Watch the full tutorial:
A desktop background is a small change that makes a Windows PC feel like yours. Windows 10 and Windows 11 both let you set one photo, and they both let you choose how that photo sits on the screen.
Set a photo from File Explorer
- Open the folder that holds the image.
- Right-click the photo.
- Choose Set as desktop background.
Windows applies it immediately. Use a JPG or PNG. A photo you are still downloading, or a picture inside a zip file, will not stick until the file is a normal image on the drive.
Change it from Personalization
- Right-click an empty area of the desktop.
- Choose Personalize.
- Open Background.
- Set the background type to Picture.
- Click Browse photos and pick the image.
On Windows 11 the same page also offers Windows spotlight, Solid color, and Slideshow. Slideshow walks through a folder of images on a timer. Point it at a folder you plan to keep, not Downloads, or the show breaks the next time you clean that folder.
Pick the right fit
Under the photo you will see a fit menu. Fill is the usual choice: the image covers the screen and Windows crops the edges if the photo ratio does not match the monitor. Use it when you want no empty bars.
- Fit shows the whole photo and may add bars.
- Stretch forces the photo to the screen and can distort it.
- Center places the photo in the middle at its real size.
- Span is for two monitors that should share one wide image.
- Tile repeats a small image across the desktop.
If the background snaps back
- A work or school PC can lock personalization. A message about your organization managing the setting means the account, not the photo, is the limit.
- Keep the image file where it is. If you delete or move the file after setting it, Windows can fall back to a plain color.
- On a laptop with a second screen, set the photo once, then check each display. Fit is chosen per setup, and a portrait monitor often needs Fill.
After the wallpaper, folder icons are the next piece of the same desktop. That guide is the following tutorial in this series.
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