Graphic files

[FrankSG]

My OS is XP Home. My question has to do with my graphic files that I see when I go to Display Properties and click on the Desktop tab.
In my "My Pictures" folder, I have several sub-folders where I keep my pictures--family pictures, etc. Yesterday, I wanted to change the picture I have on my Desktop. I right clicked a blank space on my Desktop and chose Properties. I then clicked on the Desktop tab to chose on of the graphics that are there. I discovered that all of the pictures that I put in the "My Pictures" folder are there--dozens of them. I really don't want them there. So I have two questions: First, is there a way to get them out of there without removing them from my "My Pictures" folder? Second, does it do that by default--that is are the graphic files that I put in MY Pictures folder supposed to go there? I guess that brings up another question: If the answer to my second question is "yes", then is there something I can do so that they don't end up where I don't want them? Thanks.
~Frank~

[malcore]

One thing to try is to disable Active Desktop. Doing so will display only .bmp files in the Desktop tab of Display Properties. It will also only allow .bmp files to be used as a background, converting any .jpg files to bmp format.

On XP Pro, this can be done using gpedit. For Home you can go here (http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm) and download the registry tweak in a vb script (#16) Disable/Enable Active desktop.

Download it and double clck on it. Then check if your pictures are all still listed. To re-enable Active Desktop , double click the same .vbs file again.


Showing the My Pictures folder in the Desktop tab has been a feature of Windows since ME. This is the easiest workarond I have found.


However, I prefer to store any large amount of pictures and graphics in their own dedicated folders on a partition other than the the Windows partition.

You can easily drag your photos to newly created folders thereby removing them from the Desktop tab.

[mjc]

So, this is another case of "It's not a flaw; it's a feature?"

[malcore]

HeHe,

I'll rephrase:

Showing the My Pictures folder in the Desktop tab has been a flaw of Windows since ME.

[Paul Komski]

I have never seen my own My Pictures there - its always been the files inside the Windows\Web\Wallpaper folder. How can I get the "flaw".

[malcore]

I think all it takes is setting a jpg file from your My Pictures folder as desktop background and Windows remembers.

I'm not entirely sure. One user account on my computer does not have the flaw.:confused:

Edit: It also shows any loose .bmp files in C:\Windows or other web content wallpapers there.

[Paul Komski]

He He - I always have wallpaper set to None - maybe that's the reason. Though there is an active desktop with my own home page on it.

[FrankSG]

Thanks, Malcore--I downloaded that script which disabled Active Desktop and it got rid of all the files that I didn't want. But it also got rid of some that I wanted. I had some graphic files of my grandchild in there that I wanted to get back. So I renamed them to a bmp file. That didn't work. What I finally ended doing was to rescan the pictures and save them as a bmp file in the MY PICTURES folder. That worked. It also sends the file to the WINDOWS/WEB/WALLPAPPER folder.
Paul, if you have some pictures that you want to some pictures that you have for the background on your desktop. If you scan them and save them as a bmp format in your MY PICTURES folder, it should work. I haven't tried it yet, but I suppose if you put any file with a bmp format in that folder, it will work. I think where my mistake was that simply changing the name doesn't change the format so that's why it didn't work. As soon as I send this, I'm going to find a bmp file on my hard-drive and copy it to that folder just to see if it ends up in the WINDOWS/WEB/WALLPAPER folder.

[malcore]

Instead of rescanning the files, you could have just opened them in PaintShop and saved them as .bmp files.

[FrankSG]

Originally posted by malcore
Instead of rescanning the files, you could have just opened them in PaintShop and saved them as .bmp files.
I was wondering what would be an easier way to do it. That will save me a lot of work! By the way, I did copy a bmp file to the MY PICTURES folder and it does show up so that I could use it as background.

[deddard]

If you want the stuff for use as a background, then the basic utility PAINT which is bundled in windows will do the conversion.
just open the file and choose save as, and select the bitmap option from the drop down list of file types. This should automatically allow you to 'save as wallpaper' as well.

[FrankSG]

Originally posted by deddard
If you want the stuff for use as a background, then the basic utility PAINT which is bundled in windows will do the conversion.
just open the file and choose save as, and select the bitmap option from the drop down list of file types. This should automatically allow you to 'save as wallpaper' as well.
I must be doing something wrong. I opened PAINT and then opened a jpg file and chose Save As. There were 3 options for bitmap: 16 Color bitmap, 256 Color bitmap and 24 bit. Regardless of which one I chose, the picture got really bad--funny colors and everything. I can't even change them back not. Regardless of how I save them, they remain the same. It was a picture that wasn't important so I didn't spoil a good picture. Any idea what I did wrong?