Description

TobySoft's Wallpaper application allows the user to display up to 8 wallpaper images at specified times of the day. It runs automatically on boot-up and its user interface can be accessed from an icon in the system tray (on the Windows task bar next to the clock). An optional sound can be assigned to play when the wallpaper image changes.

Installing

Run the installation program and follow the on-screen instructions.

Uninstalling

Select Wallpaper from Windows Control Panel|Add/Remove Programs.

Operation

1. Double click on Wallpaper.exe or select it from the Windows Start Button|Programs. Ordinarily this won't be necessary, but it's required now because the program hasn't automatically run yet. The program sets up the Registry entries for auto-running at boot-up when it's run for the first time.

2. In the system tray (next to the clock) there should be an icon that looks like a grey monitor.

Right-click this icon and you'll see two menu options:

Left-click Show Wallpaper (or double-click the icon) and you'll get a window similar to this:  

3. Click the Add Image button, and a file selector will appear. Navigate to where your required image is. Only bitmap (*.bmp) files are shown. If you wish the image to be tiled, then click the Tiled check-box. The tiling option is also available from the main interface window. 

The text box labelled File is for information only and shows shows the currently selected file. Nothing can be typed in here.

4. Select a file and click OK and a window similar to this will appear:

5. Enter the required start time for this image, and select am/pm from the drop-down box and click OK. Invalid times like 12:78am or 46:10pm are not allowed. Also, duplicate times are not allowed either. You will get a message if the time you enter is invalid or if it's the same as the start time for a previously entered image.

6. The window should now look similar to this:

 

7. Repeat steps 4-5 for as many images as you want (up to 8). Note that the images are automatically rearranged chronologically.

8. Click Minimize when finished.

After you've entered a few images, the window will look similar to this:

The image highlighted in green is the currently displayed image.

If you check Tiled next to an image, then the image will be repeated to cover the desktop. If the size of your image is already full screen, then this option won't look any different on the screen.

Sound

To play a sound when the wallpaper changes, click the Change button and a file selector will appear:

Only Sound (*.wav) files are displayed. Navigate to your sound file and click OK. You will hear a preview of the sound when the file is selected. You will also hear a preview when the Sound check-box is clicked on the main interface window.

The Sound text box appears yellow if a sound file has been selected and enabled, otherwise it appears grey.

Removing Images

To remove an image from the program (not from your hard drive, the file will still be there), click the Remove button next to the image name. You will get a confirmation window. Click Yes or No to remove the image or not.

Other Features

If you double-click the Time box for an image, you can change the time that that image will be displayed. Similarly if you double-click the Image File box, you can change the image that will be displayed at that time.

When the program runs, it checks that the image and sound files exist. Any that aren't found are removed. A message advises you of this.

Clicking the Minimize button always minimises the program to the system tray.

The Preview button allows you to preview an image on the desktop without entering it into the program. Clicking the Preview Image button halts the normal program operation and brings up the Windows file selector. Select an image, check or uncheck Tiled and click Preview.  

Clicking Preview displays the image on the desktop. All other application windows must be minimised or closed to see this. The Windows file selector is immediately displayed so you can try another image. Clicking Exit Preview on the file selector restarts the normal program operation, and the wallpaper image that should be displayed at this time is restored.

The menu option Exit Wallpaper (right-click the icon in the system tray) exits the program.

The Internet menu option has two submenus - Go to TobySoft.com and Check for Updates. Go to TobySoft.com launches your browser and visits www.tobysoft.com. Check for Updates interrogates the TobySoft website and advises if there are newer versions of any TobySoft utilities you have installed.

The How to Register menu option allows you to enter a User Name and Password to unlock the program and prevent it from ceasing to work after the 30 day trial period. You can obtain a User Name and Password by emailing ed@tobysoft.com. The current fee is given when How to Register is clicked.