How to create a dynamic wallpaper theme for Windows 10
Dynamic wallpapers is a popular macOS Mojave feature that allows users to gradually change the wallpaper throughout the day based on the time of day. It’s pretty great and there are ways for Windows 10 users to get the same dynamic wallpaper feature on their desktop. These solutions either require a good deal of time to set up, or they limit users to a few wallpaper themes. We’re going to go over how you can create a dynamic wallpaper theme for Windows 10 with your own collection of wallpapers. This will require that you use a free, open source app called WinDynamicDesktop to change the wallpapers throughout the day.
WinDynamicDesktop
You can download the app here. The sole reason we’re using this app is because it allows users to easily create their own dynamic wallpaper themes, and import them. If you want, you can also publicly share the themes you’ve created.
Dynamic wallpaper theme
In order to create a dynamic wallpaper theme, you have to get a few things in order. You need to set up the images you’re going to use, and then we’re going to create a JSON file that you’re going to import in WinDynamicDesktop. The JSON file will depend on the images you’re using for your wallpaper so we’re going to set those up first.
Wallpaper files
The wallpaper images can be either PNG, or JPG however, they must all be the same format. You cannot use a mix of PNG and JPG files. Make sure that the images you are using all have the same format. If they don’t, use a free app like IrfanView to convert them.
You need to give your files a sequential name and the name should not have any spaces in them. If you need to use a space for the file name to make sense to you, replace the space with the underscore character.
As an example, if you have four wallpaper files that you want to create a space wallpaper theme from, you should name them; space1, space2, space3, and space4.
Make sure that the files are all named the same with only the number at the end being different. Move them all to the same folder. Once you have the files sorted out, we can create the JSON file.
Dynamic wallpaper JSON file
We’re only going to describe how you can create a local theme i.e., we’re not going into details on how to make a theme public.
Open a new Notepad file, and paste the following in it. You will need to make edits to this before you can use it to import a theme.
{
"imagesZipUri": "file://C:/users/fatiw/desktop/images",
"imageFilename": "image*.jpg",
"dayImageList": [
1,
2,
],
"nightImageList": [
3,
4
]
}
The first edit you need to make is for the “imagesZipUri” value. Replace file://C:/Users/fatiw/Desktop/images with the path to the folder you put the images for your theme in. Take note of two things; you must not remove the file:// bit from the start of the path, and you must not use a back slash between directories. Instead, you must use a forward slash (/).
Next, you need to change the value of “imageFilename”. Replace image*.jpg with the name you’ve given your wallpaper files however, leave the * where the number value goes. Change the extension from JPG to PNG if that is the format your images are in.
Finally, you need to define which images should be used for day time, and which should be used for night time. If you want to use an image for the day time, enter its number under “dayImageList”: [“. You can only enter one number per line. For the next image, go to the next line, and enter the number for the file. If you’re wondering what this ‘number’ is, it’s the one that appears at the end of the image name. You set it up when you were setting up the images for the theme. If you have an image called space1, and you want to use it for the day time, you will enter 1 under dayImageList”: [. You’ve already defined the name of the file in the previous step.
Follow the same process for night time images but add their numbers under “”nightImageList”: [“.
Once you’re done, it’s time to save the file. Save it with the name you want to give the theme. Do not use any spaces in the name. Use an underscore instead, and save the file with the JSON file extension.
Import dynamic theme
This is the last thing you need to do; import your theme. Open WinDynamicDesktop, and click the Import from file option. Select the JSON file, and allow it to download the images. This will take a while but once it’s done, you will see your theme in the gallery. Select it, and the app will apply the wallpapers from the theme to your desktop throughout the day.
Download themes for WinDynamicDesktop