BackDrop Wiki

To create a new wallpaper in BackDrop first follow these inital steps to characterize your multi-monitor desktop:

1. Arrange your monitors how you want them relative to each other using your operating system display preferences.
2. Use a large image as your wallpaper that extends across your desktop, preferably without repeating.
3. Alternately, place windows or icons on different parts of the desktop to differentiate between monitors.
4. Capture a screenshot of the whole desktop (use PrintScreen in Windows or Linux, Command-Control-Shift-4 in OSX).
5. This screenshot is your template of how the wallpaper will be laid out so that images appear on the correct screen when a large image "spans" all of the monitors.

Once you have a template and understand how the operating system is spanning one image across all monitors, you are ready to create a new wallpaper:

1. Open BackDrop.
2. Set the dimensions of one or more monitors (up to four) using the "Monitor X Resolution" (where X = 1, 2, 3, or 4) width and height fields in the top left section of the BackDrop window.
3. Rectangles representing each monitor will appear in the workspace section of theapplication (the right side of the BackDrop window).
4. Click and drag on each monitor border to position it relative to the other monitors. Monitors will automatically snap to adjacent monitor corners, and will not allow themselves to be dragged once they have snapped, UNLESS the Alt key is held down while dragging.

TIP: note that the Zoom is automatic based on the maximum height and width of the monitors as if they were placed end-to-end horizontally or vertically. The Zoom updates automatically as the monitor sizes are changed, ensuring that the entire monitor setup can be viewed in the BackDrop interface in use on a single display.
TIP: a monitor can also be used as a guide to help precisely space other monitors or place images.

1. When the monitors are correctly sized and placed relative to one another, verify that the overall size of the image is correct. The wallpaper image dimensions are displayed below the Zoom value. They should match the size of the wallpaper template created via screenshot.
2. You are now ready to add source images.
3. Click on the Add Image button, browse to the desired image, select the image file, and click Open. PNG, JPG, and BMP file formats are supported.
4. After an image is added the Scaling controls appear in the bottom left section of the BackDrop window. Select "W" to scale the width, or "H" to scale the height. The target dimension is entered in the text box adjacent to the W/H buttons. Aspect ratio is always maintained, and images can only be downsized. To turn off scaling for an image select the Off option.
5. Images can be clicked and dragged to the monitor or location where they should appear in the final wallpaper image. Images will automatically snap to the top-left or bottom-right corners of the monitors, UNLESS the Alt key is held down while dragging.
6. Image "order" (front-to-back) can be changed by clicking on any given image. The image clicked latest will be "in front", with the other images progressively further "back" according to when they were last clicked.
7. Up to six images can be used. When all of the images are in place the final wallpaper can be saved. Any portions not covered by source images will appear black in the output file.
8. To save the wallpaper click "Save Wallpaper". A dialog box opens. Select the destination folder and enter a filename. The file type can also be set. PNG, JPG, and BMP file formats are supported. Click Save to commit the wallpaper to disk.

TIP: the Save dialog will overwrite an existing file without prompting the user, so make sure to give your wallpaper a unique filename unless you intend to replace an existing file.

Your wallpaper is now complete and saved to a file. Point your operating system wallpaper settings to the file, tell it to "Span" the wallpaper across multiple monitors, and verify that all of the images are appearing in their intended locations.

To create another wallpaper while retaining the monitor layout, simply click "Clear Images". The monitors will remain in place, while the images will be cleared. New source images can be added by clicking "Add Image".