Can't change wallpaper folder

[dduran1210]

i mean in xfce 18.1, i right click on the desktop settings, change folder to pictures (where all my pics are)...i see the pics in there. I select the folder and the settings screen is blank. what am i missing here?
the setting screen defaults back to it's own "backdrops' folder

[karlchen]

Hello, dduran1210.

Actually, there are 2 different system-wide locations where Linux Mint 18.1 xfce can fetch the system provided wallpapers:

• Folder /usr/share/xfce4/backdrops/. There are 45 jpg files in this folder. So dependig on the speed of your machine it can take a while until the dialogue box has been populated with previews of all the 45 files.
• Folder /usr/share/backgrounds/. Hm. To be precise in this folder there are 4 sub-folders which hold the wallpaper files in png/jpg format.
  You have to select each of the folders and wait a moment till the previews are displayed in the dialogue box.
  • /usr/share/backgrounds/linuxmint/
  • /usr/share/backgrounds/linuxmint-sarah/
  • /usr/share/backgrounds/linuxmint-serena/
  • /usr/share/backgrounds/xfce/

And of course you are free to navigate to your own Pictures sub-folder and select an image file from it as your wallpaper.
Again, after you have selected the Pictures folders, it can take a while till all image files have been read and the dialogue box popluated with the previews.
You may have to be a bit more patient.
Also depends on the number of image files inside Pictures.

Here changing the wallpaper file through right-click on desktop => desktop settings => tab "background" works as expected.

HTH,
Karl

[sauber]

excuse me
i have a similar problem:
i would change the wallpapers that run random in the login page with some photos that i have in the image folder...
i discovered that background folder that you say but i must open that folder as root
if i want to modify it.
and appears a message saying that i could damage the system...
so i would try to change the random image in the login page with my own images...
how could i do it?...excuse me for my english...

HELP!!!

[kc1di]

Hello sauber and Welcome to Linux Mint,

You can use the terminal command to copy the desired pictures to you xfce background folder.
use this command in the terminal and be careful.

Code: Select all

gksu thunar

This will bring up a root enabled file manager. If it does not work with thunar you may need to install another file manager like pcmanfm.
good luck.

[sauber]

but what about erasing all the pictures in the background folder and inserting my photos in that folder?... Maybe also renaming my photos with the same name of the original pictures... In this way the system recognizes my own photos and loads them in the login page...
what about it?
thank you!!!

[curioux]

I landed here because I was having the same problem, and after a long and unsuccessful search on the web I realized I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing...

There's a plus sign to add a new background. Since I'm a Windows user, I took for granted I could select my own background picture, but that's not the case on Mint, that plus sign is to select a folder and not a file. Actually a note is displayed when hovering on the plus button, and next window's title is 'Add folder' (as I said, I was not paying attention).

For us (Windows users) this can be confusing because we expect to select a file, besides when the select folder dialogue is open, you can see the pictures files (greyish), which adds even more confusion.

[cts]

I happened upon this answer and saw something wasn't quite made clear, even not really made clear in the documentation

When I would load another folder, I'd then close the desktop manager and when I opened it up it would be back on the default /usr/share/xfce4/backdrops folder.

Its such a simple, stupid fix ->

when you load the new folder, make sure you click on a photo in that folder under the Wallpaper for my desktop: ---- if you don't select an image (and preferably see that your desktop background changed in response, it won't actually use the folder that you've assigned and still be displaying images from the default/previously selected folder.

I thought this was a root issue, it was a user error. Pretty simple thing to miss.