personalize laptop display with slideshow

Hi, lynn kostecki-csanyi

Windows 11’s desktop slideshow currently selects one folder and does not reliably include pictures stored inside its subfolders. There is no “include subfolders” switch in Settings > Personalization > Background.

The simplest workaround is to create one new folder, for example Pictures\Desktop Slideshow, and place copies of the photos you want displayed directly inside it. Then:

Right-click an empty area of the desktop and select Personalize.

Select Background.

Change Personalize your background to Slideshow.

Select Browse, then choose the new Desktop Slideshow folder.

Turn on Shuffle the picture order and choose how often the picture should change.

Unfortunately, if you want every photo from thousands of existing subfolders without copying them, you would need a third-party wallpaper application or a more technical workaround using file links. It is recommended that you use the single-folder method first, since it is easier to maintain and does not alter your original photo folders.

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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If it is about wallpapers, then symbolic links are more plausible option, like a single folder contains links to the images of a folder and subfolders inside it. which can be done via PowerShell script with admin privilege. This will create link of images from source folder to destination folder while iterating subfolders. This is a one time setup and to constantly waching for new image added you can add schedular for it. and you can choose this destination folder for wallpaper shuffling.

$Source = "C:/User/<your user name>/Downloads"
$Destination = "C:/User/<your user name>/Images"

$Extensions = @(
    ".jpg",
    ".jpeg",
    ".png",
    ".gif",
    ".webp",
    ".bmp",
    ".tif",
    ".tiff",
    ".ico",
    ".svg"
)
# Create destination folder
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $Destination -Force | Out-Null
function Get-UniqueName {
    param (
        [string]$Directory,
        [string]$FileName
    )
    $base = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($FileName)
    $ext  = [System.IO.Path]::GetExtension($FileName)
    $candidate = Join-Path $Directory $FileName
    $counter = 1
    while (Test-Path $candidate) {
        $newName = "$base ($counter)$ext"
        $candidate = Join-Path $Directory $newName
        $counter++
    }
    return $candidate
}
function Sync-Images {
    Write-Host "Syncing images..."
    $files = Get-ChildItem `
        -Path $Source `
        -File `
        -Recurse `
        -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Where-Object {
            $Extensions -contains $_.Extension.ToLower()
        }
    # Track original files
    $existingTargets = @{}
    foreach ($file in $files) {
        $existingLink = Get-ChildItem $Destination -File |
            Where-Object {
                $_.LinkType -eq "SymbolicLink" -and
                $_.Target -eq $file.FullName
            } |
            Select-Object -First 1
        if ($existingLink) {
            $existingTargets[$existingLink.FullName] = $true
            continue
        }
        $targetPath = Get-UniqueName `
            -Directory $Destination `
            -FileName $file.Name
        try {
            New-Item `
                -ItemType SymbolicLink `
                -Path $targetPath `
                -Target $file.FullName `
                -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null
            $existingTargets[$targetPath] = $true
            Write-Host "Added: $($file.Name)"
        }
        catch {
            Write-Host "Could not create link: $($file.Name)"
        }
    }
    # Remove broken / obsolete symbolic links
    Get-ChildItem $Destination -File -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Where-Object {
            $_.LinkType -eq "SymbolicLink"
        } |
        ForEach-Object {
            if (-not (Test-Path $_.Target)) {
                Write-Host "Removing: $($_.Name)"
                Remove-Item $_.FullName -Force
            }
        }
    Write-Host "Sync complete."
}
# Initial synchronization
Sync-Images
# Watch Downloads
$Watcher = New-Object System.IO.FileSystemWatcher
$Watcher.Path = $Source
$Watcher.IncludeSubdirectories = $true
$Watcher.NotifyFilter = `
    [System.IO.NotifyFilters]'FileName, LastWrite, DirectoryName'
$Watcher.EnableRaisingEvents = $true
# Prevent multiple simultaneous syncs
$Global:SyncRunning = $false
function Trigger-Sync {
    if ($Global:SyncRunning) {
        return
    }
    $Global:SyncRunning = $true
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
    Sync-Images
    $Global:SyncRunning = $false
}
Register-ObjectEvent `
    -InputObject $Watcher `
    -EventName Created `
    -Action { Trigger-Sync } | Out-Null
Register-ObjectEvent `
    -InputObject $Watcher `
    -EventName Deleted `
    -Action { Trigger-Sync } | Out-Null
Register-ObjectEvent `
    -InputObject $Watcher `
    -EventName Changed `
    -Action { Trigger-Sync } | Out-Null
Register-ObjectEvent `
    -InputObject $Watcher `
    -EventName Renamed `
    -Action { Trigger-Sync } | Out-Null
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "===================================="
Write-Host " Download Image Sync is running"
Write-Host "===================================="
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Source:      $Source"
Write-Host "Destination: $Destination"
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Press Ctrl+C to stop."
Write-Host ""
while ($true) {
    Wait-Event -Timeout 10 | Out-Null
}