Scott's Wallpaper Switcher

(c) SB-Software, smbaker@sb-software.com

Purpose:

Scott's Wallpaper Switcher is a system tray tool designed to allow you to quickly switch between wallpapers on your windows desktop. You can also configure the program to automatically switch wallpapers at predetermined intervals (like every 5 minutes). There is a built in "boss key" feature where clicking the system tray icon will bring up a "safe" wallpaper just in case you are in the habit of running inappropriate wallpapers on your windows desktop. This software is freeware, and is free for noncommercial use.

Quick Start:

The install program will create a "Scotts wallpaper switcher" icon on your windows desktop.

  1. Click the program icon to get started. This will bring up the wallpaper switcher dialog.
  2. Now, click the <Add> button to add some wallpaper files to the main window of the switcher.
  3. You can double click any file listed in the dialog to switch to it immediately.
  4. If you enable "auto sequencing" then the wallpapers will switch automatically.

The are three ways to use the "boss feature"

  1. You can press the <Switch to Boss Paper Now> button
  2. ... or ... If you check "enable tray icon left click boss paper", then any time you click the system tray icon (it looks like a little green "WP"), it will switch to the boss paper.
  3. ... or ... Right click the system tray icon and click "Boss"

If you use any of the boss-key options, then auto-sequencing will be disabled until you re-open the main program window.

The boss paper is configured by the little <pick boss paper> button. By default, it will pick windows XP "bliss" if you've got it.

Buttons on the main window

The program is really self explanatory, but here's a run-down if you get stuck:

<Add> Add another wallpaper to the list
<Delete> Remove the currently selected wallpaper
<Set Mode> Toggle the mode between tiled, centered, or stretched
<Move Up> Move the paper up in the list
<Move Down> Move the paper down in the list
<Sequence Now> Pick the next paper in the list right now
<Pick Boss Paper> Select which paper will be the "boss" paper
<Switch to Boss Paper Now> Immediately switch to the boss paper

Configuration options on the main window:

Auto-Sequence Causes wallpapers to change at predetermined intervals
Enable Tray Icon Left Click "Boss" paper Normally, when you click the tray icon, the program dialog will appear. However, you can also use this for boss mode. Select this option, and clicking the tray icon will display the boss paper. (You can still "right click" the tray icon to get a menu, open and close the program, etc)
Auto-Load on Windows Startup This will make the program automatically load on windows startup

Wallpaper Modes:

There are several different modes that you can use to display your wallpaper. Generally, if your wallpaper is the same size as your desktop, then the mode does not matter. However, if your wallpaper is a different size than your desktop, then it'll have to be stretched, centered, or tiled to fill the whole desktop.

Center The wallpaper is centered on the desktop. If the wallpaper is smaller than the desktop, then there'll be blank space around it
Tile The wallpaper is tiled (repeated) until it fills the entire desktop.
Stretch The wallpaper is stretched to fill the desktop. If the wallpaper has a different aspect ratio than the desktop, then the aspect ratio may become distorted.
Nonlinear-1 Performs a nonlinear stretch on the wallpaper. This is intended to help with wallpapers whose aspect ratio does not match the screen. By using a nonlinear effect, objects near the center of the wallpaper will appear with a correct aspect ratio, while objects towards the edges will become distorted.
Nonlinear-2 Like nonlinear-1, but with greater effect
Nonlinear-3 Like nonlinear-2, but with greater effect

Contacting the Author:

You can usually find him at http://www.sb-software.com/ or check his products page at http://www.sb-software.com/curproj.html

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