Desktop background slideshow use images from multiple folders?

NickJP · Jul 24, 2025

I have many thousands of images arranged in multiple subfolders of the Pictures folder. Is it possible, when personalising my desktop background with a slideshow, to get Windows to pick images from the subfolders - I want to be able to choose the Pictures folder and also see images from subfolders. On my old Win10 PC I have the Pictures folder selected for desktop background slideshow, and I also get images from subfolders, but on the Win11 machine I'm setting up, with the same settings I only get images from the Pictures folder and not from any of the subfolders. Is it possible to get this working on Win11?

Skeptic Mike · Jul 24, 2025

I think that you would need to get windows to look at your Pictures Library. Have you tried this? It does let you select it.

Windows 10 Desktop Background Slideshow Not Seeing Subfolders

The new Settings interface in Windows 10 doesn’t allow selecting multiple files at once as the desktop slideshow. You can only select one folder at a time. Also, the images in the subfolders are not…

www.winhelponline.com

NickJP · Jul 25, 2025

Thanks, but none of the Windows 10 methods listed in the provided link worked on Windows 11. On Win10 I could run:

Code:

control /name Microsoft.Personalization /page pageWallpaper

which would bring up the Control Panel method which allows subdirs to be part of the slideshow, but on Win11 this just brings up the Settings app, which doesn't allow subdirs. What I did (can't claim originality, I came across this on a web page) was to create a folder separate from Pictures, and run a batch file which scans through my Pictures folder and all subfolders for jpg files and creates hard links to those files. I then pointed the desktop background slideshow to use the folder containing all the hard links.

Code:

SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
cd <your_pictures_folder>
set m=0
for /R %%f in (*.jpg /b) do (
  echo !m!
  mklink "<your_target_folder>\!m!.jpg" "%%f"
  set /a m = !m!+1
)

Save this as a batch file and run it as administrator. I guess I'll need to periodically re-run it to pick up new images. I didn't realize how many images I had - there are about 37000 hard links in the folder I setup.

Skeptic Mike · Jul 25, 2025

NickJP said:
Thanks, but none of the Windows 10 methods listed in the provided link worked on Windows 11.

Curious. if I run:
shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper
I get an Explorer Window like this:

and can choose 'Pictures Library', but this doesn't help? (this is a test machine with 24H2, which I thought I'd check as I'd only looked at 23H2 before.)

Technically your script is creating symlinks rather than hard links, but I doubt that makes much difference. It may be easier to deal with if you ever delete any images, as hard links simply provide another name to the same file, and when you delete via one name, the file is still present until you delete the other name.

Rather than symlink the lot, perhaps you could symlink a sample, either randomly chosen, or if your image metadata is good enough, (and your scripting skills are good enough) base your selection on that.

Edwin · Jul 25, 2025

Desktop Background Tuner

It will allow you to merge folders.

BrianInEngland · Jul 25, 2025

Windows 11 will only use one folder and no subfolders
I use an app called Dynamic Theme from the Windows Store, you can select multiple folders for the background

NickJP · Jul 25, 2025

Skeptic Mike said:
Curious. if I run:
shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper
I get an Explorer Window like this:

When I run that I get only an error:

>shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Skeptic Mike · Jul 25, 2025

NickJP said:
When I run that I get only an error:

>shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

Apolgies for a lack of clarity.

From the comand line it would be

Code:

start shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper

I was using the Run box from Start menu.

Taliseian · Jul 25, 2025

I have a folder for images that has many subfolders and thousands of images. I use a paid program called Display Fusion to change the background on both of my monitors every 30min to a different image.

It also has other nice features like a better taskbar on my second monitor and such, but that is one of the things I use it for.

NickJP · Jul 25, 2025

Skeptic Mike said:
From the comand line it would be start shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper

When I run that on 24H2 I get nothing at all - no window appears and it just returns to the command prompt with no text appearing. I also tried running "shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper" from the Run box, but nothing happens there either.

Edwin · Jul 25, 2025

NickJP said:
... from the Run box, but nothing happens there either.

Try explorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper

Skeptic Mike · Jul 25, 2025

Edwin said:
Try explorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper

I still don't understand why it doesn't work from the run box, but @Edwin has the right invocation from the command prompt.. Alternatively paste shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper into the address bar of explorer.

Getting to control panel pages and sub pages that MS doesn't really support is tricky. Often the navigation doesn't work.

MS efforts to replace control panel with Settings are painfully slow, and as they focus on simplification some features will vanish,

antspants · Jul 25, 2025

Add Personalize (classic) context menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove a Personalize (classic) desktop context menu for all users in Windows 11. The old classic Personalization settings from the Control Panel included theme settings, desktop background, color and appearance, sounds, screen saver settings, desktop...

www.elevenforum.com

This will keep the default “Personalise” and also add a “Personalised Classic” to the right click Desktop context menu. As in the picture above.
It also adds other Classic options to it like Classic Themes etc. In a context menu, sub menu under “Personalised Classic”

Download and save both the Add & Remove Reg files. It’s painless.

Desktop background slideshow use images from multiple folders?

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