least when I used to store them in one of the desktop folders.

thanks man.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5
Anytime. I like using the Wallpaper folder myself. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello, is there a way to increase the maximum number of files used in desktop background slideshow? I've noticed that it is capped.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba L305-s5919
    CPU
    Core2Duo T8100
    Memory
    4G
    Graphics Card(s)
    Weaksauce
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M4 and Mechanical mod in cd bay
    Antivirus
    Defender
Hello Hotrippr, and welcome to Eight Forums.

How many were you allowed to have selected?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
446 out of 446...maybe that's not the issue. After actually counting them I guess the actual problem is that they are all not being included in the slideshow, I have it shuffled and it seems to repeat or favor some pics and excludes others. I will try unticking shuffle and see if it cycles all 446.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba L305-s5919
    CPU
    Core2Duo T8100
    Memory
    4G
    Graphics Card(s)
    Weaksauce
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M4 and Mechanical mod in cd bay
    Antivirus
    Defender
Hi there,

I have a friend who runs Win8 that asked me if there was a way to set a schedule for different folders to run as slide shows on different days of the week.

Such as folder 1 on Monday, folder 2 on Tuesday, etc........

Is this possible or maybe a program or tweak of some kind that can achieve this?

Thank you,

Donna :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
Hello Donna, and welcome to Eight Forums.

You could include several folders of images in the slide show if you select a library with the folders included to have them all shuffle. However, you are not able to schedule different folders unless you select different folders manually.

I'm not aware of any program that has that option so far. :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello Brink,

Thank you for the welcome! :D

I didn't think it was possible even with the Windows Task Scheduler (which was her argument) since Windows can't differentiate the days of the week.

Thank you kindly!

Donna :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
You're welcome Donna. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Glad it could help Colton, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello Brink, is third-party software required to set a Single Picture as Desktop Background for one Monitor and Slide Show for another monitor?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP/Vista/7/8 Quadruple Boot
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