How to Change Desktop Wallpaper on Windows

This article shows you how to change the background image (also known as wallpaper) on your Windows computer screen.

Use Windows 10

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Right click on an empty spot on the screen. You will see a menu appear on the screen.

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Click Personalize . It's at the bottom of the menu that appears.

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Click the box below the "Background" heading. You can click one of the following options:

Picture - This option allows you to choose a picture as your desktop wallpaper. A series of latest images or sample images will appear here and can be selected with a mouse click. You can also click Browse and choose another photo if you don't like the existing one. Additionally, you can click the box below "Choose a fit" to change how the image is displayed (such as full screen).

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Solid color - This option allows you to choose a color (such as gray) as the background for your Windows computer screen.

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Slideshow - This option displays a series of photos in your computer's default "Pictures" folder as a slideshow. You can change folders by clicking Browse and selecting the new folder.

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It's best to create a new folder specifically for displaying your desktop wallpaper with all the images you want to use as wallpaper. For example, you could create a folder called "Desktop Slideshow" under the "Pictures" section of File Explorer.

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Close the "Personalization" window to see the new wallpaper. Just click the X in the top right corner of the page to close the window. The selected wallpaper will automatically appear on the screen when you change the settings.

Use Windows 7 and 8

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Right click on an empty spot on the screen. You will see a menu appear on the screen.

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Click Personalize . It's at the bottom of the menu that appears.

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Click "Desktop Background". You will see this link in the bottom left corner of the window.

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Click a photo. This is the operation to select a photo as your computer wallpaper.

You can also click the Windows Desktop Backgrounds menu near the top of the window to select a new picture folder (such as "Pictures").

If you want to find a photo, click Browse.

Click the check box in the upper left corner of two or more photos to create a slideshow effect. You can change the image display time and transition type at the bottom of the window.

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Click the box below the "Picture position" heading. You'll see photo display options here. Some familiar options include:

Fill - Your photo will display in full screen.

Tile - Thumbnails of the selected photo will be displayed as tiles on the screen.

Center - Your photo will appear in the center of the screen with a black border.

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Click on a photo location.

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Click Save changes . It's the option below the "Desktop Background" window. By clicking here, your changes will be applied immediately.

Use Windows Vista

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Right click on an empty spot on the screen. You will see a menu appear on the screen.

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Click Personalize . It's at the bottom of the menu.

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Click "Desktop Background". This is the second link at the top of the window.

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Click on the photo to select it as your desktop wallpaper.

You can also click the Windows Wallpapers box at the top of the window to select a new folder of pictures (such as "Pictures").

If you want to find a photo, click Browse.

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Click on photo location selection. This is the section below the heading "How should the picture be positioned?" (Where should the photo be displayed?). The choices (from left to right) include images displayed full screen, images displayed as tiles, images displayed in the center of the screen.

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Click OK below the window. With this operation, the selected photo will become your desktop wallpaper.

Use Windows XP

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Right-click on an empty space on the computer screen. You will see a menu appear on the screen.

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Click Properties . It's at the bottom of the menu that appears.

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Click the Desktop tab. It's above the "Properties" window.

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Click on the screenshot selection. You'll see several options under the "Background" heading; When you click one of the choices, the results appear in a preview near the top of the page.

You can also click Browse to select another photo.

To choose a background color, you'll click None . The next thing to do is click on the box under "Color" in the bottom right corner of the window and select a color.

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Click the box below the "Position" heading in the lower right corner of the "Properties" window. You will see three options here:

Stretch - Your photo will display in full screen.

Tile - Thumbnails of the selected photo are displayed as tiles on the screen.

Center - Your photo will appear in the center of the screen with a black border.

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Click on a photo location. This is the operation to select the image display location.

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Click OK below the window to save the changes.

Update 23 June 2024
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