Background Panel

Available in: Actual Window Manager, Actual Multiple Monitors.

The Background panel allows you configure Multi-monitor Background Wallpaper:

• Background Preview control - displays the current layout of displays and the customized background view in according to settings specified below on this tab;

• Background Mode group box - allows you switching between two available modes:

  • Static radio button - select this option to use the static picture(s) to cover the desktop's background;

  • Slideshow radio button - select this option to automatically change the background picture with the specified time interval;

• Current Windows background radio button - select this option if you want to leave current Windows background settings intact;

• Settings... button - click this button to open the regular Windows "Display Properties" dialog with the "Desktop" tab activated;

• Single picture over entire desktop radio button - select this option if you have more than one monitor and want to treat them as a single seamless desktop:

  • Picture file edit box (static mode only) - here you can specify the file name of the desired background picture; also, you can click the button after this edit box to select the picture via standard "Open File" dialog;

  • Slideshow playlist list box (slideshow mode only) - use the buttons on the right of this control to add image files and folders with image files as slideshow sources. Actual Window Manager will create a single playlist from all added sources and will rotate images from that playlist in random order on the desktop's background;

  • Wallpaper position combo box - here you should specify how to treat the picture when its size larger/smaller than the entire desktop's resolution:

    center	- center the picture within the desktop (better suits for smaller pictures)
    tile	- tile the desktop with the picture starting from its top-left corner (better suits for smaller pictures)
    stretch	- make the picture of the same size as desktop (suits both smaller and larger pictures)
    proportional stretch	- same as "stretch" but keep the picture's original aspect ratio
    crop to fit	- same as "proportional stretch" but use the smaller picture's dimension (results in filling the entire screen with the central part of picture and cropping the rest)

  • Color button - click this button to customize the color for those parts of background that are not covered by the wallpaper picture.

    Hint
    This feature can be useful if you specified no wallpaper or select "center" or "proportional stretch" for its position.

  • Change interval spin edit (slideshow mode only) - specify here a delay (in minutes) between slide changes;

  Hint
  This feature can be useful if you have two or more monitors of the same physical size and the same screen resolution, arranged side by side, and want to get the consistent background view (as if you have one large display).

• Individual picture on each monitor radio button - select this option if you have more than one monitor and want to customize the background on each monitor independently (as if it would be a separate desktop):

  • Display combo box - shows the name of currently selected display device and allows selecting another display from the list;

  • Picture file edit box (static mode only) - here you can specify the file name of the desired background picture for the selected display; also, you can click the button after this edit box to select the picture via standard "Open File" dialog;

  • Slideshow playlist list box (slideshow mode only) - use the buttons on the right of this control to add image files and folders with image files as slideshow sources. Actual Window Manager will create a single playlist from all added sources and will rotate images from that playlist in random order on the selected display's background;

  • Wallpaper position combo box - here you should specify how to treat the picture when its size larger/smaller than the selected monitor's resolution:

    center	- center the picture within the monitor (better suits for smaller pictures)
    tile	- tile the monitor with the picture (better suits for smaller pictures)
    stretch	- make the picture of the same size as monitor's screen resolution (suits both smaller and larger pictures)
    proportional stretch	- same as "stretch" but keep the picture's original aspect ratio
    crop to fit	- same as "proportional stretch" but use the smaller picture's dimension (results in filling the entire screen with the central part of picture and cropping the rest)

  • Color button - click this button to customize the color for those parts of background that are not covered by the wallpaper picture.

    Hint
    This feature can be useful if you specified no wallpaper or select "center" or "proportional stretch" for its position.

  • Change interval spin edit (slideshow mode only) - specify here a delay (in minutes) between slide changes;