How to delete copies from wallpaper list

[R.Churchill]

Im running wins XP HE, when i open the Display Properties folder and open
the desktop page so i can change the background picture, the list of
backgrounds has got dozens of copies of the same pictures is there a folder
somewhere that has all the desktop backgrounds so i can remove all the
copies.

Also is there a folder that has the screensavers in so i can add a picture
of my choice to the screensaver list

Thanks

 

[Talahasee]

Im running wins XP HE, when i open the Display Properties folder and open
the desktop page so i can change the background picture, the list of
backgrounds has got dozens of copies of the same pictures is there a folder
somewhere that has all the desktop backgrounds so i can remove all the
copies.

The wallpaper is in your C:\Windows directory. IT is in
bitmap (bmp) format. The trick is to open your Windows
folder and then select 'thumbnails" in the View dropdown
menu. I've had this problem several times. I'd create a
sorting folder on the desktop, call it "sort wallpaper" or
some such, then as you find the bitmaps (pictures) in your
Windows folder, drag each bitmap to your sorting folder.
That will enable you to be sure any stray non-bmp pictures
are out of the Windows directory as well.

Once you are sure everything is out of the Windows folder,
you can sort through your pictures and decide what to put
back. For this purpose, I go to my My Computer, and I drag a
shortcut of C onto the desktop. I then open C and drag a
shortcut of the Windows directory onto the desktop and
rename IT "Wind", so you don't confuse the shortcut with the
actual folder.

As you sort through the sort wallpaper folder and select the
bitmaps you wish to use, be sure they're in bmp format, and
be sure they're properly sized. (they must fit your
desktop). If they're too big, they'll clutter up your
Windows folder, and they will APPEAR in your wallpaper list,
but they won't display.

One reason you MAY see so many duplicates of each photo
(I've done this DOZENS of times before I figured it out) is
that you may have kept putting pictures in the folder that
were too big. Eventually, you may have managed to put in
pictures that were sized properly, and you were then able to
display them.

Ask if anything isn't clear.

And I hope this helped.

BTW, if you want a REALLY good picture formatter (translates
one format to another), and resizer, I have not found a
better program in 15 years than the old LViewPro.

If you ask, I'll post a copy. It's a tiny thing, doesn't
even take up a 1.4 mb floppy.

Oh! Almost forgot your screen savers.

The screen savers are NOT pictures. The screen savers are
tiny PROGRAMS. Some (like one that is already in the XP
system, called "My Pictures") can be programmed to use
pictures you provide.

However, to use screen savers, you must INSTALL them like
you would any other program. Some screen saver install
programs install the actual "business" end of the program
into the Windows directory. Others ask you where you'd like
to put them. I put those in a directory I call, 'C:\Program
Files\ScreenSavers\screensaver.scr"

The actual screensaver, once installed, will have a "scr"
suffix.

And there is no uniform place to put them.

If you want Windows to use YOUR supplied photos/art in the
supplied Windows screen saver, "My Pictures", go to the
screen savers screen, click on "Settings", and then browse
til you find the directory into which you've put the
pictures/art you want displayed. In this settings screen,
you can select labels, you can select duration, and you can
select other options, like what the computer does between
pictures.

There are many screen savers available online. Beware,
however, that screen savers are one of the MANY places the
weirdos hide viruses.

I had a screen saver, "bikini desk", that I tried to load a
dozen times until I figured out that it had a Trojan buried
in it.

And it was a particularly nasty Trojan that kept eating my
computer.

CAUTION!! with screen savers.


Good luck!


Tallahassee

 

[Jack]

I know that many of the wallpapers are found in
C:\WINDOWS\Web\Wallpaper.
I don't believe all of them are listed there, but I'm not totally sure. You
can take a look and see if that works for you.

As far as the screensaver, have you tried using the "My Pictures Slideshow"
screensaver found among the list of preinstalled screensavers? In the
settings, you can select what folder to use pictures from and in that
folder, you can put copies of whatever pictures you want. The actual
screensaver file is located in
C:\WINDOWS\system32 - and is called ssmypics.scr
You can create a copy of this file in that same system32 folder and rename
the copy to whatever you want (for example: Vacation Pictures). Then when
you are back at your "display properties" window in the "screensaver" tab,
you will see the "Vacation Pictures" in the list.

By doing this, you can set up various screensavers each with their
individual settings for photo slideshows. I personally don't care for the
transition effects that come with that screensaver. If you prefer nicer
transition effects, there are programs out there that will create the scr
file for you with nicer fading transitions.

I don't know if this really helps you, but I thought I'd write it anyway.

 

[Richard in AZ]

In answer to the OP's question. On a new machine the computer looks only in the
C:\windows\web\wallpaper folder for background pictures. But if you use the "browse" option to find
a picture in say "My Pictures" folder, now the computer will look in both the "wallpaper" folder and
the "My pictures" folder. If you have the same picture is both folders, you will see two listings.
Then if you right click on a webpage picture and choose "make background picture" (or what ever the
phrase is) now the computer also looks in a temporary folder where it stored the web picture. There
must be a registry change that you can make that will stop this scattered approach, but I have not
found it yet.

:I know that many of the wallpapers are found in
: C:\WINDOWS\Web\Wallpaper.
: I don't believe all of them are listed there, but I'm not totally sure. You
: can take a look and see if that works for you.
:
: As far as the screensaver, have you tried using the "My Pictures Slideshow"
: screensaver found among the list of preinstalled screensavers? In the
: settings, you can select what folder to use pictures from and in that
: folder, you can put copies of whatever pictures you want. The actual
: screensaver file is located in
: C:\WINDOWS\system32 - and is called ssmypics.scr
: You can create a copy of this file in that same system32 folder and rename
: the copy to whatever you want (for example: Vacation Pictures). Then when
: you are back at your "display properties" window in the "screensaver" tab,
: you will see the "Vacation Pictures" in the list.
:
: By doing this, you can set up various screensavers each with their
: individual settings for photo slideshows. I personally don't care for the
: transition effects that come with that screensaver. If you prefer nicer
: transition effects, there are programs out there that will create the scr
: file for you with nicer fading transitions.
:
: I don't know if this really helps you, but I thought I'd write it anyway.
:
:
:
: : > Im running wins XP HE, when i open the Display Properties folder and open
: > the desktop page so i can change the background picture, the list of
: > backgrounds has got dozens of copies of the same pictures is there a
: > folder somewhere that has all the desktop backgrounds so i can remove all
: > the copies.
: >
: > Also is there a folder that has the screensavers in so i can add a picture
: > of my choice to the screensaver list
: >
: > Thanks
: >
: >
:
: