Wallch is a pretty new wallpaper changer app for Gnome. It has just released version 1.0 of its software days ago. Just like any other wallpaper changing app, it allows you to define a set of wallpapers to be rotated at certain interval.

Installing Wallch

There is no PPA for Wallch yet, so the next best option is to install via the deb file (unless you love compiling from source). Go to its SourceForge page and download the deb file (do not download the tar.gz file). Double click the deb file to install.

Usage

Go to “Applications -> Accessories -> Wallch Walpaper Changer” to launch the app. The usage is simple. Add your wallpapers to the box, set the interval to change the wallpaper and press “Start” to run the program. That’s it. One thing that you have to take note is that once you “start” the program, you won’t be able to change the configuration (add/remove wallpapers, changing interval etc) anymore. You will have to “Stop” the application to make changes to the configuration. One feature about Wallch is that it allows you to create your own wallpaper, either from the webcam or take a screenshot of your current wallpaper.

Live Earth wallpaper

The most interesting thing about Wallch is the ability to set Live Earth images as the desktop wallpaper. Go to “Edit -> Preferences -> Live Earth Wallpaper”. Press the “Activate Live Earth Wallpaper” button. There is no detail instruction here, but the Live Earth Wallpaper module can’t work concurrently with the main wallpaper changing module. If you have “Started” the wallpaper changing module, you won’t be able to activate the Live Earth Wallpaper. In addition, the changing interval is set to 1/2 hours which you can’t change.

Other configurations

Creating a wallch album Wallch allows you to create a photo album with your wallpapers. You can create multiple albums. Depending on your mood, you can then get it to load the wallpapers from your favorite album. Notification sound and bubble I find this to be very annoying, so I switched both (the sound and the notification bubble) off instantly. History Wallch keeps a history of the time the wallpaper is changed and the changed wallpapers. You can access the history file at the .config/WallpaperChanger/History folder. Seriously, I don’t see any use for logging the changes. Will you be interested to find out at which time of the day which wallpaper was set on your desktop?

Things that Wallch are lacking

Being a long time wallpaper changer app user, here are some things that I found lacking in Wallch.

  1. Unable to select multiple folders when adding images – You won’t be able to add images in multiple folders at the same time. For example, I have a main “Wallpaper” folder with several sub folders containing my wallpapers. I would love to have the option to select the “Wallpaper” folder and add all my wallpapers inside the folder and subfolders. (update: Fixed by developer)
  2. Unable to watch a folder for new wallpaper – It would be great if it can watch my Wallpaper folder and add new addition to the library.
  3. Switching the close button should minimize to tray, not exiting. (update: Fixed by developer)
  4. The tray icon should provide a one-click access to change the current wallpaper. (update: Fixed by developer)

Wrapping up

Wallch is still new, so there are still plenty of feature that it is lacking. The ability to display Live Earth wallpaper is cool though. For the time being, the trustworthy Desktop Drapes still remains my favorite wallpaper changer app.