Changing the desktop wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to personalize your Mac. It ensures everyone knows it is yours, different from all the other Macs using the standard wallpaper supplied by Apple.
Picture Formats to Use
Desktop wallpaper pictures must be in JPEG, TIFF, PICT, or RAW formats. Raw image files are sometimes problematic because each camera manufacturer creates its own RAW image file format. Apple routinely updates the Mac OS to handle the many different types of RAW formats, but to ensure maximum compatibility—particularly if you’re going to share your pictures with family or friends—use JPEG or TIFF format.
Where to Store Your Pictures
You can store the pictures you want to use for your desktop wallpaper anywhere on your Mac. One way to stay organized is to create a Desktop Pictures folder to store your collection of images and place that folder on your desktop or within the Pictures folder that the Mac OS creates for each user.
Photos, iPhoto, and Aperture Libraries
In addition to creating pictures and storing them in a designated folder, you can use your existing Photos, iPhoto, or Aperture image library as a source of images for desktop wallpaper. The Mac includes these libraries as predefined locations in the system’s Desktop & Screen Saver preferences pane. Although it’s easy to use these image libraries, it’s a good idea to copy the pictures you intend to use as desktop wallpaper to a specific folder, independent of your Photos, iPhoto or Aperture library. That way, you can edit images in any of the image libraries without worrying about affecting their desktop wallpaper counterparts.
Desktop Wallpaper Albums
Add a New Folder of Images to Desktop Preferences
Select the Image You Want to Use
Display Options
Near the top of the sidebar is a preview of the selected image and how it will look on your Mac’s desktop. Just to the right of the preview is a drop-down menu that contains options for fitting the image to your desktop. Images you select may not fit the desktop exactly. You can select the method used by your Mac to arrange the image on your screen. The choices are:
Fill ScreenFit to ScreenStretch to Fill ScreenCenterTile
Try each option and see its effects in the preview. Some of the available options cause image distortion, so be sure and check the actual desktop as well.
How to Use Multiple Desktop Wallpaper Pictures
If the selected folder contains more than one picture, you can choose to have your Mac display each picture in the folder, either in order or randomly. You can also decide how often the images change. Click the red close button at the top of the screen to close System Preferences and enjoy your new desktop pictures.
