You
can
save
almost
any
image
as
desktop
wallpaper.
Windows
lets
you
assign
the
images
in a
couple
of
different
ways.
The
most
common
method
is
to
select
a
graphic
from
the
list
of
pre-installed
wallpaper
images
or a
bitmap
image
of
your
choice.
Another
method
is
to
enable
Active
Desktop.
(I
do
not
recommend
enabling
Active
desktop
due
to
all
the
problems
it
causes,
continue
at
your
own
risk.)
Display
Properties
Here's
how
to
change
your
pre-installed
wallpaper
image
to
another
pre-installed
image
or
bitmap
file.
- Point your cursor to an empty space o要 the desktop.
- Right-click and choose Properties.
- Go to the Background tab.
- Choose a bitmap image wallpaper. Your choices are denoted with an icon that resembles a folded piece of paper with art supplies in a jar.
- You can also browse for the image o要 your hard drive. Make sure to choose a bitmap image to avoid enabling Active Desktop.
- Decide how you want to display the image.
- Press Apply and OK.
Saving
images
off
the
Web
When
you're
surfing
the
Net
you
may
come
across
an
image
you
want
to
use
as
your
desktop
wallpaper.
Right-click
the
image
and
choose
Set
as
Background.
Windows
will
convert
the
image
to a
bitmap
and
add
it
to
your
list
of
pre-installed
wallpaper
images.
Active
Desktop
What
if
you
want
to
use
an
HTML
or
Shockwave
Flash
document
as
wallpaper?
Microsoft
developed
Active
Desktop
to
let
you
use
those
non-bitmap
documents.
Active
Desktop
sits
o要
top
of
your
regular
desktop
and
functions
like
an
Internet
browser.
Consequently,
you
can
have
separate
background
images
in
Active
Desktop
and
your
Display
Properties
at
the
same
time.
Here's
how
to
enable
Active
Desktop.
Using
active
desktop
is
not
recommended
by
the
Castle
due
to
the
numerous
problems
it
creates.
Not
to
mention
allowing
harmful
scripts
to
run.
- Point your cursor to an empty space o要 the desktop.
- Right-click and select Active Desktop.
- Select View as Webpage.
When
you
want
to
disable
Active
Desktop,
just
unselect
the
View
as
Webpage
option.
When
you
turn
off
Active
Desktop,
your
previously
selected
desktop
wallpaper
appears.
To
use
a
non-bitmap
image
such
as a
JPEG
or
GIF
as
desktop
wallpaper,
go
back
into
your
Display
Properties
and
browse
to
the
file
you
want
to
use
o要
your
hard
drive.
A
couple
of
options
may
also
appear
in
the
list
of
available
wallpaper
images.
Active
Desktop
wallpaper
usually
has
a
browser
icon
next
to
it.
Select
the
image
you
want
to
use,
and
press
Apply
and
OK.
