Desktop wallpaper

[Guest]

Hi- I'd like to be able to use certain photos, of animals, as my wallpaper.
However, although I can normally work out the size of the photo to work
properly, I cannot get the resolution right. The photo ordinarily appears
blocky-too few pixels I think. I have Microsoft Picture and PSP 10 but I
don't see how to change the resolution of said photo, if that is in fact what
is necessary. I've noticed that many people are able to use photos, but it's
just not working for me. I'm wondering if my monitor, while it has an analog
or digital choice on it's menu, is the problem as it won't allow me to use
digital.
I hope this makes some sense. Can anyone advise?

HP, XP PRO, pentium 4, ViewSonic LCD 19" monitor

 

[Smoker]

Hi- I'd like to be able to use certain photos, of animals, as my
wallpaper.
However, although I can normally work out the size of the photo to work
properly, I cannot get the resolution right. The photo ordinarily appears
blocky-too few pixels I think. I have Microsoft Picture and PSP 10 but I
don't see how to change the resolution of said photo, if that is in fact
what
is necessary. I've noticed that many people are able to use photos, but
it's
just not working for me. I'm wondering if my monitor, while it has an
analog
or digital choice on it's menu, is the problem as it won't allow me to use
digital.
I hope this makes some sense. Can anyone advise?

HP, XP PRO, pentium 4, ViewSonic LCD 19" monitor
--

You need a digital capable video card and special cable to use the DVI port
and settings on your monitor. Possibly an adapter to a VGA card would work.
If you don't know what your monitor default settings should be you shouldn't
be trying to change settings.

If this is your only problem and all else is ok then right click on your
desktop and choose Properties then click on the Settings tab at the top
right. That page will show what your current settings are and is where you
can change them. It will say what your resolution is and that's probably the
size you want your wallpaper to be if you want it full screen. If it's 1024
x 768 then set your photo up that size in one of your apps.

If you still have problems post back to this thread.

 

[Malke]

Hi- I'd like to be able to use certain photos, of animals, as my wallpaper.
However, although I can normally work out the size of the photo to work
properly, I cannot get the resolution right. The photo ordinarily appears
blocky-too few pixels I think. I have Microsoft Picture and PSP 10 but I
don't see how to change the resolution of said photo, if that is in fact what
is necessary. I've noticed that many people are able to use photos, but it's
just not working for me. I'm wondering if my monitor, while it has an analog
or digital choice on it's menu, is the problem as it won't allow me to use
digital.
I hope this makes some sense. Can anyone advise?

HP, XP PRO, pentium 4, ViewSonic LCD 19" monitor

Hi, Alan. The issue you're experiencing has nothing to do with whether
you connect your monitor in either digital or analog mode. It has to do
with the resolution of the monitor and the size of the pictures. Your
19" monitor has a native resolution, probably 1280x1024. Refer to the
monitor manual for this information or look it up on ViewSonic's website
for that model.

The pictures are blocky because they are too small for the screen. You
need a picture that is the same resolution as the monitor. If you put a
picture of a kitty that is only 640x400 (or even less) on the monitor,
it will appear pixelated because the picture's data is being stretched
to cover the monitor screen. You can control how the desktop wallpaper
is displayed from the Display applet in Control Panel. You will see that
you have the option of centering, stretching to fit the screen, or tiling.

Use an image management program to determine the size of your pictures.
Irfanview is a good, free program with many image handling capabilities.
Get it at www.irfanview.com.

Malke

 

[Mike Hall - MS MVP Windows Shell/User]

You have an apt name..

You need a digital capable video card and special cable to use the DVI
port and settings on your monitor. Possibly an adapter to a VGA card would
work. If you don't know what your monitor default settings should be you
shouldn't be trying to change settings.

If this is your only problem and all else is ok then right click on your
desktop and choose Properties then click on the Settings tab at the top
right. That page will show what your current settings are and is where you
can change them. It will say what your resolution is and that's probably
the size you want your wallpaper to be if you want it full screen. If it's
1024 x 768 then set your photo up that size in one of your apps.

If you still have problems post back to this thread.

 

[Malke]

Thanks Everyone!
I tried, once before, to change the default
resolution from 1280x1024 via the control panel. It helped the photo, a bit,
but the rest of the desktop was unsatisfactory. I thought about "Smoker's"
suggestion , but I have an inexpensive (embedded, I think) graphic card and
am a pauper so I really can't go that route
I'm going to try the irfanview program that Malke, so nicely,
suggested. If that doesn't work, oh well! There are a ton of animal
wallpapers ( meerkats rule! lol) and I'll just keep looking.
Thanks for the help, alan

You're very welcome. The solution is to use pictures that are 1280x1024
or to use irfanview to resize pictures you already have. You can't make
a small picture look good at a bigger resolution without its getting
pixelated because there is a finite amount of data in that file. As a
note of caution, be careful where you get pictures and screensavers,
particularly screensavers. Screensavers are a favorite way for The Bad
Guys to give you a virus since a screensaver is actually a program.

Look at Webshots, National Geographic, WinCustomize, etc. I like the art
site www.caedes.net particularly.

Malke