Hi, I’m wondering where I can drag my pictures in order to have them show up on the Backgrounds tab in the Appearances app. I thought if I just put them in a subfolder in /usr/share/backgrounds, they would show up…but they don’t. I know I can add custom locations manually, but I am wondering why dragging photos or subfolders into /usr/share/backgrounds doesn’t work.
Thanks!
An image I copied (with Sorry, wrong, see below.sudo) into /usr/share/backgrounds showed up for me after I logged out and logged back in.
Thanks, I will give that a try…
Spoke to soon. I thought I had used a new image to test it, but I think I had added it manually before.
I think you need to specify the backgrounds in an xml files like those in /usr/share/mate-background-properties. I haven’t tested this.
I put mine in one of the directories. I think it is designed to where you have to always
hit the Add button.
I wish there was a workaround.
If you right click on the image you wish to add, and select Set As Wallpaper... , it will show up in the Background tab after that point.
I think this is a real bug-bear for Linux people -
they simply don’t know where wallpapers are located, or how to add the new folder to the options to view/setup.
I know, I must have spent hours over the years doing this myself & it doesn’t get any easier.
Unlike the XFCE desktop, that alows you to select the background directory, Mate desktop stores background information (name and author) and settings (style, colors) in xml files. When you hover your mouse over the background image in the Appearance Preferences it opens a tooltip dialog that displays those informations.
<wallpaper deleted="false">
<name>Gulp</name>
<filename>/usr/share/backgrounds/mate/abstract/Gulp.png</filename>
<options>zoom</options>
<shade_type>horizontal-gradient</shade_type>
<pcolor>rgb(98,127,90)</pcolor>
<scolor>rgb(39,88,126)</scolor>
<artist>Daniel Galleguillos, Hylke Bons</artist>
</wallpaper>
When you add an image in the settings, those settings are written to $HOME/.config/mate/backgrounds.xml when you close the Appearance Preferences.
Like @elcste said there are xml files in /usr/share/mate-background-properties dir. Maybe adding a xml file in that directory will add them in the Settings.
What I find interesting in $HOME/.config/mate/backgrounds.xml is that one path points to the xml file /usr/share/backgrounds/cosmos/background-1.xml. In that file there are different settings like timing and transition that define slide show. There is on slide show, Cosmos in the Appearance Preferences. This is a good example on how to make a slideshow for mate desktop.
I know as much about what I just read in the previous-post,
as I do about wHATS IN the pantry.
I feel as though we aren't being taken on-board with such suggestions 
It needs something here ::
@Jeff_H very much so.
What’s in pantry:
I moused over my background images in Ubuntu Mate 17.10 and /usr/share/backgrounds/Mate/name of picture, or /usr/share/backgrounds/ubuntu-mate-artful or xenial. Name os distro I guess, and will have artists name.
