How to Set Wallpaper Slideshow in Windows: Step-by-Step Guide

Learn how to set up a stunning wallpaper slideshow on your Windows computer and never get bored with a static background again.

Key Takeaways:

• A wallpaper slideshow allows you to display a sequence of images at set intervals as the desktop background. These images can be your favorite photos, wallpapers, or anything in between.
• Setting up a wallpaper slideshow in Windows is a small change that can reduce the monotony and make a big difference in how the desktop looks and feels.
• You can set up the wallpaper slideshow in Windows via the Settings app. The steps are shown below.

With a few simple steps, you can create a slideshow of your photos, images, or favorite wallpapers, bringing new life to your desktop every time you see it. Not only is it a fun way to customize your workspace, but a changing wallpaper can also help reduce monotony and keep the desktop looking fresh.

Follow my guide to learn how to set up a wallpaper slideshow in Windows with all your favorite photos, images, and wallpapers.

Table of contents:

1. Create a wallpaper folder
2. How to set up wallpaper slideshow in Windows
3. Customize wallpaper slideshow in Windows
4. Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

The steps below work the same in Windows 10 and 11.

Create a wallpaper slideshow

Before setting up a wallpaper slideshow, you have to put all the images, photos, and wallpapers you’d like to use in the slideshow in a separate folder.

So, create a new folder anywhere on your computer and add all the images and wallpapers you’d like to use in the slideshow. Once the folder is ready, follow the next section to create a desktop wallpaper slideshow in Windows.

Why create a new folder and add all the images to it?

You have to do this because Windows doesn’t allow choosing images or wallpapers individually; you can only select a folder.

The folder acts as a central location for the images and allows you to easily organize and select which pictures you want to include in the slideshow.

Additionally, without a folder, it would be more challenging to manage the images and select which ones to use in the slideshow.

How to enable wallpaper slideshow in Windows

You can use the Windows Personalization settings to set up wallpaper slideshow. It is as simple as selecting the “slideshow” option and then choosing the wallpaper folder.

Here’s how to set up the wallpaper slideshow in Windows:

1. Open the Start menu and click on the “Settings” icon.
2. Click “Personalization” on the sidebar options.
3. Go to the “Background” page.
4. Choose “Slideshow” from the “Personalize your background” dropdown.
5. Click the “Browse” button.
6. Select the wallpaper folder.
7. Press on the “Choose this folder” button.
8. With that, you are done setting up the wallpaper slideshow in Windows.

Steps with more details:

First, press the “Start” button on the taskbar and click the “Settings” icon in the Start menu. This will open the Windows Settings app. You can also use the “Start key + I” keyboard shortcut.

In the Settings app, click “Personalization” from the list of sidebar options. This will open the Personalization page in the Settings window. Here, click on the “Background” option on the main page.

In the Background window, you will see a preview of your current wallpaper. To set up a wallpaper slideshow, click on the “Personalize your background” dropdown menu and select the “Slideshow” option.

After selecting the “Slideshow” option, you will see several options appear below the “Personalize your background” heading. To add the images you want to use in the slideshow, click on the “Browse” button. This will open a File Explorer window.

In the File Explorer window, navigate to the folder with the images you want to use in the slideshow and select it. Then, click on the “Choose this folder” button. This will close the File Explorer window and add the selected folder to the “Personalize your background” section.

As soon as you select the folder, you are done setting up the desktop wallpaper slideshow in Windows. From now, Windows automatically changes the wallpaper on a set interval.

Customize wallpaper slideshow in Windows

Windows gives you several options to customize wallpaper slideshow. For example, you can change how frequently Windows changes the wallpaper, should it shuffle the wallpapers, and more.

Here’s how to customize the wallpaper slideshow in Windows:

Change wallpaper slideshow interval

You can specify the duration for changing slideshow wallpapers. To do that, go to the “Settings -> Personalize -> Background” page and select a duration of your choice from the “Change picture every” dropdown.

The default wallpaper slideshow duration is 30 minutes.

Enable wallpaper shuffling in the slideshow

You can choose to have the images displayed in random order. To do that, go to the “Settings -> Personalize -> Background” page and turn on the “Shuffle the picture order” option.

Wallpaper slideshow power settings

On laptops, Windows disables wallpaper slideshow when it is running on battery power. i.e., not connected to a power source. You can choose to run wallpaper slideshow even when the laptop is running on battery power.

To do that, go to the “Settings -> Personalize -> Background” page and turn on the “Let slideshow run even if I’m on battery power” option.

Change how wallpapers are displayed on your desktop

You can also change how Windows displays the wallpapers on your desktop. i.e., choose whether you want the images to fill, fit, stretch, tile, center, or span the screen.

If you want, you can cycle through the available fit options to see what works for you.

If you don’t know what to select, I recommend keeping the default option or selecting the “Fill” option. In most cases, the “Fill” option does a great job of showcasing wallpapers even when they have different dimensions.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Here are a few frequently asked questions about enabling wallpaper slideshow in Windows.

That is it. It is that simple to set up the wallpaper slideshow in Windows.

I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.