Applescript for changing the Mac OS X desktop
- Philip Hutchison, April 2013 - http://pipwerks.com
- Bonno Nachtegaal-Karels, June 2014
- MIT license http://pipwerks.mit-license.org/
##What it does This is an AppleScript that changes your Mac's desktop picture The script will randomly select an image from the corresponding folder. The image can be in any supported file type, including JPG, GIF and PNG images.
##How to use it
###Folder structure
If you choose to use the default settings, all you need to do is create a folder in your Pictures folder or use whatever folder you like:
###Images You must supply your own images. Personally, I downloaded images from NationalGeographic.com, which provides high quality free wallpaper images. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/wallpaper/download
###Script file
This script file itself can be located anywhere. I keep mine in a dropbox folder, to use them across al my computers. But the example uses the /Pictures/Wallpapers/Rotator/ folder.
The script must be run at specified intervals using automation of some kind. I use crontab, but you may also use a tool like GeekTool.
http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/crontab.1.html
I configured my crontab to execute the script every 30 minutes. Use this line in your crontab:
*/30 * * * * /usr/bin/osascript ~/bin/rotateWallpaper.scpt > /dev/null 2>&1
##Customization This script can be freely customized. It is heavily commented to make it easy to understand. For example, you can easily change the folder names by editing the script.
###Multiple monitors
The script includes support for multiple monitors. By default, it will display the same image on all monitors. If you prefer to set a unique image on each monitor, set the useSamePictureAcrossDisplays variable to false.