Free command-line wallpaper changer

Need a way to reset the wallpaper to a default from a batch file? This will do the job nicely, no fuss, no muss.

Normally, I would utilize Group Policy in order to set a standard wallpaper to company desktops, use the same technology to prevent users from changing the wallpaper. It's pretty straightforward, and I can hit thousands of client machines easily.

For a reason that escapes me, I needed the ability to set the wallpaper at the command prompt. I think it was simply to play a joke on one of my co-workers. You know, set the background to that of an open pit mine, and call him the productivity hole. Stuff like that.

So, here is WPC, or Wallpaper Changer. Original name, eh? You can downloaded from the attachment list above.

Just unzip it to a directory somewhere in the default path on your machine. Calling it is pretty simple, too. Simply give the executable the full path and filename of any graphical file suitable for desktop wallpaper use, thus:

wpc C:\MyStuff\MyPicture.jpg

If there are spaces in the path or file name, be sure to enclose the parameter in quotation marks:

wpc "C:\MyS tuff\My Picture.jpg"

This utility should work on all versions of Windows, including 7.

Why would you find this useful?

Use in batch files for dynamically updated wallpapers.
Put it in All Users Startup to reset the wallpaper every time a user logs in.
Park and Execute it on remote machines with Pusher.

Just a few ideas. I'm sure you can think of some more!

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Posted: 2010-01-25
By: dwirch
Viewed: 4,472 times

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