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Idea #18979: Improve the wallpaper part of Ubuntu

Written by baldurpet the 1 Apr 09 at 20:12. Category: Usability. Related project: Nothing/Others. Status: New
Rationale
I find the wallpaper part of Ubuntu really lacking, so here are a couple of idea I hope might improve it.
Tags: (none)

931
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Solution #1: Be able to assign one wallpaper to each monitor
Written by baldurpet the 1 Apr 09 at 20:12.
A lot of people multi-monitor these days, but Ubuntu doesn't even have one dual-monitor wallpaper so if you're a brand new Ubuntu user with two (or heaven forbids, three) monitors the first thing you'd have to do would be to go on the Internet and search for some multi-screen wallpapers.

Why not let the user assign one wallpaper to 'monitor #1', and another wallpaper to 'monitor #2'? It would be really easy to implement, but a great deal of help.

Do you know how annoying it is to put together you own dual-wallpaper in GIMP for two screens with resolutions that don't match? And what are you going to do when you want to change the wallpaper on one monitor? It takes way too much time.
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Solution #2: Add resizing
Written by baldurpet the 1 Apr 09 at 20:19.
I often find wallpapers that don't fit my monitor. Fiddling with the wallpaper "styles" (i.e. "fill screen", "centered" etc.) often fixes this problem but not always.

This one is simple. Just give users a simple built-in photo editing tool (kind of like what Emesene has when adding a new display picture) that lets the user take the wallpaper, rotate it, crop it and zoom it in and out. If you would just make a add a simple button ("_Adjust image") this would turn out to be very helpful to those that need it, and very non-intrusive to those that don't.
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Solution #3: Similar to #2, but simply put a button that opens a pre-existing application
Written by Darwin Survivor the 2 Apr 09 at 18:45.
Add a "teak this wallpaper" button (similar to #2), that opens F-Post or something similar that does simple tweaking (color, lighting, contrast, crop, resize, etc).

I see no reason to write a whole new app when there are plenty already at our disposal.
352
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Solution #4: add a Gnome random background-wallpaper Changer by default
Written by slsolaris the 5 Apr 09 at 02:55.
so gnome can use a random image from a folder you specify.
this should be under appearance preferences, under background tab.
453
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Solution #5: Add a simple way to have a different wallpaper on each cube face
Written by blazemore the 6 Apr 09 at 19:55.
Loads of people want a different background on each face of the Compiz Cube, but at the moment it's really difficult to do.
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Solution #6: Integrate Existing Wallpaper Changer
Written by jamesisin the 7 Apr 09 at 02:18.
DoctorMO built a wallpaper changer for Gnome:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=888746

(Broken with 8.10 but DoctorMO reports it is now fixed.)

If this, or a modified version thereof, could be added...

Excellent.
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Solution #7: Add desktop number
Written by sanketmedhi the 7 Apr 09 at 12:44.
Add functionality to assign a different wallpaper to every screen/monitor and also show the screen/monitor number for a few seconds when user switches to a particular screen. This feature will be most useful when using a desktop cube. With cube numbers, you can easily remember what windows/apps you have stored on that cube.
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Solution #8: Time based desktop and day time desktop
Written by sandrex the 8 Apr 09 at 03:07.
I saw this idea in a page posted in other thread.
Just an optional dock.
The link of it is:
http://www.kumailht.com/blog/linux/10-features-ubuntu-should-implement/


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Solution #9: Time based
Written by smkururu the 11 Apr 09 at 07:20.
Just like Solution #8 but this one is more like in openSUSE, where the wallpaper support xml files and ablity to change the wallpaper depending the system time (smooth transition)
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Solution #10: Consider also the panel
Written by zviad the 11 Apr 09 at 07:51.
Provide a checkbox such that, when checked, the resizing (fill screen, etc) are done with respect to the actual desktop you see, e.g., the whole screen minus the panels not auto-hiding.
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Solution #11: A solution Already Exists to #4, #9, #8
Written by Valsodarg the 11 Apr 09 at 19:26.
An application called wallpaper-tray performs all of the bellow:
*Change Wallpaper at login
*Change Wallpaper at random time interval
*Change Wallpaper from a set of directories
*Able to fit the wallpaper according to user's desire (zoom, tile, centre, etc).
*Has a tray icon that displays the wallpaper currently used
*Advances the wallpaper when the user clicks the tray icon
*low memory usage

This application suits most concerns raised here, and can easily be installed/added to the gnome interface. It is simple enough to learn and use.
136
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Solution #12: Create a common website for SVG Wallpapers.
Written by jhuni the 12 Apr 09 at 23:57.
On gnome-look there is wallpapers in all sorts of sizes that are .png and half of them don't look good on my 1680x1050 screen resolution. We should use SVG for wallpapers and make a common website for them so that you don't have to go to multiple places like:

http://www.gnome-look.org/index.php?xcontentmode=179
http://www.kde-look.org/index.php?xsortmode=new&page=0&xcontentmode=7

Wallpapers are stored in the same format regardless of Desktop environment so why not have some unity?
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Solution #13: Use an Ubuntu Animated Wallpaper Clock Screenlet
Written by chappell101 the 20 Apr 09 at 15:46.
The desktop background turns into an Ubuntu branded informative calender,clock,lunar calender ect. updating each minute to show the actual time without changing any of its functionality like with other desktop enhancements.
It doesn't require any 3d acceleration or waste system resources making pointless pretty patterns but actually showing something useful.
This is something I'm yet to see by default in any other OS making Ubuntu actually implement something new again.

Screenlets Website http://www.screenlets.org/index.php/Home
Wallpaper Clock Screenlet http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php?content=66717
How to make a Wallpaper clock if someone wants to make an Ubuntu version! http://www.vladstudio.com/wallpaperclock_create/
Gallery Of Wallpaper Clocks ready to use If you don't want to make your own http://www.vladstudio.com/wallpaperclock/


27
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Solution #14: Ability to get a URL from an http or network source
Written by fhteagle the 21 Apr 09 at 23:15.
I set my desktop to get a realtime day/night and satellite cloudmap from die.net every 30 minutes. Required a bash script and cron job to make it work. Yeah, I had fun programming it, but most people will not enjoy this. Simply adding a path box that accepts valid URLs and a "number of seconds/minutes between updates" widget would make this cake for newer users.
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Solution #15: Flash (*.swf) Background
Written by smkururu the 22 Apr 09 at 15:57.
Like solution #13 but instead, it use swf files.
-12
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Solution #16: Include XML-Wall
Written by guywithcable the 23 Apr 09 at 05:47.
Include XML-Wall, or put it in a repository. It uses Gnome's built in wallpaper changing feature. It makes it much easier to make Gnome XML wallpaper files.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=798634&page=3#30
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Solution #17: Repeating video
Written by kidmodify the 23 Apr 09 at 23:08.
Make it possible to use a video file as the background.
examples of this could be...
A field with prairie grass blowing in the wind.
The shore of a beach.
Seaweed moving under water(this may make you seasick)
Fish swimming in a tank.
Something like the Plasma screen-saver(slowed down so you hardly notice it's moving)
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Solution #18: Subscribe to folder
Written by chrisbuchholz the 27 Apr 09 at 08:46.
Make it possible to subscribe to a folder, so any new picture put in the folder, will get added in the wallpaper-chooser. Subscribing to a folder would also be great if such feature as having GNOME to randomly change your wallpaper every X minute would be implemented, so you wouldn't have to add the picture to both the folder and the wallpaper-chooser.
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Solution #20: Wallpaper stretching over screens.
Written by badp the 29 Apr 09 at 16:14.
Have the same image stretch over the multiple desktops, regardless or whether they are virtual or real.

For example, with a compiz cube configuration and a 1280x1024 desktop, you would "just" need have a 5120x1024 image. With current storage and memory availability, the only problem should be finding a (good) 5120x1024 image... or just choose an .svg image.
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Solution #21: Similar to #2, but like photo booth software or facebook profile picture
Written by ZeXr0 the 1 May 09 at 17:33.
In the photo booth software, if the picture you have is not the same size that the format you selected, you can move a rectangle on the picture to select that you want to show on the picture.

In that case let's say I have a 1024*768 Wallpaper, and that my resolution is 800*600. I could select which part of the picture I want to show, or I can zoom in or zoom out to select exactly what I want to show.

I think that facebook use the same thing with the profile picture.

Propose your solution

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James_Lochhead wrote on the 1 Apr 09 at 20:43
Think #1 is already in the works.

baldurpet wrote on the 1 Apr 09 at 21:03
Oh didn't know that
I think #1 is available in some of the newer versions of KDE, but this is something that has always annoyed me about GNOME

baldurpet wrote on the 2 Apr 09 at 17:59
I see that idea #2 is far less popular than idea #1, can anyone tell me what they dislike about it? Sounds perfectly reasonable

Darwin Survivor wrote on the 2 Apr 09 at 23:34
I think it may be that you were hinting a writing a whole new app. I have added a suggestion following it to simply have a link open a pre-existing app that would do what he stated in #2.

baldurpet wrote on the 3 Apr 09 at 00:18
Well I was hinting at something like the application Emesene uses, opening a whole program just to crop is- in my opinion- a tad excessive.

I'm not sure how I like opening a whole new program (like F-Post) which if done incorrectly might confuse users. I was by _no means_ talking about a new complex program. Only a small window with the option of resizing and croping, maybe even rotating. Even I could write a program like that, there are already programs that can rotate and resize so that wouldn't be difficult.

adelie wrote on the 6 Apr 09 at 18:53
@ #1 How is it hard? Unless you are regularly changing the resolution or reorienting the monitors, it is easy to drag two layers, each whose size is equal to the resolution of the monitor side by side (usually aligned at the top, if that is how you have the monitors) then save them as source, and export one as a flattened png. You could also have several layers and stack them. when you want to change one or both, just change which layer is visible, and over write the old png.

If that actually seems complicated, I think there is a program called 'panorama' whose only purpose is to take two images and make it one image where the source is side by side.

One trick, as far as the different resolutions, use "center" orientation. when you view the image, there will be a blank space under the smaller image, but it will just be off the screen when you apply it. if you zoom or stretch the image, you may get undesirable results. Native resolution wallpapers almost always look better anyway.

If you would like to be really clever, it would be quite simple to write a shell script that uses 'nitrogen' (wallpaper backend for X) and panorama (image merger) to pick two images and make a dual monitor wallpaper... and image magic and you could even specify each monitors resolution...

Seems simple enough. Damn, think I will develop something. :)

baldurpet wrote on the 7 Apr 09 at 00:53
@ adelie
Is that more simple than a picture of two screens, one labelled as "Screen #1" and the other "Screen #2" and then dragging the wallpaper you want on each one?

I for one can't be bothered to open up GIMP or any other photo editing tool, and then saving a special composite image just to get a dual-wallpaper.

jamesisin wrote on the 14 Apr 09 at 01:42
baldurpet - That does seem unecessarily complicated, indeed.

Chris7mas wrote on the 16 Apr 09 at 02:30
Solution #2 in my opinion should be a must-have (but implemented in a very simple way). Centered and tiled are too limited options, and I often find myself in the need to fire up GIMP just to crop a part of the wallpaper, then adjust its size to the screen resolution.

baldurpet wrote on the 17 Apr 09 at 18:46
@ Chris7mas
Yes I feel that way as well, and I simply don't understand why people are so unhappy with this idea.

I'm NOT talking about a new huge memory-hungry application, but rather a small tool that would allow users better control over their wallpaper.

(and like you said if users are forced to open up GIMP, a huge program, then solution #2 would certainly be the lesser of two evils)

melat0nin wrote on the 20 Apr 09 at 08:14
A wallpaper changer should be sleek, like the fade-change in OS X.

See my idea from many months back about this:

http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/9439/

sayakb (Brainstorm admin) wrote on the 20 Apr 09 at 18:01
Images scaled down to thumbnails.

carpex wrote on the 20 Apr 09 at 19:28
I think you guys need this : http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=NzE4MQ

chappell101 wrote on the 22 Apr 09 at 18:03
I like solution #15, but it would be to taxing for a alot of older pc's and running a good quality flash animation fullscreen would waste a lot of system resources. Wallpaper Clock runs from just a normal jpg image being silently produced/swapped each min.

As far as I'm aware from using it takes a snapshot of a .png overlay of the change for each min makes to the clocks background image(aka different numbers) and this image is then set as the wallpaper.

baldurpet wrote on the 22 Apr 09 at 21:47
@ chappell101
If the .swf idea would be implemented it would probably be optional, i.e. users would be _able_ to add Flash animations as their Wallpaper.

Paul Kishimoto wrote on the 28 Apr 09 at 23:46
If someone wants to hilariously troll the Mono crowd (like http://www.figuiere.net/hub/blog/?Gnote), you could port Desktop Drapes (http://drapes.mindtouchsoftware.com) to C and integrate it with gnome-appearance-properties.

MathUHenry wrote on the 1 May 09 at 00:28
Solution #17

I understand it may be difficult to implement as it requires the addition of a refresh rate to a program written specifically for static images; however, I really like the idea of this option. Would someone please explain why this is rated so poorly?

andruk (Idea reviewer) wrote on the 1 May 09 at 02:23
SVG is acceptable for more abstract backgrounds, but for pictures and photos, it is much less useful (this is just the nature of SVGs).

So, if people do not want abstract backgrounds, I would simply encourage people to generate large (2400x1800px) backgrounds and use the PNG format. PNGs downscale well, so it won't look terrible, and users can then crop the photo to fit their screen (which would be a useful utility on the change background app).


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