14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since Windows Vista, people stopped using background slideshows or simply forgot about them, even if freshly introduced in that specific OS. This is either because you don’t want to get distracted by desktop elements, or it’s covered most of the times to see what picture is up next.
This feature has been kept alive and you can use it in the latest iterations of Windows as well. Sure, you can load a GIF image as part of the slideshow, but you only get the first frame. In fact, there’s no method to set a simple animation like a GIF to be fully animated with Windows default features.
On the other hand, there’s an application out there for quite some time now that fills in exactly this missing trait. We found out after some research, that a little utility inside this application is responsible for keeping your background alive.
Animating your desktop background
Step 1: Download and install BioniX Wallpaper.
Step 2: Place the GIF file safe in a folder.
Step 3: Run the application and press the Stop button.
Note: You can use this window to set a slideshow at a one-second interval, unlike default Windows features.
Step 4: Under the Tools menu, select Wallpaper Animator.
Step 5: Don’t remove existing files or be careful, because they are also removed from the disk.
Step 6: Browse to the location of the folder you placed the GIF file in and select it.
Step 7: Set speed and magnification if necessary, as well as its style, which is best set to MS Windows stretch to fill in all background space.
Step 8: Switch to the Settings tab. Here, set it to Start at Windows start-up so that it’s automatically activated.
Step 9: Close the BioniX Wallpaper main window. Minimize Wallpaper Animator to system tray, but don’t close it.
