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Desktop Decorator : Changing your wallpaper the easy way in .NET

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18 Apr 20041 min read 111.1K   3.6K   31   14
An article describing how to change the wallpaper using .NET and C#

Image 1

Introduction

This small article describes how to set the desktop wallpaper. There's really not much to it. The sample application is a Windows Forms application and uses the "Wallpaper" class to set the wallpaper. The class can set wallpaper from most image sources, including images stored locally or on the network/internet. To use the sample application, run it, select an image, and click the Apply button. To test the URL loading, try selecting an image from a web-page, for example, http://hp.msn.com/global/c/lg/msft_118x35.gif

Using the code

The class for setting the desktop wallpaper is named, not surprisingly, "Wallpaper". It contains one public method name 'Set'. This takes two parameters, a URI that points to the image you want to use, and a "Style" enumeration that specifies how you want the image displayed (tiled, centered, or stretched).

C#
public sealed class Wallpaper 
{
 ...
  public enum Style : int 
  { 
   Tiled, 
   Centered, 
   Stretched 
  } 

  public static void Set ( Uri uri, Style style ) 
  {
    ...
  } 
}

Points of Interest

The class first saves your image to a temporary file using a Windows Bitmap format. This allows you to pass other image formats, such as a gif and jpeg files and have them automatically converted and used as wallpaper images. The class also allows source images from almost any location. A URI is passed which describes where the image is located. Feel free to use this code however you please. The usual stuff: if it buggers up your machine/life etc. then it's not my fault!

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


Written By
Web Developer
United States United States
I was born at a very young age. My hobbies include reading pornography and killing squirrels.

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
Member 1003638211-Dec-13 0:18
professionalMember 1003638211-Dec-13 0:18 
Generalhi Pin
sandeepparekh2-Jun-11 21:26
sandeepparekh2-Jun-11 21:26 
QuestionHow change html file to wallpaper? Pin
DimaNikolaevich7-Aug-06 7:18
professionalDimaNikolaevich7-Aug-06 7:18 
Questionhow can i get current wallpaper,not use regedit info? Pin
argoli19-Mar-05 16:02
argoli19-Mar-05 16:02 
GeneralA little sugestion with Centered Pin
whitesnake6-Feb-05 16:54
whitesnake6-Feb-05 16:54 
GeneralProxies and thanks Pin
Paul Watson20-Aug-04 7:53
sitebuilderPaul Watson20-Aug-04 7:53 
GeneralRestore original wallpaper Pin
Antonio Barros22-Apr-04 4:24
professionalAntonio Barros22-Apr-04 4:24 
GeneralRe: Restore original wallpaper Pin
S0k4r13-Dec-04 23:53
S0k4r13-Dec-04 23:53 
GeneralI looked at this method too Pin
Nathan Blomquist19-Apr-04 6:05
Nathan Blomquist19-Apr-04 6:05 
GeneralRe: I looked at this method too Pin
Jason Henderson20-Apr-04 3:33
Jason Henderson20-Apr-04 3:33 
GeneralRe: I looked at this method too Pin
Nathan Blomquist20-Apr-04 5:17
Nathan Blomquist20-Apr-04 5:17 
GeneralGood Hobbies Pin
NormDroid19-Apr-04 1:59
professionalNormDroid19-Apr-04 1:59 
Glad to see a man has one or more hobbies Wink | ;)
GeneralRe: Good Hobbies Pin
Uncle Monkey19-Apr-04 2:50
Uncle Monkey19-Apr-04 2:50 
GeneralRe: Good Hobbies Pin
hxxbin23-Apr-04 4:59
hxxbin23-Apr-04 4:59 

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