How to Make Wallpaper

Level of difficulty: Easy

In computer language, wallpaper basically refers to the image displayed on the user’s computer screen and serves as the background of the desktop including its objects generally referred to as icons. Some computer experts recommend the use of picture files with a shallow depth of field in order to make sure that icons and their captions remain visible and readable to the user. A shallow depth of field simply means that the image file has a reduced visual detail that will allow the icons to pop out from the background making them more recognizable to the user and easier to locate especially when dealing with complex images that contain a lot of details. Images that can be used as wallpaper files can either be from digital sources (cameras, scanned pictures), downloaded from the Internet, or personally designed by the computer user among others.

Materials Needed:
- Microsoft Windows Operating System
- image editing program
- image file
Step 1
The first step to creating desktop wallpaper is to identify the screen resolution used on the target machine. This is to make sure that the image is displayed correctly. To get the existing screen resolution, right-click on any blank part of the desktop to bring up the context menu.
Step 2
From the context menu, select the 'Properties' option to open the 'Display Properties' window. Click on the 'Settings' tab and take note of the Screen Resolution setting which is defined in pixels.
Step 3
After identifying the Screen Resolution, open the image editing software and load the picture file to be used as the desktop wallpaper. It is recommended that the user utilizes an image editing application that he is familiar with to make any necessary manipulations easier.
Step 4
Once the picture file is loaded, make adjustments in saturation, color, and lighting. Take note that too dark or too light can drown out the desktop icons making them hard to identify.
Step 5
Save the image after implementing the preferred adjustments in the image properties. Next is to resize the image so that it matches (or closest possible) the Screen Resolution setting of the monitor. This option may vary from program to program but is mostly found under the 'Edit' menu. If available, also choose the option to Constrain (Maintain) Proportions. This allows the image to remain proportional despite changes in sizes.
Step 6
After resizing the image, crop it if needed to retain only the desired portions of the image. Save the image file using the JPEG format and preferably under a different file name to preserve the original version. Store it in the My Pictures document folder for easy retrieval. Exit the image editing program.
Step 7
From the desktop, right-click again on any vacant portion to bring up the context menu and select the 'Properties' option.
Step 8
In the 'Display Properties' window, click on the 'Desktop' tab and choose the 'Browse' button to locate your image file.
Step 9
Select the edited version of the image file and click on the 'OK' button. This should replace the existing wallpaper with the newly created version.