Random Wallpaper + Transparent Desktop

[qole]

qwerty12 posted a very cool set of toys over in "Show Off Your Screenshots," including a way to make any window transparent. I wanted a way to change my wallpaper easily (and quickly), so I put together a couple of scripts that use qwerty12's stuff to make this happen.

You must set your desktop background to BLACK for this to work!

This little package includes four things:

1. A script, setback, that will make your desktop transparent and then put a picture of your choice on the background.

2. A script, rndback, that (fake) randomly chooses an image from a supplied list of directories, and then calls setback to make that picture your background.

3. A menu item, "Set Random Wallpaper" (which calls rndback); this displays a new wallpaper each time you choose it.

4. A menu item, "Make Window Transparent" (which calls transsset-df); this makes the next window you click on 25% transparent.

A cool side effect: If you return to the desktop from a fullscreen app using the switch (home) key, you can see the app behind the desktop. So start a slideshow in Quiver, then go back to your desktop, and you now have a slideshow for wallpaper!

Use the /home/user/.wallpaper file to set the directory list for your wallpapers. Separate the directories with a space. There's also a way to add image types to the list of types that are searched for, use the template in the .wallpaper file to add more types.

Every time you reboot, your desktop background will be plain black and opaque until you run the "Set Random Wallpaper" (or call setback in a startup script).

Pre-requisites:

UPDATE: If you add my repository, this is easy to install.

NEW Pre-requisite Instructions:

You can now do it from the Application Manager!

Add this to Application Manager;
Tools -> Application Catalogue -> New button

Catalogue name: Qole
Web address: http://qole.org/repository/
Distribution: maemo
Components: main

Now, when you go to Browse installable applications -> Other, you'll be able to install setback 0.1.0 and all the other stuff will be installed automagically...

Old Pre-requisite Instructions:

Two libraries from Chinook repositories:

libimlib2
libxmu6

The composite stuff from qwerty12:

libxcomposite1
xcompmgr
transset-df

Some extra stuff qwerty12 compiled for me:

hsetroot
wmctrl

Finally, here is the little package that uses all the above stuff.

setback 0.4.0

You might be able to get this to work just by coming here on your tablet and clicking then installing each link in this post.

If you don't add my repository, you will have to save all these files to a folder, gain root, then use "dpkg -i <packagename>" to install them.

Screenshot:






I'm typing this all on my tablet; I don't have the patience to do more now. Ask me questions, I will answer them.

[qwerty12]

Here's some other stuff you can do with compositing:

[pycage]

xcompmgr on the tablet. This will open up completely new possibilities.

[Laughing Man]

Sweet.. I was wondering when changing wallpaper automatically was going work.

Any reason why your first screenshot has a black box?

[qole]

Originally Posted by Laughing Man

Any reason why your first screenshot has a black box?

I assume you mean around the top icon panel? It was an early screenshot, and I still hadn't figured out the best transparency settings yet, so the top panel isn't transparent in that image. But there is a distinct box around that panel when you start playing with transparency, no matter how transparent you make it...

[qwerty12]

Originally Posted by qole

I'm typing this all on my tablet; I don't have the patience to do more now.

You typed that from an N800? Hehe, nice work, I don't type properly even when sitting in front of my computer screen. :P

[thopiekar]

thanks nice work!

[YoDude]

Could a Web page or image be used with a modified script???

[qole]

Originally Posted by YoDude

Could a Web page or image be used with a modified script???

I guess so, you could use wget to grab an image from the web first, then display it...

I'm using hsetroot to display the image on the root X window. You might be able to find another tool that puts web pages there. Look around the Debian repos for something...

Heck, you could have hang gliders flying around, or fireworks, or the phase of the moon, or Scottish tartans. Feel free to experiment, I recommend Easy Debian to find stuff that works.

[qole]

Originally Posted by qwerty12

You typed that from an N800? Hehe, nice work, I don't type properly even when sitting in front of my computer screen. :P

I had a bluetooth keyboard. My wife was on the kitchen laptop, so I used the tablet. It seems to be important to hit "Preview Post" frequently, because some unknown key combination causes the tablet's browser to jump back a page, losing everything I've typed. "Preview Post" saves my work.