[How To] Add More Wallpapers to Existing Themes in Windows 7

One of our users sent us an email the other day asking if we can find information on how to create your own themes or add more wallpapers to existing themes. Well, while it’s a lot more stuff to fill in for creating a new theme, here is some information on how to add own wallpapers to existing themes.

Option 1

The default theme configuration files that come with Windows 7 are all located in c:\windows\resources\themes folder. You can find 6 of them there after you first installed Windows 7.

But all wallpaper files are not saved in the same folder. Instead, you can find them in c:\windows\web\wallpaper folder, in each organized subfolder.

All you need to do is copy your own wallpaper image files to the folder that has the same theme name you would like to use. And enable them in desktop background slide show in control panel after.

Option 2:

If you already have a folder that contains all wallpapers you would like to show up on your desktop, you can simply go to Personalization > Desktop Background control panel, and select the folder from the Picture Location box. You can also select or deselect the pictures that you don’t want to show.

And here is the bonus if you haven’t known, there are some hidden themes that come with Windows 7 but not show up in control panel. Check it out.

Lastly, for people who may be interested in customizing more on themes, this document from MSDN might be worth checking out.