Add more options to XP's Display/Wallpaper Settings

Ex_Brit

Ex_Brit

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Staff member
XP has the options, when selecting a picture for the background/wallpaper, of Center, Tile or Stretch to Fit, whereas Vista has Fit to Screen, Tile, Center, Maintain Aspect Ratio and finally, Crop to Fit Screen.
The latter is useful to get round objects to maintain their correct shape on a widescreen display whilst still filling the entire screen.
Anyone know of any utility or hack that adds more options to XP's display settings?
 
I just cheated and cloned some wider margins on my 4:3 wallpaper to make it 16:10
 
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Well I realise that I could spend hours of trial and error fiddling with various image editing programs that I have, but find a lot more difficult to use than they say they are. But isn't the whole purpose of a computer to do it for you without too much fiddlng around?

It seems logical to me that if Vista can do it, why not XP?

By the way how does one attach a thumbnail here? Mods only I guess?

Here's a link to the wallpaper: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/Ex-Brit/Rocky_planet.jpg
I certainly do not need the title at the top but if XP had the same setting I wouldn't need to worry about it anyway.
It's my current Vista wallpaper.
 
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Click on the "Go advanced" button under Quick reply, then click on the paperclip.

Like your wallpaper - the view from your window ? (You could just crop it with Paint, mostly at the top, perhaps a shade off the bottom for balance, then "stretch to fit")
 
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OMG - I've been wasting hosting space all this time. I assumed it was only for mods like it is for the McAfee forums....LOL
There are none so blind as those who will not see.

Sometimes I wish it was the view from my window. This area is extremely noisy and there often are times I wish I was somewhere like Mars or Titan. (Suitably equipped of course).
 

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Thanks Terry. Actually I thought that I really should do some more research and I finally found the ideal tool that allows one to set the aspect ratio (in this case 16:10) as well as the pixel size (1680X1050) and it automatically crops and resizes in one fell swoop.
http://www.darkwood.demon.co.uk/PC/crop.htm

So now I have the background looking more like it should.

Thanks again.

Here's my other favourite, duly processed.
 

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Ex_Brit said:
Well I realise that I could spend hours of trial and error fiddling with various image editing programs that I have, but find a lot more difficult to use than they say they are. But isn't the whole purpose of a computer to do it for you without too much fiddlng around?

It seems logical to me that if Vista can do it, why not XP?

By the way how does one attach a thumbnail here? Mods only I guess?

Here's a link to the wallpaper: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/Ex-Brit/Rocky_planet.jpg
I certainly do not need the title at the top but if XP had the same setting I wouldn't need to worry about it anyway.
It's my current Vista wallpaper.
Click to expand...
Actually it is not logical. The reason. This could be one of the more underspoken update to Vista. So it would not be available in XP at all. :wink:

Which from what i am seeing is the case.
 
Vista has a number of really nice little changes - if only those were the only upgrades from XP it would wonderful :wink:
 
It's so useful to be able to refer to old threads... I now am using a Samsung XL2370 LED backlit monitor which has 1920 X 1080 resolution so it's "off to the drawing board" again with wallpapers etc.
I have to figure out what ratio that is.....never very good at this.
 
It's 16:9 (standard TV wide-screen) instead of 16:10 (annoying PC monitor wide screen compromise)
 
16:10 was what my previous monitor was at 1680 X 1050, thanks. I had to redownload that app I mentioned earlier in the thread. Glad I posted it here otherwise I would have never remembered what it was.
It's actually handier than most similar apps for this purpose.
Of course, if I would just stop choosing wallpapers and boot screens that have round objects therein........... :wink:
 
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