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General

Enable wallpaper changer system service

When checked, this option causes the wallpaper changer service to be active and its icon to appear in the system task tray.  Also, modifications are made to your system registry to ensure that the wallpaper changer service is automatically started the next time your system is restarted.  When unchecked, this option causes the wallpaper changer service to be deactivated and removed from memory.  Moreover, your system registry is updated so that the wallpaper changer service is not subsequently restarted each time your computer is restarted.

Schedule

The schedule section contains controls which allow you to specify when the wallpaper changer is automatically invoked to randomize your desktop wallpaper.  When the Invoke upon system initiation checkbox is checked, the wallpaper changer is invoked whenever the service is loaded.  One effect of this setting is that while the wallpaper changer service is active, each time you restart your computer, your desktop wallpaper will be automatically randomized – because the wallpaper changer service is restarted each time your computer restarts.

When the Invoke periodically checkbox is checked, the Interval edit control is enabled, by which you can specify the pause between subsequent automatic invocations of the wallpaper changer.  For example, if you check the Invoke periodically option and select 3 minutes in the Interval edit control, your desktop wallpaper will be randomized every 3 minutes, while you work.

Folder Selection

The controls in this section allow you to specify the root source folder the wallpaper changer utilizes when it is invoked to change your desktop wallpaper.


Sequencing

File Arrangement

The controls in the File Arrangement section control the order in which the wallpaper changer displays files.  Files can be displayed in ascending or descending alphabetical order, or can be arranged in ascending or descending order by their disk sizes or last write dates.

In the full, registered version of Ember, a random sequencing option is also supported by the wallpaper changer module.  Note that the random sequencing option is not available in the Evaluation Edition of Ember.

Subfolder Usage

The controls in the Subfolder Usage section control how the wallpaper changer treats supported files located in subfolders nested under the currently-selected folder.

If the Ignore subfolders option is selected, the wallpaper changer simply ignores any supported files other than those contained directly in the selected folder.

If the Iterate through subfolders option is selected, when the wallpaper changer is invoked it will first display any displayable files in the currently-selected folder, then it will iterate through supported files in any subfolders (and subfolders nested to any depth within those subfolders). This allows the wallpaper changer to present files in an entire directory tree, rather than just in a single folder.

When the Random option is selected from the File Arrangement drop list, it becomes possible to select a third subfolder usage option: Treat folder tree as single, random file domain.   When this option is selected, the wallpaper changer will choose files for sequential display by randomly selecting a folder from within the folder tree that has the selected folder as its "root," and then randomly selecting a supported file from that randomly selected folder.  In essence, when this option is selected, the wallpaper changer randomizes the contents not just of the selected folder, but randomizes the entire folder tree that has the selected folder as its root.


Wallpaper Placement

Sizing

The controls in the Sizing section control how an image installed by the wallpaper changer is scaled on the desktop. There are four sizing options.  If the Default Size radio button is selected, the image is installed as the desktop wallpaper in its native dimensions.  If the Descale to Fit radio button is selected, the image is installed as the desktop wallpaper in its native dimensions if its dimensions are small enough that it can be displayed on the desktop without being “cropped”; otherwise, the image is shrunk until it can be displayed on the desktop without being cropped.  If the Best Stretch radio button is selected, the image is installed as the desktop wallpaper enlarged or shrunk to best fit the desktop display area while preserving the relative dimensions of the image to avoid introducing distortion.  If the Unconstrained Stretch radio button is selected, the image is installed as the desktop wallpaper enlarged or shrunk to entirely fit the desktop display area (without preserving the relative dimensions of the image).

Position

The controls in the Position section of the Wallpaper Placement tab control how the image is positioned on the desktop when installed by the wallpaper changer.  There are two positioning options.  If the Centered radio button is selected, the image is installed centered on the desktop.  If the Tiled radio button is selected, the image is replicated, left-to-right, top-to-bottom, until the desktop is entirely covered.

Match desktop to corner color

Selecting the Match desktop to corner color checkbox causes the wallpaper changer to update the color of the Windows desktop to match the color of the upper lefthand corner of the image it installs as the desktop wallpaper.