HowTo: Create a background slideshow.

[k3lt01]

Hey Rod J, thanks for that. It is very difficult to know what may have happened to someone else's script unless it has happened to you so I really appreciate your input with this

Don't forget everyone if you would like to share your background slideshows you can attach them to your posts, if they are family friendly that is.

[101011010010]

Hello.
I've been wanting to try this out for a while, worked like a charm. Thank you.

[Rod J]

I question the need to copy the folder with the backgrounds to the /usr/share/backgrounds folder as detailed in step 6 of the tutorial. As an experiment I created a compilation in a new folder at the location I usually set them up (/home/rod/Pictures/Wallpaper), right mouse clicked on the desktop and pointed it to the xml file in the new folder and everything worked just fine from there. BTW, thanks yaaarrrgg for your script which certainly eases the creation of the xml file.

So, I wonder if it's really necessary to copy them to the system location? There may be reasons for doing so (perhaps to make them available system-wide for other users?) but it would simplify the process by eliminating this step.

[jcwx86]

Thanks for the explanation, this quick bash script should output the xml. Change "/path/to/directory/" to point to your directory with the images (and the slide times if needed).

Cheers, thanks for the script. You saved me a bit of work!

[k3lt01]

RodJ, When I wrote this I did mention part of the intent was to see how the OEM system works. That is why the folders are copied to the locations they are copied to. If you want to change that for your instance you are totally free to do so as it is your system. This is written so people can see why the OEM is like it is.

[Punkphysicist]

Thanks k3lt01, this worked like a charm (in Ubuntu 10.10).

Also, how does one auto-generate an xml file using yaaarrrgg's script?

What I mean is I made a file using gedit and saved it as a file.sh (after changing /path/to/directory/), and then double clicked on the file and nothing happened. I've never done this type of thing before so I think I'm missing one of the basic steps on how to actually use such a script.

Thanks

[yaaarrrgg]

If you are pasting it in a file, be sure the #! line is at the very beginning of the file, no whitespace before it.

You'll need to right click on the file, go to Properties and then Permissions. It will need "execute" permissions (there should be a little check box to click.)

Or, if you prefer the command line, you can do something like:

chmod 755 /path/to/yourscript

where "/path/to/yourscript" is the name and location of your script.

This script will just print the xml out, so if you want to save it, you'll need to copy and paste, or redirect the output to a new xml file like:

/path/to/yourscipt > newfile.xml

[k3lt01]

Thanks k3lt01, this worked like a charm (in Ubuntu 10.10).

You are welcome. I have just done my working install of 10.10 so I haven't tried it yet so thanks for letting us know it works in 10.10. I will update the OP to show it works in Maverick

[trukker]

Or use CREBS

http://www.obfuscatepenguin.net/crebs/

[k3lt01]

Or use CREBS

http://www.obfuscatepenguin.net/crebs/

Or you could read the first post!

What's the point of this tutorial?

This tutorial is it is here for those who wish to work with what is already installed on their system and wish to have a screen background that changes at predetermined intervals. It is for those who want to understand the already natively available AND installed system. It has been tested on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx which is the current LTS. I will not, because I don't have any earlier versions installed anymore, be testing this on anything prior to Ubuntu 10.04. As each new version is released I will test it and report any difficulties found. If you have difficulties please feel free to let me know what they are and we can work through them together. It is based on the script and setup for the background named "Cosmos" which comes pre-installed in Ubuntu 10.04.

Please note: This is just 1 way of doing this, there are many more ways and formats possible. Choose what is the best for you. This tutorial isn't here to dictate to anyone what is the best method for you to use. Instead, as has already been stated, it is here for those who wish to work with what is already installed on their system. If you find something others can use you could create a Tutorial on it to help others. Please do not turn this tutorial into a "my way is the best way" discussion, instead treat it like the technical tutorial it is and leave discussion about other methods to other threads.