Can't add folders for desktop wallpaper

eltranced · 19 Aug 2013

Jedakiah said:

I had the same problem. It turns out that the issues happened because I disabled Libraries. If like me you have done that, simply follow this guide for enabling libraries, reboot, then change your wallpaper folder location. If you are so inclined, you can safely disable Libraries following that same guide after you are happy with your wallpaper location.

thanks for shedding light i would have never guessed it had something to do with me using the disable tweak....

pcwizkid, heard of Acdsee 3.1? Argued by many including myself to be still the best image browser... makes changing wallpaper easy with right-click

XRay7 · 29 Aug 2013

I have this problem, too, because I disabled libraries. However, enabling them in order to change the background image folder, and then disabling them again, is no solution to me. I'd like to switch between my several background folders quite often. Has anybody found a "real" solution yet, i.e. leaving libraries disabled AND being able to change the background folder?

lunchtime · 15 Apr 2015

Alright, I signed up just to post for you guys since this is top result on google.

I had to goto my pictures folder, and right click an image > set as wallpaper. Then my images would show up in the Personalization section. I was having the exact problems you guys are.

Hopefully it works for you!

Casparov007 · 24 Oct 2015

Thank you Lunchtime-a bunch!

This problem is very frustrating and Lunchtime so generously signed up to chime in with the Answer.

This tread should be marked as solved, I guess.

...and thanks for a great forum, life saver any time :)

As9999 · 02 Mar 2018

I have the very same problem as described in the original post. But unlike people here, I did not disable Libraries. The cause remains obscure. There are still workaround ways to get a custom wallpaper set, but that's not how it's supposed to be. Windows 7 added these bugs to the simple ability to change the desktop background. (You can't update a theme anymore either, you must give it a new title and delete the old one.) Using the context menu option on Explorer pictures is also problematic, as I had it disabled. (See here.) That context menu entry blows the context menu out of proportions with its huge length in a language other than English (where it is already the lengthiest option); is useless for the most part; and we're supposed to set things in the Control Panel anyway. Those tutorials should also be providing a .reg file to move the option to the extended context menu (holding shift) instead of just removing or adding altogether. Opening the wallpaper in Windows Photo Gallery and right clicking there to get the option might be better, as it may keep the wallpaper in high quality according to here.

Just saying/reporting, not really needing assistance.

Peachville · 14 Mar 2018

Win7 Ultimate 64bit
I also didn't disable libraries. I moved some files and changed drive letters which made my previous desktop background locations inaccessible. This screwed-up accessing new folders from the drop-down menu...would not select and retain a new folder.

My solution was to close the desktop background and then change the registry Wallpaper key to the address of a known image in the folder I wanted to access:

In my case: E:\MovieMadness\Æon Flux (2005).jpg

Once this key was changed, I ran the desktop background again and it automatically changed the Wallpaper key back to:
C:\Users\SSD\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\TranscodedWallpaper.jpg
...and the entire folder was now accessible for partial/all image selection.

Don't forget to save the altered theme!!!!

Fedd · 14 Apr 2018

Also might be useful, go to

Code:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpapers\KnownFolders\0\Windows Wallpapers\MergeFolders

create new String value (REG_SZ) named as folder location, e.g. D:\Wallpapers . This folder will appear in Windows Desktop Backgrounds

Can't add folders for desktop wallpaper

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