Q:

I have installed Windows 2000 / or ME, now Wallpaper Changer does not change the wallpaper anymore. It does only change the background color. 

If I press F5 or choose "Refresh Desktop", the new wallpaper appears on my screen! What's happen?
   

A:

Desktop was set to show as web content, right?

 ... disabled and everything is ok.

I don't know what MS had done under the hat of Active Desktop, but it seems the normal "change wallpaper" function (interface) don't work anymore. Now I have to implement the "IActiveDesktop" - interface (still in progress, and working in the latest beta version). 

However, if you have  problems with  "transparent icons" and "not refreshing desktops", just disable the Active Desktop (disable "Show desktop as Web content" property) and Wallpaper Changer will work fine with your system !!!

Q:

1. After i have started Wallpaper Changer, it is now impossible to read many of the labels on my icons ?

2. If I set the caption around the icons to be transparent in Wallpaper Changer, it will work for a while until I click on a icon, now the icons and the captions are blue !

This happens with almost all programs that try to do this...

3. Whenever I start Wallpaper Changer, my desktop and folder icons all go white or black or sometimes other odd mixed colours ! However, the more times the wallpaper is changed, the more icons are affected. Any suggestions ?
 

A:

It seems some systems have problems to display those icons with transparent icon captions. You can only disable this feature in the OPTIONS menu inside Wallpaper Changer or right click on the icon in your system tray area, go to OPTIONS and disable the entry "TRANSPARENT DESKTOP ICONS".

THIS IS NOT A BUG OF WALLPAPER CHANGER, THIS SHOULD HAPPEN WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAM THAT WILL PROMISE SUCH FEATURE !!! THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO, IS TO UPDATE YOUR DRIVER FOR YOUR GRAPHIC ADAPTER. MAYBE THE FEATURE WILL WORK NOW.
   

Q:

What does the "FORCE EXIT" option mean ?
 

A:

For some features Wallpaper Changer must run in background, because some applications like games will reset the transparent icons. But it's your choice to "force" Wallpaper Changer to "exit" after changing your wallpaper on startup.
   

Q:

I'd like to know exactly what "once a day" means. Does it mean 24 hours after the last wallpaper change (that would be the same as entering 23 hours 59 minutes in the spin controls above), or does it mean each day at midnight or some other time ?
 

A:

"Once a day" mean, only on the first time you start your machine on a day, however what time it is. Wallpaper Changer will normally exit after changing and will not change the wallpaper again. If your machine is running over several days, you should use to change in regular intervals and enter the maximum value like 23 hours 59 minutes, if you like to change the wallpaper once a day.
   

Q:

I cant get the Wallpaper Changer to work, do you have any idea what I am doing wrong ?
 

A:

If you setup Wallpaper Changer to change in regular intervals, you must click on [Start] on the first options dialog.
   

Q:

How can I set up Wallpaper Changer, that it starts when I switch the computer on ? or I included the program in the start menu and I can see the icon in the system tray when I first start Windows. But Wallpaper Changer does not start to change the pictures !
    

A:

Go to the tray menu and check the item "Start with Windows" or go to Wallpaper Changer [Initial Setup] options inside the program and press the [Add to Startup] button. The parameter "/h" will also start changing the background and hide Wallaper Changer in your system tray.
   

Q:

The "hot key" F6 for the "next option" doesn't work !
  

A:

Until version 1.85, the hot keys will work only inside the progam. Wallpaper Changer v1.85 will provide a option for global hot keys. For the "next picture" option you should use [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[ALT]+[F6] within any application.
   

Q:

"Global Exception raised" - What the heck does that mean .... ?
 

A:

This message mostly appears if you try to load invalid pictures. Download the latest version (1.7x and above) with improved error handling.
   

Q:

I am running NT with dual Pentium Xeon Processors. The problem is that the change is so interruptive, that it damages what I am doing in an application.
 

A:

I have several bug reports on such dual processors systems (not only Xeon), but I can not track the problem, because I have no system to test the Wallpaper Changer in such environment.
   

Q:

When I select a picture and hit apply, i can see the hour glass stay on the program and it just stop responding, i have to ctrl+alt+del and end task.
 

A:

On some slow machines it takes much time to change the images. Please wait, i know no case where Wallpaper Changer hangs after this function. It takes much CPU time to unpack JPG's and resize them to the current size of your desktop. Wallpaper Changer v1.80 and above will have an option to lower the priority of the program.
   

Q:

When Wallpaper Changer refreshes the desktop, all other windows open are also refreshed, which is quite annoying if you change wallpaper often. I guess this is a problem with Windows itself. Is there any way to prevent this ?
 

A:

No, you can not prevent this. You are right, those are the Windows "redraw" routines. This is no bug in Wallpaper Changer.
   

Q:

How can 2 different users keep from putting there wallpaper on the others persons screen ?
 

A:

The temporary wallpaper file is for all users the same. This file is located in your Wallpaper Changer directory. However you can add a registry key to prevent this

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Fp Tools\Wallpaper Changer\General]

"UsePersonalFolder"="1"

From now Wallpaper Changer will use your personal folder to store the temporary bitmap. This is mostly the "My Documents" folder in the directory where your profile is located. To turn off this feature, delete this key or set

"UsePersonalFolder" to "0".

If you have Wallpaper Changer v1.85 or higher installed, you can use the "Use personal folder" check box in your "Advanced" Options inside Wallpaper Changer.
   

Q:

Could Wallpaper Changer automatically read a directory of files and update itself ?
 

A:

No, not this time. Later maybe.
   

Q:

I believe you need a better help file, with step by step on how to use this program.
 

A:

Hope this help is more useful  like the older ones. :) Big thanks to Michael Rhodes.
   

Q:

Some of my pictures would be better as titled, and some centered. Is there a way that I can have both type of pictures display properly?
 

A:

Try to use "AutoTile" an let Wallpaper Changer decide, if the picture must be tiled or resized.
   

Q:

If I have active desktop, but not your program, I can select an animated GIF file for wallpaper, and I will get the animation. If I select the same GIF through your program, I do not get the animation. Why ?
  

A:

Wallpaper Changer will convert the first frame of the animated GIF to a bitmap located in your Wallpaper Changer directory. That's the reason.
   

Q:

Does your program support HTML as a wallpaper file ?
  

A:

At the moment only .jpg, .gif, .bmp files are valid as wallpaper.
   

Q:

Why moves my Internet Explorer 5 vertical scrollbar to the top when Wallpaper Changer refreshes the display to change the wallpaper ?
  

A:

Think, this is a bug in MS Internet Explorer 5. The same should happen if you try to change your background picture using display properties tab in your Windows controll panel.
   

Q:

Can you add an option of NEVER changing the wallpaper until I click on the 'Change WallPaper' icon... Sometimes, especially when installing new software, you need to restart the computer many times, and changing the wallpaper each time is unnecessary. Other times I like to keep a good looking wallpaper for many weeks.
 

A:

OK, convinced. ;) BTW: All versions 1.80 and above will have such option.
   

Q:

The uninstall function under the options menu does not seem to do anything. Can you please advise how to uninstall without leaving files all over the place.
 

A:

The uninstall function will "REMOVE" Wallpaper Changer from your WINDOWS STARTUP. It will NOT remove any files. Wallpaper Changer is one single .exe file and some documentation files. To uninstall, simply remove all the file you downloaded and nothing will be left over in the system. Why you should uninstall Wallpaper Changer ? ;)
   

Q:

Is there any limit of wallpaper files ?
 

A:

Particular not. But i recommend not to include more than 1000 files per listfile (.wpl).
   

Q:

After reentering a complete directory of wallpapers the old wallpapers stay in the list. So there are doubles or even triples in the list. Do you think it's possible to prevent double entries in the wallpaper list ?
  

A:

Not in the current version, in future releases maybe.
   

Q:

What programming language you have used ?
 

A:

Wallpaper Changer is completely written in Borland Delphi 3. Some parts of the code are originally written in C++. I ported them to Delphi, so Wallpaper Changer is very compact and only one single file. There are no external function stored in any .dll file.
   

Q:

Have you wrote any other great products like Wallpaper Changer ?
 

A:

Sure, but the most are not for general purpose.
   

Q:

The description mentioned command line calls, I could use it to accomplish the task but even if it is possible to specify an image from the command line.
 

A:

You can only specify lists of wallpaper files (*.wpl) to Wallpaper Changer.
   

Q:

With earlier versions I had it set up to change the paper at start up only and then the program would automatically shut down. This doesn't happen with 1.70. The program stays on and not only that, it keeps changing the wallpaper, even though there is no schedule for that.
 

A:

This is clearly a bug in version 1.70 (only), sorry. :)
   

Q:

I tried downloading your program from your homepage and it downloaded as a .com file, not a .exe file. Any suggestions?
  

A:

This is a well known Netscape bug. Simply rename the ".com" or ".exe" file to ".zip". Now you can extract all files from the archive.
   

Q:

After executing Wallpaper Changer, my Windows NT Workstation 4.0 startup screen seems to have disappeared. This is the screen you get during the login process that tells you it's Windows NT with IE 4.01, etc. The C:\winnt\winnt256.bmp file does exist (this is the file that is supposed to be displayed during startup). I can't figure out why this doesn't show up.
 

A:

Wallpaper Changer can change your login picture, if you wish, normally on the first start Wallpaper Changer will backup your current settings (you can restore those settings by clicking [Restore] button in the options menu [Default User]).

Remember, if you will not change your login picture, you must set the option in [Default User] tab [Change Desktop Wallpaper] to "Never" (default).

If the restore button will not help (but i think it will work), :) you can open your registry editor and go to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Fp Tools\Wallpaper Changer\Backup

you will find two keys like:

"Default_User_BGColor"="0 128 128"
(this should be your background color, which Wallpaper Changer saved on the first start)

"Default_User_Picture"="(Standard)"
(this is your login picture)

In a german Windows NT the constant (Standard) stands for WINNT256.BMP. This should be the same in other languages, in a english version, you can expect a value like

"Default_User_Picture"="(Default)".

Now go to the

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

section of your registry and change the key "Wallpaper" to the value what Wallpaper Changer has saved (like (Standard)) or simply enter the path of your "login picture" (like C:\winnt\winnt256.bmp).
   

Wallpaper Changer is copyright (c) 1997- 2001 Frank Pleitz. Microsoft, MS, Windows, Windows NT, Win32 and Win32s, Internet Explorer are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. JPEG is a trademark of the Independent JPEG Group. GIF is a trademark Compuserve Inc.. The GIF image data itself is compressed using a LZW scheme. Please note that the LZW algorithm is patented by UniSys.