Copyright: Copyright ® 1993 Aristosoft, Inc.


Wallpaper Changer Contents
Wallpaper Changer

Wallpaper Changer allows you to  create custom lists of bitmap files--wallpaper playlists--which are played on your desktop as wallpaper.  Several options allow you to customize how the pictures will appear.

Playing Wallpaper Playlists

Managing Wallpaper Playlists

Loading Wallpaper Playlists

Saving Wallpaper Playlists

Changing Playback Options

Other Options


Playing Wallpaper Playlists

When a wallpaper playlist is played, it starts changing your desktop wallpaper.  The rate of changed depends on playback options.

To begin playing a playlist:

o	Press the Start button.  The wallpaper will continue change until you exit Wallpaper Changer or press Stop.  The duration each wallpaper is displayed can be changed using a playback option.

To stop playing a playlist:

o	Press the Stop button.


Managing Wallpaper Playlists
Managing Picture Playlists

Wallpaper Changer displays a list of pictures in the current playlist.  If the "Scramble playback order" option is not selected, they are displayed in the order they will be played.

To create a new playlist:

o	Choose New from the File menu.  You may be asked if you want to save the current playlist first.  You may also be asked if you want to remove any pictures in the current playlist from your hard disk.  Only pictures which are also on a CD-ROM will be removed.

To add new pictures to the playlist:

o	Press the Add button.  A dialog box allowing you to choose one or more pictures will appear.  Press OK when done to add the pictures you have selected to the end of the playlist.

Several options require that you select pictures in the playlist before performing an action.

To select pictures in the playlist:

o	Click on the picture name with the mouse.  Multiple pictures can be selected by holding down the Control or Shift keys while choosing them.

To preview pictures in the playlist:

o	Select the pictures you want to  preview.

o	Press the Preview button.   Each picture will be displayed as a wallpaper for a few seconds.

o	When you are done, press Stop.

To remove pictures from the playlist:

o	Select the pictures you want to remove.

o	Press the Remove button.

Note:	Removing a picture from a playlist doesn't delete the picture from your hard disk.

To change the order of pictures in the playlist:

o	Select the pictures you want to move.

o	Press the Up and Down buttons to move them up and down.  You cannot move the topmost picture past the top of the list, or the bottommost past the bottom.

Note:	The order of the playlist matters only if the "Scramble playback order" option is not checked.

To  sort the playlist:

o	Press the Sort button.  The pictures will be sorted based on their description.

Note:	The order of the playlist matters only if the "Scramble playback order" option is not checked.

To save the current playlist:

o	See Saving Wallpaper Playlists.

To load a playlist from disk:

o	See Loading Wallpaper Playlists.


Saving Wallpaper Playlists

Wallpaper Changer lets you save different wallpaper playlists to disk.  You can also specify that one playlist be the default startup playlists.  This playlist will load and start playing whenever Windows and Wallpaper Changer are loaded.

To save the current playlist to disk:

o	Choose Save from the File menu.  If you'd like to save the playlist using a different filename, choose Save As.

o	Enter a file name for the playlist, if required.  Wallpaper Changer playlists generally use the extension .wal.  If you'd like this playlist to be loaded every time Wallpaper Changer is loaded, check the "Make default playlist" option.

o	Press OK.

Note:	Specifying a startup wallpaper playlist will insert Wallpaper Changer into your Startup group so it can start changing papers whenever you run Windows.  You can press the "Don't Autoload" button if you do not want Wallpaper Changer to load automatically whenever you run Windows.


Loading Wallpaper Playlists
Saving Wallpaper Playlists

Wallpaper Changer can load different wallpaper playlists.  These can be either ones you have previously saved or pre-supplied playlists.

To load a playlist from disk:

o	Choose Open from the File menu.  You may be asked if you want to save the current playlist first.  You may also be asked if you want to remove any pictures used in the current playlist.  Only pictures which are also on a CD-ROM will be removed.

o	Choose the playlist.  Wallpaper Changer playlists generally use the extension .wal.

o	Press OK.  You may be asked if you want to copy any pictures used in the new playlist to your hard disk.


Changing Playback Options

Wallpaper Changer allows several playback options to be customized for each picture in the playlist.

Several options require that you select pictures in the playlist before performing an action.

To select pictures in the playlist:

o	Click on the picture name with the mouse.  Multiple pictures can be selected by holding down the Control or Shift keys while choosing pictures.

To change how pictures will appear on your screen:

o	Select the pictures you'd like to change.

o	Choose either centered, tiled, or stretched from Display Options:

Display Option	Effect

Centered	The picture will appear in the center of your screen, in its original size.  If the picture is smaller than your screen, the Windows wallpaper and desktop patterns will appear around it.

Tiled	The picture will be repeatedly drawn to fill the screen.  This option is best for small, "abstract" pictures and patterns.

Stretched	The picture will be stretched to fill the entire screen.  This options is useful if you have a high-resolution screen and are displaying pictures intended for lower-resolution screens.

To specify special effects for pictures:

o	Select the pictures you'd like to specify the effect for.

o	Choose an effect from the list of special effects.  "No special effect" will cause the picture to be displayed without any special effects.  "Random effect" will cause a random effect to be used each time the picture is displayed.

To make a playlist automatically play when it is opened:

o	Check the "Autoplay after opening" option.  Whenever the current playlist is opened, it will begin playing the wallpaper list immediately.

To specify how often to change the wallpaper:

o	Select the pictures you'd like to specify the duration for.

o	Specify a duration by sliding the duration slider.  All durations are in minutes.   A duration of 0 will cause the wallpaper to change about every 5-30 seconds, depending on the system.


Other Options

To hide Wallpaper Changer's icon when you minimize it:

o	Check the Hide icon when minimized option.  When the icon is hidden, the only way to restore Wallpaper Changer is to re-launch it.

To set Wallpaper Changer to load automatically each time you start Windows:

o	Press the Autoload button.  This will insert Wallpaper Changer's icon into your startup group.  The default startup wallpaper playlist will load at this time.

To stop Wallpaper Changer from loading automatically each time you start Windows:

o	Press the Don't load button.  This will remove Wallpaper Changer's icon from your startup group.