-
Release Application Stable
arizotaz released this
2026-07-12 03:02:10 +00:00 | 0 commits to production since this releaseUsing Dynamic Wallpaper Creator
This walks through the app window shown by
java -jar target/dynamic-wallpaper-creator.jar(see BUILD.md if you
haven't built it yet).1. Pick a wallpaper type
The dropdown at the top switches between the two supported wallpaper types:
- Light / Dark Appearance — the simple case: one image for Light Mode,
one for Dark Mode. Good for a first try, or if you just want two specific
images to swap automatically. - Sun Position (Solar) — the full "Dynamic Desktop" experience: any
number of images, each tied to a point in the sun's daily arc, cross-fading
as the actual time of day changes.
2. Light / Dark Appearance tab
Two side-by-side cards, one per appearance. For each:
- Click Choose Image….
- Pick a PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, or HEIC file.
A thumbnail preview appears once selected. Both a light and a dark image are
required before you can generate.Tip: the two images should be the same pixel dimensions — same scene,
different lighting, works best. The app warns you (but doesn't block you) if
they don't match.3. Sun Position (Solar) tab
- Click Add Images… and select one or more image files (multi-select is
supported in the file picker). Each becomes a row in the table. - For each row, set:
- Altitude (°) — how high the sun is:
90= directly overhead,0=
right on the horizon, negative values = below the horizon (night/dusk). - Azimuth (°) — the sun's compass direction,
0–360. - Light Ref. / Dark Ref. checkboxes (optional) — mark the single
frame that best represents "daytime" and the one that best represents
"nighttime". If you leave these unchecked, the app picks them for you
automatically (highest and lowest altitude).
- Altitude (°) — how high the sun is:
- Don't want to hand-enter every value? Select at least two images and
click Auto-Distribute Sun Positions — it fills in a smooth
sunrise → noon → sunset → night arc across however many images you've
added, evenly spaced. You can still tweak any individual cell afterward
by double-clicking it. - Use Move Up / Move Down to reorder rows, or Remove Selected /
Clear All to edit the set. Order doesn't affect how macOS displays the
wallpaper (that's entirely driven by the altitude/azimuth values you set),
it's just for your own bookkeeping.
At least two images are required to generate a solar wallpaper.
4. Generate
At the bottom of the window:
- Output file — where to save the
.heicfile. Defaults to
~/Desktop/MyDynamicWallpaper.heic; click Choose… to pick somewhere
else. - Quality — HEIC compression quality from
0.1(small file, more
compression artifacts) to1.0(largest file, best quality).0.9is a
good default. - Click Generate Wallpaper.
The first time you do this on a fresh install, there's a short one-time delay
(a few seconds) while the app compiles its native helper tool in the
background — see BUILD.md
for what's happening. Every generation after that is fast.Progress is streamed into the log box at the very bottom as each image is
loaded and the file is written. If something goes wrong (a missing image, an
unwritable output path, a missing Swift toolchain), you'll see an error
dialog and the reason in the log.5. Set as Desktop Picture
Once generation finishes successfully, the Set as Desktop Picture button
becomes active. Clicking it applies the file you just built as your current
desktop picture on all displays, via the same mechanism as System Settings.
This only changes your desktop picture setting — itDownloads
- Light / Dark Appearance — the simple case: one image for Light Mode,