If the default Windows Vista desktop background doesn't appeal to you or if you want to change the background for another reason, you can do so at any time. Your choice of background usually reflects your personal tastewhat you like to see when your program windows are minimized or closed. Some people prefer simple backgrounds that don't interfere with their desktop icons, and others like photos of family members, pets, or favorite places.
Windows Vista comes with over 35 desktop backgrounds to choose from, including photographs, paintings, and computer art. You can preview each background on your desktop before actually applying it. If you prefer, you can opt for a plain background and then set its color. You can also choose from the 15 sample photos that come with Windows Vista or any digital image of your own.
1. | In Control Panel, under Appearance and Personalization, click the Change desktop background task.
The Desktop Background page opens, with Windows Wallpapers selected in the Picture Location list, and thumbnails of the available wallpapers grouped in categories in the box below, scrolled to the category containing your current desktop.
Troubleshooting
If your desktop background is currently set to something other than one of the Windows Wallpapers, that category is selected in the Picture Location list and shown in the box.
Tip
If Use Check Boxes To Select Items is selected in your Folder Options dialog box, a check box with a check mark appears in the corner of the current desktop background thumbnail. Otherwise, the current background is indicated by a gray box. For more information, see "Moving and Copying Folders and Files" in Chapter 3, "Working with Folders and Files."
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2. | With Windows Wallpapers selected in the Picture Location list, scroll through the available wallpapers, and click any thumbnails that interest you.
When you click a thumbnail, a preview of the wallpaper appears on the desktop behind the window.
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3. | Click the Picture Location arrow, and then in the list, click Sample Pictures.
The 15 sample pictures displayed come with Windows Vista. These pictures are stored in the Public Pictures\Sample Pictures folder. (You can also find a link to that folder in your personal Pictures folder.) They are also displayed by default in other Windows Vista features such as the Photos screen saver and the Sidebar slide show.
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4. | In the Picture Location list, click Pictures.
The Picture Location box displays the contents of your Pictures folder.
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5. | Click Browse. Then in the Browse dialog box, navigate to your Documents\MSP\SBS_WindowsVista\Chapter04 folder, and double-click the 00_Arizona02 image.
The selected picture appears as your desktop background, the Picture Location list shows the path to the practice file folder, and the entire contents of the folder appear in the Picture Location box.
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6. | Below the Picture Location box, select the Center option.
On your desktop, the picture changes to its actual dimensions. If your monitor is set to a screen resolution of 1024x768, this might result in blank space above and below the picture; a higher resolution might display blank space on all four sides.
Troubleshooting
Results can vary depending on your hardware.
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7. | Click Change background color. In the Color dialog box that opens, click any color you like, and then click OK.
The blank space around the picture changes to the selected color.
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8. | In the Picture Location list, click Solid Colors.
The window now displays 39 thumbnails of plain, solid colors.
Tip
If none of these suit your needs, you can click the More link to display the Color dialog box from which you can select any color.
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9. | Click the light gray color (third row of the second column, when the window is sized to display six thumbnails across), and then click OK to apply your background selection.
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