When it comes to wallpapers, there are different camps. Some prefer to handpick images for their desktops, others prefer automation, and a third group likes to display a solid color instead.
If you belong to the automation camp, you now have another ace up your sleeve. The most recent update for Windows 11, released yesterday on the April 2024 Patch Day, introduced Windows Spotlight support for the desktop background.
While it is not certain that every user who upgraded has it right now, as Microsoft loves to roll out changes gradually over long periods, it should be available to most users by now.
What is Windows Spotlight?
Windows Spotlight is a built-in feature that downloads and displays wallpapers. It has been available as a personalization option for Windows 11’s lock screen and for Windows 10’s lock screen and desktop background.
The images come from Microsoft’s Bing search engine. More precisely, from Bing’s image of the day feature.
Windows Spotlight displays information about images, which may include geographical information. Microsoft may also use Windows Spotlight for advertisement.
Downloaded images are stored on the computer for a period before they are deleted.
Configure Windows Spotlight for wallpapers in Windows 11
Configuring Windows Spotlight as the provider for wallpapers is straightforward. Make sure you check out the next section as well, as it reveals a way to use the images manually.
Here is the process:
- Right-click on a blank spot on the desktop and select Personalize.
- Activate the background menu on the page to open it.
- Use the menu on the right of Personalize your background to select Windows spotlight.
Windows 11 displays the first Spotlight image immediately. These images change regularly.
Where are Spotlight images located?
Windows 11 downloads and stores Windows Spotlight images locally. You can copy them out of the temporary directory for safekeeping.
Here is how you do that:
- Open File Explorer.
- Paste the following path C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets and replace USERNAME with the name of the current user, e.g., martin.
- You find a list of images in the folder. These do not have a file extension associated with images.
- Copy the files to another directory.
- Rename them, so that the file extension is .jpg.
- You can now open them in any image editor and set them as the wallpaper.
A faster option is to use the following commands in a command prompt window:
robocopy C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets c:\tempdir\wallpaper /mir
Replace [username] with the correct username. This copies all images to c:\tempdir\wallpaper by default. You can change the directory.
To make things even easier, run the following two commands:
- cd c:\tempdir\wallpaper
- ren *. *.jpg
The first changes the active directory, the second adds the .jpg file extension to all files. (thanks)
Run this regularly to save all spotlight images.
Closing Words
It comes down to personal taste for the most part. I prefer a solid color background over Windows Spotlight for a number of reasons, but the main one is that I find them distracting.
What about you? Do you like the variety of images that Windows Spotlight offers?
Windows 11 or not (“not” in my case) I’m of those who,
– prefer a static wall paper;
– are keen of creating one by themselves.
More what you are confronted to on a regular basis is excessively complex, in terms of colors, graphics, faster you get bored of, it hence the pertinence of changing, automatically or not, a computer’s desk wallpaper. Personally I create (or modify an image) guided by extreme simplicity in the design, and very few different colors with a preference for one color and its shades. When I get bored, I create another one. Presently the one in place has been victorious of years of its presence 🙂
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How often does a modern Windows OS contact Microsoft servers ? Windows Spotlight wallpapers ads another connection, doesn’t it? Another option when aiming at a dynamic desktop wallpaper is to use one of those simplistic applications which you instruct to dig in the lot of dedicated wallpaper folder on your own device …
I don’t have this option yet, although the April update has been installed, but I assume it won’t have any more options than the current “slideshow” option.
In fact, I’ve been getting the same result for a long time (and even under Win 11) on my laptop with a little software that has existed/worked for years (but is no longer followed): Bing Wallpaper Changer_v1.6 !
On the PC I use “John’s Background Switcher ” whose options are much more substantial for fans of (screen) customization.