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3. Background

The Background setup dialog is comprised of four sections:

1. Selection of the Desktop to configure.
2. The background Preview Monitor.
3. The background Color.
4. The background Wallpaper.

At the bottom of the screen the option Dock into the panel allows you to select whether an icon for the Background Display Setting dialog is docked into the Panel (this provides quick access to the Display Settings menu, and also allows stepping through changing background sequences when the ``Random'' background mode option is selected).

Also at the bottom of the screen is a slider allowing the memory Cache size used by the display to be adjusted.

3.1 Selection of the Desktop to configure.

The top left Desktop box lists the currently-configured desktops by their assigned names. Click on a name to select the corresponding desktop to be configured.

If you wish to configure a common background for all Desktops, select the Common Background option.

3.2 Preview Monitor

This is a minature representation of your display background, using the current settings. To apply these settings to your display, press the Apply button to continue using the KDE display setup utility, or the Ok button to apply your changes and quit.

Note: Pressing Ok or Apply applies changes made in all of the display setup modules.

3.3 Background Color

The display background can be filled with a single color or with a color gradient.

• Select ``One Color'' to fill the background with a single color. The background color can be changed by clicking on the colored box which shows the currently-selected color. This will display a color selection dialog from which you may select a new background color.
• Select ``Two Color'' to fill the background with a color gradient or pattern, A second colored box will appear. Click on this box to select the second color. Now click on the Setup button to choose how to blend the two colors. A dialog and Preview box will appear. You may choose to progressively blend the colors from top to bottom of the screen, from right to left, or in a pattern selected from the list shown. You will see a preview of the choice you make before you apply it. Click OK or Cancel to leave this dialog.

When you are happy with your color selection, press Ok in the color selection dialog. The colors will be updated in the colored boxes (and in the Preview Monitor, provided no Wallpaper is selected).

A blend of the two colors uses only 8 colors, leaving plenty free for other applications. However, it requires an image the size of your display to be maintained in memory.

3.4 Wallpaper

The wallpaper is an image displayed in the background (root window) of your display. To change the wallpaper displayed, select one from the list or click the Browse button and select an image. If wish to use a One Color or Two Color background, choose No Wallpaper.

Choose from the Arrangement list to select how the wallpaper image is applied to the desktop: various tiling, mirroring, or scaling schemes are possible, and their effects may be seen in the Preview box.

You may also select the Random option which causes a random sequence of backgrounds to be displayed, changing after a specified time interval, or when you click on the Display icon docked in the panel.

To configure the random sequence of backgrounds:

• Click on the Setup button to open the Random mode setup dialog, which allows you to select the sequence of backgrounds which is sampled.
• If the option Pick files from directory is selected, the backgrounds wil be chosen from the set of wallpaper files in the selected directory entered in the box that opens. If this option is not selected, they will be chosen from a list of backgrounds that can be specified in the ``Desktops'' box below.
• The Timer Delay in seconds box allows you to set the time interval between background changes.
• Select the ``in order'' option to display the sequence of backgrounds in order. If this option is not active, the sequence will be sampled randomly.
• The ``Desktops'' box contains the user-specified sequence of backgrounds that will be sampled if the ``pick files from directory'' option is not active.
  • Click on an entry to highlight it; it will be previewed in the main Background dialog Preview Monitor.
  • Click on Add To add an entry to this sequence. This will open a dialog which allows you to choose a Wallpaper file. (Initially, the contents of the KDE default wallpaper directory are displayed, but you may change to other directories). Select a file, and click on ``OK''. If your choice is valid, it will be added to the sequence.
  • Click on Delete to remove the highlighted item from the Random Mode backgrounds sequence.
  In this way, you can construct any sequence of backgrounds you wish. Click on OK when you are satisfied with it.

Displaying wallpaper requires that the image be kept in memory. If you are low on memory, using a small, tiled image or none at all is recommended. Note that scaling or centering a small image still requires an image the size of your display to be maintained in memory.

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