Linux Mint: How to Add a Custom Background Image

With any computer system, one of the things that most people want to do is customise the computer to their personal tastes. There are many ways to go about this, which will vary from person to person. A common customisation choice is the desktop background. You regularly see the desktop of your computer and having a nice picture there can help to bring a smile to your face. You may want to use something that inspires you, reminds you of a great holiday, shows a beautiful landscape, or features your loved ones.

If you’re using Linux Mint as your operating system, you’ll find that it comes with a number of desktop backgrounds pre-installed. You can look through them by pressing the Super key and typing “Backgrounds”.

Tip: Linux refers to the “Windows” key or the Apple “Command” key as the “Super” for trademark reasons. By default, the Windows or Command key will be interpreted as the super key.

Once you’re in the backgrounds selection screen you can choose between any of the pre-installed Linux Mint background images. There are eleven branded options in the “Linux Mint” section and twenty-two unbranded high-resolution photos in the “Ulyana” section.

To use your own custom background images, you need to use the “Pictures” section or import another folder. “Pictures” allows you to browse through any images that are in your user’s Pictures directory. You just need to click on a picture to set it as your desktop background.

Tip: The Pictures section only takes images from your Pictures directory. It doesn’t look recursively in any folders in your Pictures directory.

If you want to use an image in a subdirectory of your Pictures folder, or if you want to use an image from another folder, you’ll either have to copy it to the Pictures folder or add a new folder to the folder list. To add a folder to the folder list, click the “add” icon in the bottom-left corner then browse to and select a folder that you want to import. Once you’ve done so, you’ll be able to select it like any of the other sections.