Microsoft didn’t make it exactly easy in Windows XP for the new user to figure out how to change their desktop image, and even years after release I see people with the same background they had on day one. Considering you can use just about any picture as your desktop, it’s time you changed that boring old background to something that matters to you!
And this article was actually requested by a reader, so if you have something you want covered, drop us a note!
(due to the number of images in this article, please click “Continue Reading” to see it all)
What is your screen size?
The first thing you need to do is figure out how large your screen resolution is if you don’t already know.
1. Click the right button on your mouse anywhere on the desktop image that is free of icons. Once you do, you will see the below pop-up menu and you should click on “Properties”.
2. Once you click on Properties, you will see another set of menus and you need to click on the “Settings” tab.
3. The settings tab will look somewhat like what you see below, and I have highlighted the area with the number you need. The numbers represent the number of pixels in width X the number of pixels in height. Once you know your number, unless you changed it by using the slider, click “Cancel” or “OK” to leave this screen. If you did change the size, click “Apply” and then “OK”.
Using Your Own Images As A Background
If you want to use your own pictures, you needed to know your screen size so you know what size to edit them to. Once you’ve edited them, how do you get them to be the background?
1. Click the right button on your mouse anywhere on the desktop image that is free of icons. Once you do, you will see the below pop-up menu and you should click on “Properties”.
2. Once you click on Properties, you will see another set of menus and you need to click on the “Desktop” tab.
3. Click on the “Browse” button.
4. This will open your “My Pictures” folder by default. Browse through here you find the image you want, and click on it with your left mouse button.
5. Once you choose it, you will see the file name appear in the “File name” area, and if it’s the one you want, click “Open”.
6. Once you’ve clicked “Open”, you will go back to the screen below and will see a preview of the image.
7. If the picture is not large enough to fill the entire screen, you can choose “Stretch” under “Position”, if it is big enough you will choose “Center”, and if you want a small picture to repeat, you will choose “Tile”. Once you have those settings done, click “Apply”.
8. Once you click “Apply”, you will see the image change behind the window, if it looks like what you want, click “Ok” and the box will disappear, and you’re done!
In our next part we will be discussing how to find wallpapers for your desktop on the web, and how to save them so they automatically appear.
