Wallpaper bug in WB5.5

from Stardock Forums
There's an issue with WB5.5 and wallpapers that are included in skins. Apperently when you install a windowblind theme in WB5.5 any wallpapers that are included with the skin are extracted or cached to the wallpaper directory under Windowblinds. Well, the issue is that when you delete the skin it doesn't delete the wallpaper associated with it. This may not be a big deal with some people, but I think it's a shorcoming of the system. This goes right in line with my initial questions as to why there was need for wallpaper capabilities within WB to begin with. What's the big deal with just changing it under the display properties? If you would have kept it like that it would not have this issue. Please change the system where it just leaves the wallpaper in the windowblind's theme directory it comes with. That way when you delete the theme EVERYTHING that came with it goes away. I hate having to go dig through looking for missed items.
windowblinds
6,012 views 20 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
hmmm I would hope they find a different solution JR as I often want to keep the wall even after deleting the blind, but I do agree with at least having the option available.

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Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

This is not a bug.

WB copies any wallpapers referenced in the skin & any jpg files to the \wallpapers folder by design.  This allows a user to pick from multiple wallpapers that the skin author may have provided. 

If WB did not do this then the user would have to browse to the correct skin folder & then try to find any wallpapers in a folder full of skin bitmaps which is not very user friendly.

We may add the option to delete a wallpaper from the wallpapers page, but we will not be automatically deleting the wallpapers when you delete a skin as I do not believe this is something most people would want.

The WB wallpapers page can do things which the Display Properties tab cannot :

Jpg wallpapers are resized using a very high quality resize algorithm (unlike display properties on XP)

WB has a random feature

WB shows you previews of the wallpapers and automatically sets tile or stretch depending on the image and even lets you use 4:3 wallpapers on widescreen displays and widescreen wallpapers on 4:3 displays (with cropping obviously)

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Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

The last thing I want is WB deleting anything.

 

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
We may add the option to delete a wallpaper from the wallpapers page, but we will not be automatically deleting the wallpapers when you delete a skin as I do not believe this is something most people would want.


How about an option (like a check in settings) that allows for auto delete of the wallpaper when you delete the skin? That way people that want it like this don't have to do extra work and people that don't want it to do this can just uncheck the field. Sounds like a good compromize to me... fullfills both wants from both parties.

Oh and the ability to go into wallpapers section and "right-click" and delete MUST be an option. Having to do it throught explorer now is just stupid.... especially since you don't presently have an option to auto delete the wallpaper when you delete the skin. I don't know why you wouldn't have put that in there.   
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
WB copies any wallpapers referenced in the skin & any jpg files to the \wallpapers folder by design. This allows a user to pick from multiple wallpapers that the skin author may have provided.

If WB did not do this then the user would have to browse to the correct skin folder & then try to find any wallpapers in a folder full of skin bitmaps which is not very user friendly.


GAH! I didn't know that! And here I was digging through those bitmaps and tga's this whole time. I was gonna make a request to show the folder/filename for the wallpapers when looking through the wallpaper change in the WB config (which would still be nice because I have no idea which wall came with which theme). Also, why doesn't it show tooltips for those little config buttons in the wallpaper section? Maybe I'm just being a ditz, but I know the right one is config but I'm not sure what the left one is.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm not sure what the left one is.


look at the little pic closely

that would be 'thumbnail view' as opposed to 'slideshow view'

click it, then look for it's counter part (slideshow) to the left of the config
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Ah, gotcha. I didn't want to start clicking things and accidentally set off some other option.
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top


The WB wallpapers page can do things which the Display Properties tab cannot :


Jpg wallpapers are resized using a very high quality resize algorithm (unlike display properties on XP)




I am having a problem where smaller size wallpaper images are not scaling up to my display resolution. If I take a 1024x768 wallpaper it is very jagged and blurry through Windowblinds but if I set is as my wallpaper thru XP it is smooth edged. I have a 1280x1024 LCD monitor. I had a ticket open with tech support but never got an answer after the message was forwarded to the programmer(?). Larger images scale down fine it is only a problem with lower res images. It was working fine up until now.
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
i have a very different problem. my wb 5.5 isn't applying the wallpaper at all. i mean not with all skins but most of them. and i don't know why??
skins that apply the wallpaper like aeroglass and arrow and black but many others don't like "xp wood" and it had nothing to do with the override thing i notice it.
please i need help in these
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
daredevil313

Open the WindowBlinds Configuration screen and click on View my system information.  Copy/paste that info here.
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And me another one ...   
I've had 2 Walls folders (with of course different walls in each) and unchecked all others directories from monitoring:

... And when i go through viewing Walls avaible i get for some 2 or 3 times the same wall displayed ...

I've posted it elsewhere also: should it be possible that Walls would be sorted by alphabetical name + having a tooltip of the name when mouse over them ?
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top

neophil78: If you see multiple copies of a wallpaper that will be because you have multiple copies of that wallpaper.

daredevil313: Many skins do not automatically define a wallpaper which is why they are not applied when you change skin.

Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
WindowBlinds version : WindowBlinds 5 (5.5 (build 92 x86))

WindowBlinds is installed correctly on this PC

WindowBlinds appears to be activated on this PC

Your machine supports per pixel borders on WindowBlinds skins.

(Plug and Play Monitor) 1 is attached to Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset Family

Wblind.dll 2007/02/21 15:06:20
Wbsrv.dll 2007/08/08 04:46:13
Wbconfig.exe 2007/02/21 15:06:33
Wbload.exe 2006/09/30 13:59:14
Wbhelp.dll 2004/09/18 15:37:07
Wbui.dll 2005/12/06 21:29:06
Tray.dll 2006/04/28 18:27:49
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
Neil Banfield
what can i do to define the wallpaper automatically ?
and how do i know the skins that define the wallpaper automatically ?
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
daredevil313 - Please send an email to support@stardock.com as they will be able to assist you with this version of WindowBlinds.
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
neophil78: If you see multiple copies of a wallpaper that will be because you have multiple copies of that wallpaper


Nope, i'm absolutly sure of it ... (and that's because i'm sure and verified it , that i tell it as a problem ...   
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I have checked and I do not believe it is possible for a wallpaper to show twice in the list unless it is on disk twice.

I would suggest you set it to show just one directory and work from there.

Remember that if a skin included a wallpaper then it will have been copied to the WB wallpapers folder which shows by default.

Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top
Some skin authors include more than one size of the included wallpaper, e.g., 1024x768; 1280x1024, etc., which would then display it more than once; each size being displayed separately.
Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I recommend AWC, automatic wallpaper changer, for this. It's FREEWARE and has MANY more scaling and positioning options than Windowblinds does built in (sorry Neil, your program RULES, but it can't do everything and anything, hehe).

For example, I have a 1680x1050 monitor. I have a directory of wallpaper, many of them are 1600x1200. What works best is for the image to be scaled up horizontally then centered vertically, and have the top and bottom cropped off so that the aspect ratio remains the same. AWC does this perfectly with the "worst fit option" and centered positioning, etc.

So if the built in wallpaper manager in WB doesn't cover all the bases for you, you might want to try AWC, http://awc.smurphy.co.uk/

I hope that helps.

:}
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have checked and I do not believe it is possible for a wallpaper to show twice in the list unless it is on disk twice.
I would suggest you set it to show just one directory and work from there.


I think i've understood what happend:

With previous beta version of WB, when adding a directory monitoring such as E:\Mes Documents\Mes Images\WallPapers\1280 X 1024, wallpapers well in fact added to C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\WindowBlinds\Wallpapers AND when managing they were shown twice in the WindowBlins Config Panel... It seems that with latest WB 5.90 [ b ].027, wallpapers are still copyed from E:\Mes Documents\Mes Images\WallPapers\1280 X 1024 to C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\WindowBlinds\Wallpapers but no more shawn if WindowBlinds WallPaper Directory is unchecked in the monitoring choices ... BTW if it's checked and then E:\Mes Documents\Mes Images\WallPapers\1280 X 1024 unchecked, nothing is shawn apart of the WB default wall ...

Though, in any cases something's still wrong with the managing ...