# Wallpapers

> Choose the picture behind your windows: one that changes with the time of day, one of WolOS's own, or a photo of yours, and make a matching theme from it.

Source: https://wolos.org/manual/wallpapers

## What it is

The wallpaper is the picture on the desktop, behind your windows. WolOS comes with its own pictures, including **Dynamic**, which changes with the time of day, and you can use any photo of yours.

## Why WolOS does it this way

The desktop is the one part of the screen that is only for you. A picture that follows the day (bright in the morning, dusk in the evening, night after dark) makes the computer feel calmer without asking you to do anything. And because colours matter, WolOS can make a whole theme from your picture in one click.

## How

Open System Settings > **Wallpaper**, or **Choose…** on the Wallpaper row of System Settings > Appearance.

![System Settings > Wallpaper: 1 marks the Dynamic picture, 2 Wonderland Dusk, chosen, 3 Add Photo… on the row Your own photo, Any picture on this computer.](/img/manual/settings-wallpaper-wide-annotated.png)

1. **Dynamic** (1): "Dynamic shows the day picture in daytime, dusk in the evening and night after dark." It changes by itself.
2. **One of WolOS's pictures** (2): Wonderland Day, Wonderland Dusk or Wonderland Night. Click one; the chosen picture has a coloured frame and its name in bold.
3. **Your own photo** (3): click **Add Photo…** and choose any picture on the computer. It fills the screen.

The desktop changes as soon as you click. Like every look, the change can be undone in System Settings > Restore > Recent Changes.

### A theme from your picture

In System Settings > Appearance, the row **Theme from your wallpaper** has **Make Theme**. It takes the colours of your desktop picture and makes a theme from them, checked so that text stays readable, and applies it at once. It is called *From Your Wallpaper*. See [Looks and themes](/manual/themes).

## A worked example

Alice wants her cat on the desktop. She opens System Settings > Wallpaper, clicks **Add Photo…**, chooses `Dinah.jpg` in Pictures and clicks **Open**: Dinah fills the screen. In Appearance she clicks **Make Theme**, and the menus and buttons take on the ginger and cream of the photo.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| "The desktop picture couldn’t be read. Choose another in Wallpaper." | Make Theme could not read the picture. Choose another picture, then Make Theme again. |
| Your photo looks blurry | It is smaller than the screen. Use a photo with at least as many pixels as the screen (System Settings > Displays shows the resolution). |
| The wallpaper changes by itself | **Dynamic** is chosen; it follows the time of day. Choose another picture to keep one. |
| You want the old picture back | System Settings > Restore > Recent Changes > **Undo** next to Wallpaper. |