Description: A background slideshow creator for the GNOME desktop wallpaper.
The GNOME desktop is able to use a sequence of images for its background wallpaper, changing them automatically over time, but does not include an interface for specifying which images should constitute such a slideshow. Create Background Slideshow (CreBS) is a small Python/GTK application that provides such an interface, saving users from having to manually edit XML files.
Complex customised wallpaper sets, such as all-day wallpapers, can be created in less than two minutes—simply drag images onto the window, arrange in whatever order you wish, and set the timings. Then give the slideshow a name, and click the Apply button. Your new wallpaper set will take effect immediately, and can be located within the standard Appearance Preferences window should you want to use it again in the future.
If you use Ubuntu, you can install Create Background Slideshow from the CreBS PPA: ppa:crebs/ppa
For example, in a terminal: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:crebs/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install crebs
RPM-using distributions (at least Fedora) can install with the RPM package.
It can be installed on other distros with setup.sh (see INSTALL for details), but will also happily run from the extracted folder, since it does not need root privileges.
If installed, it can be started from System > Preferences > Create Background Slideshow, and is added as an "Open with" option to Nautilus's right-click menu.
For more information, see the crebs man page.
Create Background Slideshow has been internationalised. If you would like to help translate it, please visit: https://translations.launchpad.net/crebsLast changelog:
0.9.8.5 * Fixed translation bug that prevented some localisations from starting version 0.9.8.4.
0.9.8.4 * New locale (Ido) along with updates * Fixed minor notification bug 0.9.8.3 * Improvements to translations: Brazilian Portuguese, Indonesian, German, and Spanish 0.9.8.2 * Added Danish locale files 0.9.8.1 * Added many new localisations: Afrikaans, Arabic, Asturian, Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Chinese (Traditional), Divehi, Dutch, Esperanto, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian Bokmal, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish 0.9.8.0 * Added Turkish translation * Display style (Zoom, Tile, etc) * Simplification: transition is now considered part of the duration * Image thumbnails spread evenly across the main window * Image previews in the Open dialog * Better keyboard interaction * More information provided if an error occurs * Experimental feature: slideshows can be made to fit a particular length (see man page for details) 0.9.7.0 * Added Spanish and Czech translations * Default settings can be configured with GConf * Maximum transition increased to 1 day 0.9.6.0 * Added man page * Able to read and write non-trivial slideshow files * Uses thumbnails cache for faster image import 0.9.5.0 * Localised versions in Welsh (Cymraeg), German (Deutsch), English, Italian (Italiano), Lithuanian (lietuvių), Romanian (rom
I've been looking for something that does this for a while now on Gnome. It's great.
I'm currently using Gnome 2.xx, does it work as well (or is it integrated) in Gnome 3.xx?
I did have that written down somewhere, but somehow it never got copied into the online blueprints list. Thank you for reminding me.
You can already add several images at once though, either from the Add Images dialog or by drag-and-drop from another window. So you can always select all the images in the folder before clicking Open.
The GUI isn't really meant for such insane numbers of images. That potential problem, particularly with recursive folder opening, is the main reason why I haven't added the feature yet.
Use the command line for making slideshows of that scale. Type:
crebs --help
or
man crebs
for instructions.
marcstewart,
THANK YOU for this excellent app! This is one that's been sorely missing from GNOME, and I'm so glad to see you pioneer the effort to enable us to liven up our desktops! I have suggestions for improvement...
Enable us to specify how an image is displayed, ie stretched, tiled, zoomed, centered, scaled, etc. This will allow crebs to show us the image at the best aspect ratio/crop.
Consider enabling a few default time settings. for instance, radio buttons for displaying each image for 10 mins, half hour, 1 hour, 8 hours, etc (while keeping, of course, the custom time intervals).
Make editing of existing slideshows a little more transparent. It was trivial for me to point crebs to the xml file so I could edit a slideshow... but it seems simpler to open and edit a previous slideshow rather than create a new one each time.
Allow the option to automatically use all the images in a folder without having to add them to the slideshow by hand. possibly through the use of an 'update' button, etc.
Consider adding a 'random' option, whereby crebs will randomly pick an image from a folder to display.
I doubt that all of these features are possible or easy to add. They are mere suggestions for an already wonderful application.
The localisation matches the locale associated with your user account (i.e. whatever the 'Language' setting is on the login screen), so if the rest of your GNOME desktop is in Russian, you should get "Создать слайд-шоу" instead of "Create Background Slideshow" automatically.
Not all the text is translated into Russian yet, but the major parts are.
Awesome project mate!
I'm willing to translating your app into italian (and later to include it in a project of mine).
Just a suggestion:
Create a "all-day-long" preset, so you'll already have all timings done.
(E.g. if you set 4 Images you'll have that TIME = (24*60)/20 # Minutes )
Thanks.
If you haven't already done so, head over to https://translations.launchpad.net/crebs to add your translations. You'll need a Launchpad account—click "Log In / Register" in the top-right corner if you need to sign up.
That's a great suggestion. You can be sure to see it in an upcoming version.
Ratings & Comments
14 Comments
9 +
I've been looking for something that does this for a while now on Gnome. It's great. I'm currently using Gnome 2.xx, does it work as well (or is it integrated) in Gnome 3.xx?
It would be nice to can add one entire folder at one time.
I did have that written down somewhere, but somehow it never got copied into the online blueprints list. Thank you for reminding me. You can already add several images at once though, either from the Add Images dialog or by drag-and-drop from another window. So you can always select all the images in the folder before clicking Open.
I tried it but it takes a long time. There are 2.150 photos!!
The GUI isn't really meant for such insane numbers of images. That potential problem, particularly with recursive folder opening, is the main reason why I haven't added the feature yet. Use the command line for making slideshows of that scale. Type: crebs --help or man crebs for instructions.
marcstewart, THANK YOU for this excellent app! This is one that's been sorely missing from GNOME, and I'm so glad to see you pioneer the effort to enable us to liven up our desktops! I have suggestions for improvement... Enable us to specify how an image is displayed, ie stretched, tiled, zoomed, centered, scaled, etc. This will allow crebs to show us the image at the best aspect ratio/crop. Consider enabling a few default time settings. for instance, radio buttons for displaying each image for 10 mins, half hour, 1 hour, 8 hours, etc (while keeping, of course, the custom time intervals). Make editing of existing slideshows a little more transparent. It was trivial for me to point crebs to the xml file so I could edit a slideshow... but it seems simpler to open and edit a previous slideshow rather than create a new one each time. Allow the option to automatically use all the images in a folder without having to add them to the slideshow by hand. possibly through the use of an 'update' button, etc. Consider adding a 'random' option, whereby crebs will randomly pick an image from a folder to display. I doubt that all of these features are possible or easy to add. They are mere suggestions for an already wonderful application.
I can help you translating this excelent app into spanish lang.
Thanks; that's great! Head on over to https://translations.launchpad.net/crebs when you want to get started.
how to choose the Russian language?
The localisation matches the locale associated with your user account (i.e. whatever the 'Language' setting is on the login screen), so if the rest of your GNOME desktop is in Russian, you should get "Создать слайд-шоу" instead of "Create Background Slideshow" automatically. Not all the text is translated into Russian yet, but the major parts are.
Awesome project mate! I'm willing to translating your app into italian (and later to include it in a project of mine). Just a suggestion: Create a "all-day-long" preset, so you'll already have all timings done. (E.g. if you set 4 Images you'll have that TIME = (24*60)/20 # Minutes )
Thanks. If you haven't already done so, head over to https://translations.launchpad.net/crebs to add your translations. You'll need a Launchpad account—click "Log In / Register" in the top-right corner if you need to sign up. That's a great suggestion. You can be sure to see it in an upcoming version.
Translated =D