Desktop background displays path in middle of image

Regardless of the background image I choose, the path displays in large white text across the image. How can this be fixed?

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In 'Desktop' the display options for the chosen image have vanished.

I have an iMac with Snow Leopard.
Using the option 'Desktop' in 'Desktop and Screen Saver', on choosing an image, under the name ofm the image chosen, there is usually a list of options for how the image is displayed :-
Tile
Fuil screen
Fit to screen
These are no longer displayed. Where is the option for switching the list back on?
I have tried restarting.
Thanks in advance
David

Disconnect all devices from the computer then do the following:
Boot up from your Snow Leopard Install DVD while holding down the "c" key.
Select the language you wish to use, and then choose "Disk Utility" from the menu bar.
Your HD should appear in a panel on the left hand side of the window which opens. Select it and then click on the "repair disk" button in the right hand section of the window.
Once this process has been completed restart your computer and repair permissions directly from Disk Utility.
If Disk Utility is unable to complete the repair, you will need to use a stronger 3rd party utility like DiskWarrior, Techtool PRO (not Deluxe) or Drive Genius.
Please post back the results.

Grey Desktop Background after Security Update

Updated with the latest OS software update, when prompted.
Immediately afterwards, desktop background was grey and without any images
Everything else appears fine. Just miss the image on my desktop

Hi jgpeebles,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I understand the concern of your desktop image going completely gray after an update. It sounds as though you may need to reassign your desktop picture. Please use the attached article for information on how to complete this process.
Mac Basics: Desktop
Change your background
You can change the picture that's displayed on your Mac's desktop. You can choose one of the desktop pictures that comes with your Mac, a solid color, or one of your own pictures.
Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock, and then click System Preferences. If you're using Mac OS X v10.6 or later, click the System Preferences icon in the Dock.
Click Desktop & Screen Saver, and then click Desktop.
To select the kind of desktop picture you want to use, do one of the following:
To use an image that come with your Mac, select a folder under the Apple section.
To use a solid color, select "Solid Colors" under the Apple section.
To use your own picture, select the Picture folder under "Folders," if the picture you want is stored in your Pictures folder. If your image is in another folder, click the Add button (+), then find and select the folder that your picture is in. Then, click Choose.
Select the picture you want in the box on the right.
Have a great day,
Joe

I have an older Macbook pro with a dvi output and I want to watch movies on my tv. I have a dvi to hdmi cable but the only image I get on my TV is my desktop background. None of my movie players with appear on the TV screen. What am I doing wrong?

I have an older Macbook pro with a dvi output and I want to watch movies on my tv. I have a dvi to hdmi cable but the only image I get on my TV is my desktop background. None of my movie players with appear on the TV screen. What am I doing wrong?

Hi Maryan,
Open System Preferences > Displays > select the window for you external monitor > click on the Arrangement tab and check the box next to Mirror Displays. It may be slightly different in Lion, but the idea is the same.

Using screensaver images as desktop background

how can I find the images from the screensavers that came with the mbp? I would like to use them as my desktop background.

To be clear, on a Mac, a "screen saver" is the moving images (or static) that display on a screen after a few minutes of inactivity, if so setup to do that.
A "desktop picture" is the non-moving image you setup for the background of your screen. In the PC world, it's called a "wallpaper" and some mistakenly call it a "screen saver"-- I know, because a lot of PC users I know call it such.
So two answers to your question:
1) If you are trying to find the desktop picture to change your background, go to SYSTEM PREFERENCES > DESKTOP & SCREEN SAVER and then choose the DESKTOP PICTURE tab and select away. You can even drag and drop a photo/image to the box on the screen to set it as your Desktop Picture.
2) If you want to use an image from a screen saver on the Mac, you can, while the screen saver is active, take a screenshot of the screen saver by pressing the following key commands: SHIFT + COMMAND + 3. The image will appear on your desktop to which you can then drag and drop it to the box in the Desktop Picture tab in the previous instruction.
Note that you can even create a folder of collected images and select that folder in the System Preferences pane of Desktop & Screen Saver and all the images will be available to choose.
Now...
If your question was "How can I make my screen saver as my desktop picture background?" this would be your answer:
http://www.wallsaverapp.com/

After 10.6.7 can't get desktop background to display

This problem is similar to Linc Davis problem solved in this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2795229
In that thread I write: "I tried the [] from Linc Davis and it didn't work for me. I have a MBP bought in may 2010 i Sweden which is where I live. " When I never got replies I figured it was because Lincs thread was marked as solved (green text). So I created my own discussion (this thread).
After upgrading today to 10.6.7 I notice the desktop background is replaced by a completely white background. Quoting vr8ce since this is the same for me: "It displays them in System Pref with no problem, and it doesn't give an error when choosing, it just doesn't change the desktop background." Unlike vr8ce, it was not happening in 10.6.6 for me. And unlike vr8ce my background is not blue but white.
I haven't tried using anything from iPhoto etc - I'm just using the images in System Pref.
I have upgraded to 10.6.7 (today), rebooted, run Repair Disk on the Install DVD (from another tip). I don't actually remember "fixing permissions".
As I said, the tip from Linc Davis - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2795229 - didn't work for me. I'm not using a Screen Saver and never have, instead I prefer to close the lid, but not sure if this is the best thing to do.

Time for the OnyX "nuke em from orbit" approach then.
Run ALL of the free OnyX cleaning and
maintainence features and reboot.
Also run the Verify>Preferences and write down
any corrupted ones, move these files to your
desktop (out of yourLibrary/Preferences folder)
and reboot, they get rebuilt automatically.
VLC (plays anything)
Perian (installs additionalQuicktimecodecs)
FlipForMac (Windows media in Quicktime)
TheUnarchiver(unpacks just about everything)
Carbon Copy Cloner (clonesbootdrive to another HFS+j drive, hold option bootable)
2 free 3D games - NexiuZClassic and Cube 2 Sauerbraten
LibreOffice (freeofficesuit, reads/writes Office files
Gimp (free image editor)
OnyX (free maintainenceandcleaning)
Pacifist (opens DMG filesforextraction)
Mactracker (inforonApple products)
NTFS Mounter (for WindowsNTFSdrives)
EasyFind(deep search)
TimeMachineEditor
TinkerTool
ClamXav (free anti-virus)
Caffine (keeps yourMacawake)
Browswerplug-in check (especially for Flash!)

Can't get desktop background to display

I don't know if this is HW or SW, but I'll start here.
I have a brand-new MBP (early 2011). I can't get it to display a desktop background for love nor money, i.e. going into System Preferences, Desktop/Screen Save, and choosing a background, I get nothing but a light blue screen. It doesn't matter if I choose one of the pictures that comes with OS X or one of the pictures from my iPhoto library, it won't display them. It displays them in System Pref with no problem, and it doesn't give an error when choosing, it just doesn't change the desktop background.
For the iPhoto library (although, remember, it doesn't work with the OS X pictures, either, i.e. Desktop Pictures, Plants, etc.), it works fine in both iPhoto and in Screen Saver, i.e. the Screen Saver displays photos without a problem.
The problem survives a reboot, fixing permissions, and the 10.6.7 upgrade, i.e. it was happening on 10.6.6, and it's still happening after the 10.6.7 upgrade.
Any ideas?

I just tried the top from Linc Davis and it didn't work for me. I have a MBP bought in may 2010 i Sweden which is where I live.
After upgrading today to 10.6.7 I notice the desktop background is replaced by a completely white background. Quoting vr8ce since this is the same for me: "It displays them in System Pref with no problem, and it doesn't give an error when choosing, it just doesn't change the desktop background." Unlike vr8ce, it was not happening in 10.6.6 for me. And unlike vr8ce my background is not blue but white.
I haven't tried using anything from iPhoto etc - I'm just using the images in System Pref.
I have upgraded to 10.6.7 (today), rebooted, run Repair Disk on the Install DVD (from another tip). I don't actually remember "fixing permissions".
As I said, the tip from Linc Davis didn't work for me. I'm not using a Screen Saver and never have, instead I prefer to close the lid, but not sure if this is the best thing to do.

Desktop Background Images Dithering

All of my desktop background images have been dithering, despite the fact that my display is set to 32-bit color. This can be demonstrated by opening up the image used for the desktop in an image-editing application and viewing them both side-by-side. Here's a screenshot of such a comparison:
This is a major bummer - anyone have an idea what is wrong?

I should have mentioned that the dimensions of the background image exactly match the resolution of the monitor (1280x1024).
Also, yes, it is an LCD monitor, but it is hooked up via DVI.
I am wondering if it might have to do with the display card hardware (GeForce FX 5200), as I did not have this problem under the same circumstances, in tiger, but under different hardware...
So, no, still not solved - but thanks for your input.

Image distortion via Change Desktop Background?

A couple of months ago, I was searching through my iPhoto gallery looking for a picture to set as my "new" desktop background. As I changed from one background to another, the over-all display from my MBPR (MacBook Pro Retina) exhibited distortion. I do not know how to explain the effect any further, but I went to my nearest Apple Store yesterday, and I was told by a genius that it may simply be a bug. He also ran several tests on my MBPR and found nothing out of the ordinary.. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

Hello
What kind of image file you want to set as background? As far as I know not all picture formats work as desktop background.
You should try it with a JPEG picture. Such pictures always work properly.
Otherwise you must ask on a Microsoft forum. Here we can talk about Toshiba notebooks.

Setting the desktop background image via Powershell

UPDATE:
I found the solution that addressed my problem, which I posted in a post below. Keeping the original post for Internet historical reasons as I the hope this helps someone else later on in their search for a solution.
===============
I have Bing'ed and I have Google'd and I haven't found a solid answer to setting the desktop wallpaper programmically. I am trying to do this via PowerShell, but I would be happy for any other language flavor or application to work.
Below is the code I have tried to set the desktop background image. This has been scrounged from a few sources across the web. This solution works 25% of the time and I haven't figured out what the cause for success or failure of the execution. Or maybe
it's neither, but waiting for Explorer to refresh. The only way to see the change 100% is to log out and log back in.
I am running Windows 8.1 btw.
Thank you for looking.
Function Get-WallPaper()
$wp=Get-ItemProperty -path 'HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\' -name wallpaper
if(!$wp.WallPaper)
{ "Wall paper is not set" }
Else
{"Wall paper is set to $($wp.WallPaper)" }
Function Refresh-Explorer {
$code = @'
private static readonly IntPtr HWND_BROADCAST = new IntPtr(0xffff);
private const int WM_SETTINGCHANGE = 0x1a;
private const int SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG = 0x0002;
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError=true, CharSet=CharSet.Auto)]
static extern bool SendNotifyMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, UIntPtr wParam,
IntPtr lParam);
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr SendMessageTimeout ( IntPtr hWnd, int Msg, IntPtr wParam, string lParam, uint fuFlags, uint uTimeout, IntPtr lpdwResult );
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("Shell32.dll")]
private static extern int SHChangeNotify(int eventId, int flags, IntPtr item1, IntPtr item2);
public static void Refresh() {
SHChangeNotify(0x8000000, 0x1000, IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero);
SendMessageTimeout(HWND_BROADCAST, WM_SETTINGCHANGE, IntPtr.Zero, null, SMTO_ABORTIFHUNG, 100, IntPtr.Zero);
Add-Type -MemberDefinition $code -Namespace MyWinAPI -Name Explorer
[MyWinAPI.Explorer]::Refresh()
Function Set-WallPaper($Value)
echo "Setting background to: $value"
Refresh-Explorer
Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\' -name wallpaper -value $value
rundll32.exe user32.dll, UpdatePerUserSystemParameters
#sleep 1
rundll32.exe user32.dll, UpdatePerUserSystemParameters
#sleep 1
rundll32.exe user32.dll, UpdatePerUserSystemParameters
#sleep 1
Refresh-Explorer
#Stop-Process -ProcessName explorer
NOTE: I left in a few commented out statements. I found that they do not offer any help in formulating a solution.
Thank you.

Great news! I found the solution and all props and credit goes to
jsd1982 of the XKCD comic
forum from a post he made in 2007 and some deep search kung-fu Googling on my part. Here is the
direct link to the post.
This solution has worked for me 100% of the time on Windows 8. The only gotcha I found (minor detail) was when setting this process to run as a scheduled task, I had to run it as elevated privileges for the code to compile in memory. Running this function
from PowerShell at the command prompt was fine.
NOTE: The code below is a slight trimmed down version posted by jsd1982 to just set the desktop wallpaper. I removed the image fetching from the Internet and the color inversion.
# Credit to jsd1982
function Compile-Csharp ([string] $code, $FrameworkVersion="v2.0.50727",
[Array]$References)
# Get an instance of the CSharp code provider
$cp = new-object Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider
# Build up a compiler params object...
$framework = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($env:windir, "Microsoft.NET\Framework\$FrameWorkVersion")
$refs = new-object Collections.ArrayList
$refs.AddRange( @("${framework}\System.dll",
# "${mshhome}\System.Management.Automation.dll",
# "${mshhome}\System.Management.Automation.ConsoleHost.dll",
"${framework}\system.windows.forms.dll",
"${framework}\System.data.dll",
"${framework}\System.Drawing.dll",
"${framework}\System.Xml.dll"))
if ($references.Count -ge 1)
$refs.AddRange($References)
$cpar = New-Object System.CodeDom.Compiler.CompilerParameters
$cpar.GenerateInMemory = $true
$cpar.GenerateExecutable = $false
$cpar.CompilerOptions = "/unsafe";
$cpar.OutputAssembly = "custom"
$cpar.ReferencedAssemblies.AddRange($refs)
$cr = $cp.CompileAssemblyFromSource($cpar, $code)
if ( $cr.Errors.Count)
$codeLines = $code.Split("`n");
foreach ($ce in $cr.Errors)
write-host "Error: $($codeLines[$($ce.Line - 1)])"
$ce |out-default
Throw "INVALID DATA: Errors encountered while compiling code"
[System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Drawing") > $null
[System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Runtime") > $null
# C# code to post to wallpaper
$code = @'
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
using Microsoft.Win32;
namespace test
public class Wallpaper
const int SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER = 20 ;
const int SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE = 0x01;
const int SPIF_SENDWININICHANGE = 0x02;
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet=CharSet.Auto)]
static extern int SystemParametersInfo (int uAction , int uParam , string lpvParam , int fuWinIni) ;
public static void SetWallpaper(string uri)
System.IO.Stream s = new WebClient().OpenRead(uri);
Image img = System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(s);
Bitmap copy = new Bitmap(img.Width, img.Height);
Graphics g = Graphics.FromImage(copy);
Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(0, 0, img.Width, img.Height);
g.DrawImage(img, rect, 0, 0, img.Width, img.Height, GraphicsUnit.Pixel);
g.Dispose();
img.Dispose();
// Save to a temp file:
string tempPath = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "wallpaper.bmp");
copy.Save(tempPath, System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Bmp);
RegistryKey key = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey( @"Control Panel\Desktop", true ) ;
key.SetValue(@"WallpaperStyle", 1.ToString( ) ) ;
key.SetValue(@"TileWallpaper", 0.ToString( ) ) ;
SystemParametersInfo( SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER,
0,
tempPath,
SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE | SPIF_SENDWININICHANGE );
function Set-Wallpaper([string] $imgurl)
compile-CSharp $code
[test.Wallpaper]::SetWallpaper($imgurl)

I'm trying to hook up my Macbook Pro to my TV. I'm using the 'mini-display port to female HDMI" adapter. all i can see is my desktop background. no folders or icons and when i play a movie it goes blank.

I'm trying to hook up my Macbook Pro to my TV. I'm using the 'mini-display port to female HDMI" adapter. all i can see is my desktop background. no folders or icons and when i play a movie it goes blank.

Drag applications from your main desktop off the right side of the screen and they will appear on the TV. This is the extended desktop mode.
Regards,
Captfred

How to block changes of desktop background image

I manage a 30-computer Mac lab in a public high school and I would like to prevent users from changing the desktop background image.
As far as I know, there are two ways to change the desktop background image: through System Preferences and by right-clicking an image and selecting Set Desktop Picture.
Blocking System Preferences is easily done through Parental Controls.
But how do I prevent the right-click, Set Desktop Picture method of changing the desktop image?
You can imagine the kinds of images that end up as desktop backgrounds in a high school computer lab.

You might try going to System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts. In the left pane select Services, then uncheck the item "Set Desktop Picture" under Pictures in the right pane. Once that's done, block that prefs pane.

Selecting and deselecting desktop background images

Can I select which Apple photos to use when setting desktop background to Change Picture? Put another way, can I deselect pictures I don't want to see? I hoped the "-" box at the bottom of the list would let me deselect folders or even specific images within folders, but it doesn't. I would like to have only the nature pictures in the Change Picture rotation.

You would have to create your own folder or album with select photos for this type control.
Use the + sign to add your album.

Is there an ARD command or Unix command that I can send to reset the desktop background image to default?

I was forced to create a local user with an automatic login on all of the machines in the building. I listed off many various issues that could come arise by doing this but was tuned out. Now people are changing all of the desktop backgrounds to some pretty inappropriate images. I forewarned the person ordering this that this may be one of the many issues that would arise when doing away with our server based logins, and now I am charged with fixing every desktop every time someone changes it to something inappropriate.
Is that an Apple Remote Desktop command or a Unix command that I can send through ARD v3.5.3 to the machines to reset the desktop background image to the default Aqua Blue jpeg image located in the /MacintoshHD/Library/Desktop\ Pictures/Aqua\ Blue.jpg.
The machines that I am dealing with have OS X 10.4.11, OS X 10.5.8, OS X 10.6.8, and OS X 10.7.4 installed on them, but the OS X 10.4.11 machines are the ones that are creating the biggest issue so I would like to deal with those first.

Ya, I'd love to have the computers connected to the Xserver, unfortunately against my heeding, I was ordered to take them off of the Xserver, so they only have a local account that automatically logs in on startup, and even though I have Parental Controls set, I can not stop them from going to Safari, selecting an inappropriate image and setting it as the background, so now I’ve been ordered to fix all of the backgrounds that people are messing with.
My Xserver is running OS X 10.4.11 Server Edition. Yes, I would love a new server, but that’s not happening due to budget cuts.
So what I am hoping for is a command that I can put into Apple Remote Desktop v3.5.3 and push out to all of the computers via its Unix commands and reset all the desktops to their default image.

When viewing some websites my desktop background image shows as the page background...why...and how do I fix this?

It seems that the current version of Firefox does not understand how to process style sheets. Instead of the stylesheet background color or image, I am now seeing my PC's desktop background image. This does not happen with IE or Chrome. When checking the error console, I get "Warning: Unknown property 'zoom'. Declaration dropped. Source File: http://trustserve.net/themes/ModernBlue/templates_cached/EN/global.css Line: 4"
I am not trying to zoom.
Any ideas on how to fix this. I can't use Firefox with these problems and I really liked it prior to these problems.

I thought I had it disabled. I enabled aero and then disabled to be sure, and still have the problem, but that was a very good idea. Thanks.
The problem started shortly after I installed two new programs, a graphics program, and an anti-virus. I just removed both programs and restarted the computer and that seems to have solved the problem. Your idea about Aero gave me the idea that one, or both of these programs changed some of my system settings. I am now going to install them, one at a time, and see if the transparency problem returns. I'll post my findings.

Desktop background displays path in middle of image

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