Help with changing desktop wallpaper...Almost there.

[hellswraith]

Hello everyone,

I am using this code below to set the desktop wallpaper. I need a way to actually apply the setting though. It properly sets the image because when you right-click the desktop, select properties, and click on the Desktop tab, it shows the image I set. But not until you click apply on that dialog will it actually change the image. Is there a way to tell windows that there was a change of this registry setting and apply it in code? (the code is in C#, but the only difference between this and VB is the declaration of the registry object)

Please help.

RegistryKey key = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Control Panel", true);

try
{
     key = key.OpenSubKey("Desktop", true);

     key.SetValue("Wallpaper", sPathOfImage);
}
catch
{
    // Something went wrong.
    MessageBox.Show("Something went wrong");
}

[DevGrp]

Why dont you try refreshing the desktop? Its a long shot but that might help.

[Edneeis]

Does this help?

http://www.geocities.com/siliconvall...Tips/tip11.htm

If not here are some more:
http://www.codehound.com/vb/results/...ktop+wallpaper

Its API but you can do that in .NET, or was that what you are trying to avoid?

[Slow_Learner]

I really don't think you want to do it by registry edit, there's an OS function call to set the wallpaper:

ms-help://MS.VSCC/MS.MSDNVS/sysinfo/sysinfo_4p67.htm

SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER Sets the desktop wallpaper. The value of the pvParam parameter determines the new wallpaper. To specify a wallpaper bitmap, set pvParam to point to a null-terminated string containing the name of a bitmap file. Setting pvParam to "" removes the wallpaper. Setting pvParam to SETWALLPAPER_DEFAULT or NULL reverts to the default wallpaper.

(snip rest - Edneeis' example is a lot more concise than the one I found in MSDN and is in VB to boot)

[hellswraith]

Yes, I was trying to avoid the API if at all possible, but I will use it if I have to. I was just wondering if there was anything in the framework that would allow me to do this without the API.

Refreshing the desktop doesn't work.

Thanks for the links, I will probably be going with the API unless someone can come up with something.

[hellswraith]

Just to let you know, I ended up using the API call to do this. For anyone interested, here is the code I used (it is in C#):

[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImportAttribute("user32")]
private static extern int SystemParametersInfo(int uAction, int uParam, string lpvParam, int fuWinIni);
private void ImageToWallpaper(string myPicPath)
{
   // This only works with bitmaps, so we need to convert the image to
   // a bmp file before it will work.  I am saving it in the C:\Windows folder
   Bitmap image = new Bitmap(myPicPath);
   string path = @"C:\Windows\" + System.IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(myPicPath);
   image.Save(path, System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Bmp);

   // Now make the call to change the wallpaper.
   int returncode;
   returncode = SystemParametersInfo(20,0,path,0);

   // We still need this.  If we don't set the registry key
   // you won't see your image you just set in the properties window
   // when you right-click the desktop.
   RegistryKey key = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Control Panel", true);

   try
   {
       key = key.OpenSubKey("Desktop", true);

       key.SetValue("Wallpaper", path);
   }
   catch
   {
       // Something went wrong.
       MessageBox.Show("Something went wrong");
   }
}

[Lorne Green]

Here is the code in VB.NET

Imports Microsoft.Win32
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim imagepath As String = "X:\Path\ImageName"
Dim Key As RegistryKey
Dim returncode As Integer

returncode = SystemParametersInfo(20, 0, imagepath, 0)
Key = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey("Control Panel", True)
Try
Key = Key.OpenSubKey("Desktop", True)
Key.SetValue("Wallpaper", imagepath)
Catch
MsgBox("Error")
End Try
End Sub

<DllImport("user32")> _
Private Shared Function _
SystemParametersInfo(ByVal uAction As Integer, ByVal uParam As Integer, _
ByVal lpvParam As String, ByVal fuWinIni As Integer) As Integer
' Leave the body of the function empty.
End Function