Do Desktop Pictures live in a dedicated folder?

For some reason, I'm having trouble understanding where the various Desktop pictures I've used (which I see as a group of thumbnails whenever I select a new photo for the Desktop) actually reside.
I'd expect to find them in a dedicated sub-folder, but I don't see one in the most likely location (Pictures folder).
If Desktop Picture files are organized in some other way than being grouped in their own folder, what is that method and how does the user control it (i.e., for adding, deleting, moving those picture files)?
Thanks.

Niel wrote:
Look in the Desktop Pictures folder of the Library; most of them are in the Library at the top level of the hard disk, but some may be in your home folder.
They all seem to be in my User Library (the ones in the top level Library are the factory defaults).
If I create a dedicated sub-folder for these, are there still pointers to them so I can easily switch between them for the Desktop picture? Or do they have to be in a specific location to be selectable in that way (for the D/T picture)?
BTW, how does one view the Desktop Pictures (as a group) without selecting a new one? I don't recall seeing the thumbnail grouping except when I right-click on a photo to select a new D/T picture. I don't know how to otherwise view them 'as a group.'
Thanks again.

Similar Messages

How to remove picture in Desktop Pictures Folder

I'm fairly new to my iMac...I've had it less than a year. Somehow (don't ask me how!) I've managed to get a couple of personal pics under the" Desktop Pictures" folder that is found when you right click on the desktop and select "Change Desktop Background". When it opens there are several folders under "Apple" one of which is "Desktop Pictures". The ones in question are pictures I'd previously used as my desktop background, but I do this all the time and none of the others have ended up stuck in this folder. I don't know how I did it, but I did and I can't seem to remove them. It's not a life or death situation and I can live with it, but to be frank they are pictures of an "ex" and I'd prefer to remove them if possible. Please advise. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Wow! How easy was that! I feel like a moron. I work 8-10 hrs a day on a computer at work doing AutoCAD so I'm not exactly computer illiterate, but I was completely vexed at how to remove those. Thank you so much...I appreciate it very much!

Add a new folder to Desktop Pictures in Library??

Hi,
I've copied some desktop image folders into library/desktop pictures but when I open System Preferences my new folders cannot be seen.
anybody got any ideas? I wanted to add a new folder along with the Nature, Abstract, etc. folders.
thanks.

Great news, and thank you for the Star!
PS. Small things bother me more than big ones!

Desktop pictures won't use all pictures in folder

When I created a folder in iPhoto of the pictures I wanted on my desktop, not all the pictures are used, only 4 of the 8 I put there. I deleted the preferences, logged out and in again, but the same thing happens. Then I deleted the number of pictures, but two of them still don't show up.
Can anyone help solve this problem?
Thanks in advance.
Joanne

Found an answer to my own question. Some pictures I import won't be recognized by iPhoto, but if I do an edit, then iPhoto does acknowledge them. After I slightly cropped each picture, they all show up, both in desktop pictures and screen saver.

Folders added to "Desktop Pictures" not visible in System Prefs...

Hello,
I am trying to add additional wallpaper images to the "/Library/Desktop Pictures" directory. I can add images to this dir and they are visible in the Desktop & Screen Saver preferences, however newly added folders are not (I would like to add folders so I can keep the pictures organized).
How do I get Desktop & Screen Saver prefs to see new folders?
-Steve

Hi Mike,
Thanks very much! That did the trick!
Just so you know, there is one additional file I edited to make the folders appear with the desired name. Basically if you just add the text to Collections.plist it will display the folder but with the name on the identifier tag. If you want the folder to show a name other than the identifier you have to edit the Collections.strings file in the English.lproj directory.
Here are the instructions I've put together for this whole procedure:
--------------------INSTRUCTIONS------------------------
- cd /System/Library/PreferencePanes/DesktopScreenEffectsPref.prefPane/Contents/Resou rces/DesktopPictures.prefPane/Contents/Resources
- sudo vi Collections.plist
- add additional items in the following form:
identifier = myPatterns;
path = "/Library/Desktop Pictures/My Patterns";
showScalingPopUp = YES;
- save file and exit
THEN
- cd English.lproj
- sudo vi Collections.strings
add line entries in the following format:
myPatterns = "My Patterns";
(the tag on the left of the '=' sign must match the identifier noted above)
save file and exit
--------------------INSTRUCTIONS------------------------
The only thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to get the scaling drop-down box to appear; you know, the drop-down box that gives you the following choices on how to display the image: Fill screen, Stretch to fill screen, Center, Tile.
I see in the Collections.plist file there is a tag for showScalingPopUp and I've set this to YES on some folders, but it doesn't bring up the drop-down box when I select an image within that folder.
I can certainly live without this b/c it's not that critical, but still it's curious...
-Steve

Desktop Pictures missing in preferences but not in Library...

When I go to change my desktop picture in system preferences and I click on a folder (like "nature" or "abstract"), the pics in that category do not appear and the preview screen stays blank. I checked and the files are still under Library->Desktop Pictures and I can select them from there if a add a new folder to the system preferences desktop pics list. The problem is that this should not be happening... anyone have a fix?

Not a fix but something I found out the hard way.. When I use quartz images that do not have the same size as my desktop and I scale them to fit my desktop size my graphics in general give trouble. Screen savers that will not run in test mode. Screen savers running black in the background, Photo Booth issues. Depth of the screen is reduced. If you use custom desktop pictures don't resize them to fit your screen, center them or just have them full screen. They somehow don't scale well.
Message was edited by: CodLBi

I updated my Macbook, and All of my apple desktop pictures were deleted. How can I get them back?, I updated my Macbook, and All of my apple desktop pictures were deleted. How can I get them back?

I updated my Macbook, and All of my apple desktop pictures were deleted. How can I get them back?, I updated my Macbook, and All of my apple desktop pictures were deleted. How can I get them back?

Oh!
First thing I think would be to do a search for the folder in case it's somehow got moved.
Failing that, you can retrieve the folder from your original installer disc using Pacifist.
Insert the disc (don't boot from it) and open the installer package with Pacifist. Navigate to the Desktop Pictures folder (might be a bit more fiddly to find in the package structure). When you find it, select the folder, right-click (or ctrl-click) and select 'install in default location' from the context menu.
Exit Pacifist and eject the disc.
Best of luck!

Keep losing my desktop picture on macbook

I have my macbook pro linked to a samsung syncmaster SA550. i keep losing my desktop picture, when i leave the machine and return it from sleep mode, I am left with a grey screen, sometimes with no icons?

Probably the desktop picture is no longer on the macbook but on the syncmaster. Make sure that the desktop picture (itself, and not an alias) is on your macbook (e.g. the pictures folder) and set it again in the SystemPreferences/Desktop settings.

My desktop picture on startup reverts to apple pink space and not the photo I selected in preferences.

When I start my iMac the desktop picture is the apple red and pink space thing. In the preferences I have chosen a folder containing pictues and selected to change the pictures every 5 seconds and that works fine but when I shut down or restart the apple red/pink picture comes up so how do I correct this problem?
John128

Thanks I have just rebooted it, but still to no avail, have you got any other suggestions? I've inserted a couple of
images to show you exactly what I mean. As you can see the toolbar at the top there are no buttons on safari or finder, only a couple the rest have disappeared.

Desktop pictures: is there a limit to number of pictures

Hi there
I have a folder full of pictures (ie 6 thousand) that rotate through the desktop.
Is there a limit to how many pictures I can have in the source folder and still have the display & computer functioning all right?
Also, does changing the pic every 5 seconds have a negative impact on the Mac?
thanks in advance
denis

That is not the best idea in the world to be using a folder with that many images.
It requires a lot of memory usage to change the desktop pictures every 5 seconds, especially when it has to cycle through thousands of images.

Changing desktop picture every 1 second instead of 5

Hi All,
I'm opening a retail store and we're using 30 inch cinema displays for our menu boards. I'd like to use OS X's built-in "change desktop picture" to display our image, but would like it to change images every 1 second instead of 5.
Is there a way to modify the OS to do this?
Thanks,
- Mike

Install either the Developer Tools or download the Server Admin Tools onto your computer; in either case, find and open the Property List Editor, and open the file named com.apple.desktop.plist in your home folder with it. Inside this file, there will be two or more instances of ChangeTime; change the number associated with all instances of this key to 1.
(19112)

Desktop Pictures: "Change Pictures" in System Prefs no longer works.

I used to have my Desktop pictures change every five minutes using a special folder of photos. This function no longer works. The setting appears to be in effect according to the System Preferences Desktop Pictures Pane but the function appears to be broken in 10.4.5. I have trashed the Destop Pictures Preferences file in the Preferences Folder, but it still will not work.
Can anyone using Tiger 10.4.5 get this to work?
Griff

OK, that was really dumb!
The reason for the problem became abundantly clear when I quit Pathfinder. Suddenly the picture change became functional again.
So, I guess Pathfinder will not follow the Finder when it comes to settings like this.
Hey Cocoatech, how about getting this into your next release?
Griff

Desktop pictures do NOT rotate/change on secondary display

For some peculiar reason, my desktop pictures do NOT change / rotate on my secondary display.
I have a MacBook Pro 15" (Late 2007) running Snow Leopard 10.6.2 and I have dual displays. My primary display (the MBP screen) DOES change / rotate picture every minute, but I want my secondary display to do the same.
It seems that restarting does fix it, but only temporarily. I think it might have to do with plugging/unplugging the secondary display and sometimes if it's working, I disconnect and reconnect the monitor and then the pictures stop rotating.
All my desktop picture settings are correct in System Preferences. I tried unchecking then rechecking the "Change picture:" checkmark, but that doesn't fix anything. I also tried clicking on different folders in the left column of the Pref Pane, then clicking back on my chosen desktop pictures folder.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I discovered that for this particular file if you check the "random order" box under Desktop preferences, then the pictures will rotate like the rest of the photo files in the collection

Where do desktop pictures reside?

I have gone to Users Pictures in the main Library as well as Picture folders that reside elsewhere but have yet to be able to locate the "Apple" folder that shows up in System Prefs./Desktop and ScreenSaver/Desktop that holds a multitude of pictures that I would like to access. Are these photos in ROM or somewhere unaccessible? If not, does anyone know where they reside? Thank you.

IIRC, you can't put anything there. You have to create your own folder or use your Pictures folder, click on the plus sign in that prefPane, select either, and use it. The Desktop Pictures folder is reserved for the OS.

How do I find the file name of the current desktop picture?

I've tried going to System Prefs, right-clicking on the desktop, and rifling through the pictures folder to visually match the picture.
Isn't there an easy way to find out what the name of the current desktop picture file?

...and, when I double-clicked on the plist file, it opened OmniOutliner, which did a great job of sorting through all the machine-speak of the file, displaying it in an organized (outline) fashion. I was able to track down the missing picture and replace it on the desktop. Thanks!

Do Desktop Pictures live in a dedicated folder?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for