Superpaper

Windows comes with an integrated background manager that can place either a picture or a slideshow on the desktop. However, the Background Settings window comes with a very limited feature set. While this is enough for most users, some need more configuration options to feel in control. If you feel like you are part of the latter category, then you are in for a treat with Superpaper.

Released under an open-source license, Superpaper allows tweaking of the background layout and content for systems that have more than one monitor. It provides a generous array of options to go through but, luckily, there are instructions to help you out.

Its core is in the Wallpaper Configuration window, which is the place where you can create settings profiles and save them locally to easily load whenever needed. Superpaper comes with two profile examples to show you the basics, as well as additional instructions in hint boxes.

With three different span modes, advanced options and slideshow settings, Superpaper enables you to experiment with different layouts and styles.   As you would expect, the simple span cuts the original picture by the display resolution and shows it on each screen. In other words, the image is split evenly between the monitors and scaled up in size to fit the larger display, without considering bezels. Obviously, this is not the case if your monitors are of the same size and resolution.

To avoid this, Superpaper provides advanced spanning options, which enable you to take into account the pixel sizes and the bezels. To do so, it requires to know the dimensions and the position of the connected displays, which it tries to approximate on its own. Fine adjustments to the display position are required to obtain the best results when aligning the wallpaper on its whole length.

Moving further to the next issue, Superpaper can also correct the image perspective, thus eliminating the feeling of bent lines. In other words, you can “tell” Superpaper where the viewer’s head and camera are located and how exactly the monitors are positioned with respect to one another. With the right adjustments, you will get the illusion that the wallpaper continues smoothly from one monitor to the next.  Aside from bezel and perspective corrections, Superpaper also features pixel density corrections, allowing you to configure the position of the displays in detail.

Just as in the built-in Windows wallpaper manager, Superpaper allows you to set a single image or slideshows on all the connected displays, or different backgrounds on every monitor. Its distinctive feature is the plethora of configuration options it delivers, which might be overwhelming to some and really tasteful to others.