Create Background Slideshow (CreBS)

Create Background Slideshow (or CreBS for short) is a Python/GTK application used to create and set desktop wallpaper slideshows for the GNOME desktop, and, by extension, the Linux distributions that use it, such as Fedora and Ubuntu. The image set defined is stored along with your ordinary wallpapers so it can be reselected in the future from the standard Appearance Preferences window.

The main Create Background Slideshow window.

Figure 1: The main Create Background Slideshow window.

Using Create Background Slideshow

Start by adding images to the slideshow; multiple images may be selected for addition within any particular directory, and you can even drag and drop images from your file browser or the Appearance Preferences wallpaper list. Then rearrange them into your chosen order using the Earlier and Later buttons or by dragging the image into place. If you change your mind about including an image, use the Remove button.

Got a favourite picture you want to see for longer than the rest? Override the default duration with any time you like, specifiable in seconds, minutes, or hours.

Images can have specific durations and transition times.

Figure 2: Individual images can have their own specific duration and transition time.

Finally, give the slideshow a name and press Save to set the image sequence as your new desktop background. The set is added in with your other wallpapers, so you can use the standard Appearance Preferences window to change and restore the wallpaper in the future.

The Appearance Preferences window.

Figure 3: Saved slideshows are listed with ordinary wallpapers in the Appearance Preferences window.

Localisation

Thanks to the generous efforts of a great bunch of translators, Create Background Slideshow, as well as being available in English, can be used—to a greater-or-lesser extent—in the following languages:

  • Afrikaans
  • Arabic (العربية: مسلسِل الخلفيات)
  • Asturian (Asturianu: Crear Presentación de Fondu)
  • Bulgarian (български език: Прожекция на фона)
  • Czech (Čeština: Vytvořit Slideshow z obrázků)
  • Welsh (Cymraeg: Creu Sioe-Sleidiau Cefndir)
  • German (Deutsch: Hintergrund-Diashow Erstellen)
  • Divehi (ދިވެހި: ޑެސްކްޓޮޕްގެ ގައި ސްލައިޑްޝޯ)
  • Greek (Ελληνικά: Δημιουργία Slideshow Παρασκηνίου)
  • Spanish (Español: Crear Presentación de Fondos de Pantalla)
  • Esperanto (Kreu Fono Bildserio)
  • Finnish (Suomi: Luo diaesitys taustakuvaksi)
  • French (Français: Créer un fond d’écran diaporama)
  • Hebrew (עברית: יוצר רקעים מתחלפים)
  • Hungarian (Magyar: Új váltakozó háttér)
  • Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia: Buat Slideshow Background)
  • Ido (Ido: Krear Fundo-Prizentado)
  • Italian (Italiano: Crea uno Sfondo Presentazione)
  • Lithuanian (Lietuvių: Darbastalio fonų rinkiniai)
  • Malay (Bahasa Melayu: Cipta Persembahan Slaid Latar)
  • Norwegian (Norsk bokmål)
  • Dutch (Nederlands:Achtergronddiavoorstelling maken)
  • Polish (Polski: Utwórz pokaz slajdów na tapetę)
  • Portuguese (Português: Crie um Slideshow para o Ambiente de Trabalho)
  • Brazilian Portuguese (Português brasileiro: Criador de Slides para o Fundo da Tela)
  • Romanian (Română: Crează succesiuni de imagini pentru fundal)
  • Russian (Русский: Создать слайд-шоу)
  • Swedish (Svenska: Skapa bakgrundsbildspel)
  • Turkish (Türkçe: Arkaplan Slayt Gösterisi Yarat)
  • Ukrainian (Українська: Створити слайд-шоу)
  • Chinese (新增背景幻燈片)

If you would like to help with these translations or help to make CreBS available in another language, please visit the Launchpad Translations page.

Installation

Debian, Ubuntu, Mint

On Debian-related systems such as Ubuntu, Create Background Slideshow can be installed from the CreBS PPA, ppa:crebs/ppa

For example, in an Ubuntu terminal, enter:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:crebs/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install crebs

OpenSUSE

OpenSUSE (11.3+) users can install Create Background Slideshow from the xnd repository. In a terminal, enter:

zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/xnd/openSUSE_11.3/
zypper ref
zypper in crebs

Fedora

Users of Fedora (and probably other RPM-using distributions) can install Create Background Slideshow with the RPM package:

Arch Linux

The package details for Arch Linux can be found here: http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=39935 . I’ll admit that I don’t know how that translates into an installation procedure, but I’m sure any passing Arch users will know what to do.

Other Distributions

If you use another type of GNU/Linux distribution, you can use the source download link below. Run the setup script to install. (See the INSTALL file for details.) Note that if you can’t or don’t want to install Create Background Slideshow, it can be run as is from the extracted archive. (Remember to make sure that CreBS is executable—unless you want to run it as an argument to Python).

Further Information

For further information about how to use Create Background Slideshow, especially its many command-line options, take a look at the crebs man page provided.

Create Background Slideshow is open-source software, licensed under the GPL.