FOSS Project Spotlight: WallpaperDownloader

on June 6, 2018

Are you bored with the look of your desktop? Arethe wallpapers that come with your distro enough for you?WallpaperDownloaderis a graphical application that will help you customize your desktopand find wallpapers automatically.

WallpaperDownloader allows you to download, manage and change your favorite wallpapersfrom the internet. It is open source (GPL3) and totally free. Simply typein some keywords, enable the providers to include (up to six), select thedownload policy, and WallpaperDownloader does the rest.

WallpaperDownloader's main features include:

  • Users can select keywords for matching desired wallpapers across differentsources.
  • Currently, six providers are implemented for searching.
  • Different download policies are implemented.
  • Preferred resolution for the search can be defined.
  • The maximum size for downloaded directories can be changed.
  • Wallpapers can be classified as favorites or not favorites.
  • Favorite wallpapers can be moved to another location with a single click. Thisis very nice if you have a directory for storing images(for example, a directory in Dropbox).
  • WallpaperDownloader is translated into English and Spanish so far.
  • It implements an automated "changer" for changing the wallpaper randomly every Xminutes. You can define as many directories as you want.
  • A system tray icon is implemented (for desktop environments that support thisfeature) with quick actions.
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Figure 1. Selecting Providers

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Figure 2. WallpaperDownloader's Changer

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Figure 3. Wallpaper Manager

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Figure 4. WallpaperDownloader Info and Changelog

WallpaperDownloader supports several Desktop Environments: MATE, GNOMEShell, Cinnamon, Budgie, Pantheon, Unity, KDE Plasma 5.8 or greaterand XFCE.

Installation

You can install WallpaperDownloader using different methods depending on yourdistribution.

Arch Linux

It is in theAUR repository. Just install it from there:

yaourt -S wallpaperdownloader

Ubuntu, Derivatives and Linux Distros with snapd

WallpaperDownloader is available from theUbuntu SoftwareCenter via snap package (justsearch for it). If you want to install it via terminal, type:

sudo snap install wallpaperdownloader

Caveats: the snap package fully supports GNOME Shell, Unity,Budgie, Cinnamon, Pantheon and MATE desktop environments. Ifyou are using KDE Plasma 5 (version 5.8 or greater) or XFCE and yourdistro of choice is Ubuntu, installation via official PPA isrecommended.

Ubuntu and Derivatives via PPA

There is an official PPA repository for installing WallpaperDownloader inUbuntu (16.04 and greater) and derivatives natively. This is the preferredmethod for enabling all the features of the application, and it's recommendedfor KDE Plasma 5 and XFCE users. Open a terminal and type:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:eloy-garcia-pca/wallpaperdownloadersudo apt updatesudo apt install wallpaperdownloader

I hope you enjoy the application. Feedback, contributions and help withtranslating the GUI are always welcome!

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