Desktop Color

[tomf87]

I use a solid color for my desktop, but I liked the flexibility in Windows to be able to select your own color from the palette. Any way to do this in 10.3.3?

[tomf87]

So nobody has even thought of doing this?

[SilentPanda]

I've never really thought of doing it. I always use a wallpaper for my background... if all else fails you could just make a solid color wallpaper of the color of your choice.... I've never really looked into it though.

[TBR]

erm no never thought of doing this, or know anyone who has thought of this. Most people want an image as there background.

[mkrishnan]

I use a solid color for my desktop, but I liked the flexibility in Windows to be able to select your own color from the palette. Any way to do this in 10.3.3?

There are a limited number of options under "Solid Colors" in the left hand tab, in the same place where you set an image as a desktop, but it is very basic.

But I also googled and found another article elsewhere discussing this, and it came to the same conclusion as SilentPanda:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20021002055217828

If you don't have Photoshop or ImageJ or something like that, you can use AppleWorks. Open AW and then choose "new painting" and then choose the color you want from the pallette on the left, fill the window, and save it as a JPEG. Not very clean, but more or less effective. ;)

[Mr. Anderson]

I would just opt for something that's not a solid color, but a subtle image of some sort. I'd go nuts not having something interesting on my desktop....:D

Post a screen shot when you pick the color, I'm curious now..

D

[virividox]

iv never wanted just a solid color. i always wanted an image that i like or represents me somehow

but good luck

[sonofslim]

i use a rotating series of images at home, but here at work i like a solid color. it's less distracting when i'm designing; i find it to be sort of a mental 'clean palette' that won't greatly affect how i perceive the colors in whatever doc i'm working on.

you can create a small image, even 1x1px, with your desired color and set your desktop to stretch that image to fill the screen.

[j33pd0g]

At work everyone has to have a neutral grey background. It is very boring, but that's what the suits insist on. It makes sense for the few of us who color correct images. I feel bad though for the people who have to look at that grey all day long.

[mkrishnan]

At work everyone has to have a neutral grey background. It is very boring, but that's what the suits insist on. It makes sense for the few of us who color correct images. I feel bad though for the people who have to look at that grey all day long.

Yeah, at one of my jobs the computers were initially set up so that we could define the background, and then they changed it so that it painted a plain aqua colored screen with the company logo and the helpdesk tel # (which they never answer) in the middle. Could've at least made it look pretty. :) But the funny thing about Windows was that the old background preferences were still back there, and every once in a while something would cause the old background to display instead of the mandated one. Some kinda active desktop thing or something....

But on my Mac, b/c of Expose, I don't minimize many windows, so I don't get to see my cute desktop much. :(

[tomf87]

For some reason, I just posted this and it didn't appear, so I'll try again..

If I can't change the color palette, where can I get some really cool background images that would look fine at 1440x900?

[Mr. Anderson]

For some reason, I just posted this and it didn't appear, so I'll try again..

If I can't change the color palette, where can I get some really cool background images that would look fine at 1440x900?

have you seen any of the 'post your desktop threads'?

there are new threads monthly - go check them out in the community.

D

[tomf87]

have you seen any of the 'post your desktop threads'?

there are new threads monthly - go check them out in the community.

D

Didn't know they existed. Thanks for the input!

[ebow]

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20021002055217828


I recommend following the advice of the Mac OS X Hints article referenced by mkrishnan. I could even send you the 1x1 transparent image if you're unable to create it (send me a private message if interested). Once you have this "image" you just select it as your centered background image, and click a color box for the standard color picker palette.

Solid colors can be a nice change from background images once in a while.