Smart Folders for Desktop Background

I'm trying to take a batch of pictures and isolate them out in a smart folder for display as rotating desktop backgrounds. I've created a Smart Folder with the criteria that results in only the files I want. Then, I attempted to add this smart folder to the Desktop pane (in System Preferences). Instead, it added the folder it sits within, and will not display the desired photos. Is a smart folder not smart enough for this use?

Thanks, just checking, but to me, that seems like a bug - the Smart Folders are promoted as "smart" replacements to folders (of course, only when working on Leopard). If they cannot accomplish tasks such as this, then they continue to be of limited use to me. Here's to hoping their usefulness rises in the Snow Leopard.

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IPhoto 4.0.3 & smart album for desktop picture rotations

I am using iPhoto 4.0.3. I'm attempting to designate a specific album in System Preferences for my desktop pictures--and I'd like it to change on a set time frame. I can tell it to change pictures for all regular albums, but ANYTIME I try to designate a smart album, the "change picture every. . ." option grays out.
Does iPhoto or Mac OS X stop users from designating smart folders for some reason? I've checked and it's consistent. Every regular album retains the option to have the picture change on a recurring basis. Every smart album loses this option.

You wondered about how I have an album folder to select with smart folders.
If I try to find it through the finder, you're right, there is no actual folder--which I didn't realize.
However, if I go to System Preferences>Desktop & Screen Saver, there is a line that separates the Apple default options and the iPhoto albums. It's there that it shows all albums that you've set up--regular and smart versions.
I just never thought about the fact that their album icon for the smart folders wasn't pointing to an actual folder--just the data shortcuts to files.
Thanks for the new info!

Smart folders for file server

A while back I got very excited about Spotlight and created some Smart folders to display my PNG, PSD and FLA files that live on our file server.
Problem is that that when I click on them, they take ages to load. I assume Spotlight is not indexing the file server. If that's the case, can Smart folders ever been of any practical use for me?

Hi, Paul.
Spotlight neither works nor plays well with server / network-attached / shared volumes. See my recent post here for details.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Photo gallery photos will not open for desktop background selection

The photos I have in photo gallery will not open when trying to make changes to the background on desktop. Will also not open when trying to open them to e-bay.

Start Firefox in [[Safe Mode]] to check if one of the add-ons is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Tools > Add-ons > Themes).
* Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
See:
* [[Troubleshooting extensions and themes]]
* [[Troubleshooting plugins]]
If it does work in Safe-mode then disable all extensions and then try to find which is causing it by enabling one at a time until the problem reappears.
* Use "Disable all add-ons" on the [[Safe mode]] start window to disable all extensions.
* Close and restart Firefox after each change via "File > Exit" (Mac: "Firefox > Quit"; Linux: "File > Quit")

How to save Smart Folders for Leopard clean-install?

I'm doing a full wipe + install of Leopard when it comes out and was wondering where the smart folder settings were saved? Is it in a .plist?
any help would be great

The file kind is called a 'Saved Search Query', although the format looks to be the same as a .plist - they can also be opened in a text editor or Property List Editor. You can save them pretty much anywhere you want, but there is a 'Saved Searches' folder in the user's Library folder.

Group Policy for Desktop background applied but showing black desktop in the client end

Trying to set wallpaper in group policy but it's coming up blank.We have windows 2008 and 2012 server.most of the computer is windows 7.

Hi,
Does this issue occur to all computers?
Besides, can the users access the wallpaper?
If this issue just happens to Windows 7, we can try applying the hotfix in the following article.
The "Desktop Wallpaper" Group Policy setting is not applied in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977944/en-us
If the issue persists, we can refer to the following thread to troubleshoot the problem.
Black Desktop wall paper after implementing group policy
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/0c36d7bf-4694-46e1-b408-d644111c0264/black-desktop-wall-paper-after-implementing-group-policy?forum=winserverGP
Best regards,
Frank Shen

My Apple App Store screen is frozen with an ad for desktop backgrounds. How can I get rid of it?

How do I get rid of this thing? Tried clearing the cookies and such.

To close the App Store App. Double-click the Home button, and swipe up on the screen image of the App Store.

Desktop background options

I would like to increase the options for desktop backgrounds. There are multiple images in the screensaver options which would make wonderful backgrounds. Does anyone know how to access these slide shows and use the separate images as a background? Thank you for your help.

Hi levoyer,
On the main HD go to System/Library/ScreenSavers. From the right (or control) click on each screensaver and select Show Package Contents. Navigate through Contents/Resources folders and you'll find individual the .jpeg files.
Jrsy

Major change to how smart folders work?

I'm an ex-PC user and one way I configured the finder to work more like how I was used to working was to color code all my folders red and the half-dozen files I work with on a daily basis green. I had smart folders for both in the Tiger sidebar and they were there all the time. In Leopard they are only there in a finder window and are in the search for area. When I am in a program and want to open a file, that search for section is no longer in the sidebar, so I have to drill down through all folders and sub-folders to find the file I want. Am I going to be limited to launching files directly from the smart folder to easily find the files I need and not open from within the application?
RR

By default when you make a Smart Folder and save it you get it saved into this folder:
"/Users/yourname/Library/Saved Searches"
If you open that folder you should see your Smart Folders. Drag them into the "Places" section of the Sidebar in your open Finder window. They will now show up in the Open dialog window of your application. Of course, you will have them listed twice in the normal Finder window: once in places, so you can see them in the Open window, and once in Search For. Jeez, don't the programmers ever have to talk to each other? Anyway, the sensible thing to do is to have other sorts of things, that you don't need access to from an application, in the Search For section--or just close that section up. This is definitely another "what were they thinking" moment.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Smart folders duplicating emails with IMAP

I have set up smart folders for one imap accounts but notice that I get duplicate emails showing in the smart folder because it is listing items from All Mail and Inbox. Is there any way of having the smart folder only show the inbox items?
Using Mail 3.5 on Leopard 10.5.5
Thanks

I have the same problem with Mail Smart Folders for Gmail IMAP.
I found the solution here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8346170&#8346170
Basically you have exclude the All MAIL IMAP mailbox from the Smart Folder.
I am using MAIL 2.1.3 and OSX 10.4.11
Message was edited by: talkderby2me

Smart Folders - Finder - multiple file extensions

Hi All,
I'm only a couple of years into iOS so please forgive me if this is a really dumb question but:
When I create a smart folder in Finder I can't seem to add a second search criteria without the original information disappearing.
As an example: If I search for 'file extension' and '.docx' over the past seven days the search functions correctly.
If I search for 'file extension' and '.doc' over the past seven days the search also functions correctly.
If however I try to add both searches together for the same smart folder so that I can see both document types i've been using over the past 7 days then it returns a blank folder. Surely i'm doing something wrong and I don't have to have two different smart folders for each file extension?
Thanks in advance!

Create a new smart folder by going to "File > New Smart Folder" or pressing "⎇⌘N" and create the first parameter.
Hover your mouse over the ( + ) button on the right.
Hold down the Option "⎇" key and the ( + ) turns into an ( ... ).
Clicking this allows you to change "All" to "Any" and enter the file extensions you want.

Smart folder for address book version 3.12?

Hi I have a iBook with OS 10.4, I also have a Imac G3 with OS 10.3.9 and i have imported some 600+ addesses from the iBook with notes (vCards) but the ability to sort by smart mailboxes seems not to be there and i don't see any up dates for the older address book available.
I tried to just take the address book file from the 10.4 machine to the 10.3.9 machine but that didn't work. Is there any way go get either the folders and addresses or set up some smart folders for the older machine?
Thanks
Philip

Ahh, Thanks Duane, guessed that might be the case. I had hoped that I would not have to spend A$2500 to get this little bit of functionality! I am trying to squeeze the most I can out of the $ I have already spent

Can't set smart album pictures as desktop backgrounds.

i have imported 'without copying to library' a whole bunch of pics into iphoto and have created smart albums. now i went to 'change desktop background' by control clicking on the desktop and am selecting a pictures from one of the smart albums but its only displaying a blue background. this is true for all smart albums and normals ones as well. when i select an image from the other folders they work fine. what could be the reason?
the primary reason of importing stuff to iphoto was so that they are easily available across applications.

simport
Do you know of any reason why the Desktop pref pane should not be able to use photos in a "referenced" iphoto library
It's just the nature of the beast.
but I just don't trust it enough to do what it will with my photos by having them stored in the iPhoto library.
What are you afraid of?
When you import a pic into iPhoto in the default Managed mode all it does is make a byte by byte copy of the pic. Nothing else. It's an exact copy. It makes no alterations, adds nothing, removes nothing.
The pic is stored in the Finder. Yes, it's in a Unix Style Package file, but apart from all the ways to access your pics I'll describe in a moment, if you want to look inside the package you can do so at any time: Simply right click on the iPhoto Library and select 'Show Package Contents' from the resulting menu. A Finder window will open and you'll see the Library inside.
There are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three core folders
Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner. (As your Library is referenced the files will be aliases rather than the actual files.
(ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
(iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
Remember: iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
Running a referenced library has a number of pitfalls - apart from the fact that System Preferences cannot use the files.
1. Import and deleting pics are more complex procedures
2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
Always allowing for personal preference, I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers.
If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
If you're concerned about accessing the files, there are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
Your choice, obviously, but best to be aware of all the ramifications. By all means post back if you require more info.
You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
Other information that may offer comfort:
Events in the iPhoto Window correspond exactly with the Folders in the Originals Folder in the iPhoto Library package file (Right click on it in the Pictures Folder -> Show Package Contents).
You can move photos between Events, you can rename Events, edit them, create them, as long as you do it via the iPhoto Window. Check out the Info Pane (wee 'i', lower left) the name and date fields are editable. Edit a Event Name using the Info Pane, the Event Folder in iPhoto Library/Originals will also have the new name.
Mind you, I don't suggest that you change over in one go. I think the best thing to do is create a new Library (Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library') and set it as a Managed Library. Import 50 or 100 pics an explore it, see how it works and see if that does anything for your confidence.
Regards
TD

Desktop background for clients problem....

I have an xserve set up as a PDC for about 50 windows xp machines. Each user has their own home directory mounted on the /Users share point. All the users are able to log in create files on their desktop, music folder, or my documents and sign out and then go to another computer and sign in and everything will show up in their respected folders as it should with roaming profiles. The only thing that is causing a problem is that when a user changes their desktop background and logs off and then logs in on another computer they do not get their desktop background that they set. I know this is a minor problem but with roaming profiles a user should be able to customize their environment and have it replicate to another computer when they log in. Any suggestions?? Thank you for your help!

Hi Wim Duizer,
Because desktop wallpaper can be controlled with the registry 'HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\', you can get it through setting registry in gpo: GPMC->Edit->USER Configuration->Preferences->Windows Settings->Registry, and you can use
the cmdlet Set-GPPrefRegistryValue to edit this gpo in powershell.
Please try the script below, which need test firstly:
$GPOName = 'desktop wallpaper'
$TargetOU = 'OU=Domain Controllers,...'
New-GPO -Name $GPOName | Set-GPPrefRegistryValue -Context User -Key 'HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop' -ValueName wallpaper -Value "image file path" -Type String -Action Update
New-GPLink -Name $GPOName -Target $TargetOU | out-null
I hope this helps.

For some reason, I cannot change my desktop background no matter how many times I delete the "active" folder. It's as if it's locked. Any ideas how I can fix it?

For some reason, I cannot change my desktop background no matter how many times I delete the "active" folder. It's as if it's locked. Any ideas how I can fix it?

Yes it sounds like you have a corrupted preference file.
The setting you make in individual programs get saved to a Preference file in your Users/Library/Preferences folder.
All you have to do is drag out the old file to the desktop, reboot and load the program and the preference file gets rebuilt without your preferences which you reset.
For your case I beleive the preference file is
com.apple.desktop.plist

Smart Folders for Desktop Background

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