Related
Note: This is a work in progress.
Note: All Image manipulation is done with GIMP.
Note: This guide is mainly for the A101 but can also be applied for the A70.
I was getting sick of not be able to take a good picture and use it as a wallpaper so that it looked good. I know there is an alternative "MultiPicture Live Wallpaper" but that thing is a memory hog.
PART 1
So I came up with this picture it's a PNG of 1200x1024. The different grids are the following sizes.
Blue: 8px
Green: 16px
Red: 32px
White: 64px
When this is set as a wallpaper we can finally see what is happening to the image.
Here are the screenshots for the 5 screens of the Stock Launcher of the Archos 101.
Screen 1
Screen 2
Screen 3
Screen 4
Screen 5
Since the status bar can not be hidden on the Stock Launcher we loose 32px at the top and on the right with the soft buttons we loose 40px. When positioned on the first screen we have a good view of the top left corner (1024x600) of the reference picture.
Now lets get to work with this picture below.
Size: 1680x1050
So what do we need to do. The result must be an image with a size of 1200x1024 for the A101 and 960x800 for the A70 where only the top 600px (A101) 480px (A70) will be visible in landscape mode.
Scaling the image to a height of 600px and keeping the aspect in mind. The result is a picture of 960x600
On the bottom add a 424px black border.
On both sides add a 120px black border.
and the result is
Size: 1200x1024
And the screenshot to prove it works.
This was tested with the Stock Launcher and ADW.Launcher.
PART 2
So this worked out because the original picture has a black background. So here is the solution for other pictures.
I made a multi layer xcf file with GIMP to address the problem. You can download it here for the A101 and here for the A70.
Open WallPaper_cropping.xcf in GIMP.
Select the "Background" layer.
File -> Open as Layer -> select the picture you want to crop.
Scale the layer to 1200px width and keep the aspect correct.
Position the layer so that the visible part looks good.
Turn visibility on/off so that only the layers "Background:, "The Picture", "Black Not Visible Part" are turned on.
Save the image as PNG with option "Merge Visible Layers"
Send to archos and apply as wallpaper with the Crop Wallpaper app and use the "Overall" button.
This is all for today. Next We'll see if we can do something with extending the background instead of cropping it.
Reserved for future use
Reserved for future use 2
reserved for thanks ;-)
many thanks
Worked fine for landscape But when I turn it portrait there is a black bar at the bottom - How do I get it to fill in that black space??
Using ADW Launcher if that has any effect on it...
Would put up a screenshot but the forum won't let me...
martinjh99 said:
Worked fine for landscape But when I turn it portrait there is a black bar at the bottom - How do I get it to fill in that black space??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no way to do both landscape and portrait at the same time. So you have to choose.
ah ok- Thanks anyway.
Thanks wdl1908. It will be difficult for me to explain because of my poor english. But with your settings and my A70it it didn't (the image was too high). So I have set the top of my image at 183px and the bottom at 644px and now it's perfect. Maybe someone with skills could check those values cause I'm a newbie.
Thank you very much.
nikokroko said:
Thanks wdl1908. It will be difficult for me to explain because of my poor english. But with your settings and my A70it it didn't (the image was too high). So I have set the top of my image at 183px and the bottom at 644px and now it's perfect. Maybe someone with skills could check those values cause I'm a newbie.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you attach your original wallpaper I'll look at it to see what the best method is.
So this is my actual wallpapaper. In landscape I see everything of the middle layer and not the 2 others (normal). And in portrait I don't see the face of the guy on the first layer. But this is not important cause those layers are just there to fill the blanks in portrait mode.
The original picture was found on socwall and was 2500*1324px
nikokroko said:
So this is my actual wallpapaper. In landscape I see everything of the middle layer and not the 2 others (normal). And in portrait I don't see the face of the guy on the first layer. But this is not important cause those layers are just there to fill the blanks in portrait mode.
The original picture was found on socwall and was 2500*1324px
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice wallpaper. I usually don't bother with the portrait mode as long as the landscape mode is shown correctly. I would just cut out the middle part and use that to fit into the portrait visible part of the template.
I have put together a collection of wallpapers that are optimised to work with the Galaxy Nexus resolution. I have tried to give some choice and they all look great on my Galaxy Nexus. I have added the original link in the description for those who would like a different crop.
http://imgur.com/a/efWeX/
For those wanting to create their own the images they need to be 1440x1280.
Did not see any existing thread for this. Let me know otherwise.
I was coming here specifically to post on this topic when I noticed your thread.
I don't think 1440x1280 is the optimal size. When you go to select an image as a wallpaper, the selection box is slightly larger than the two rectangles which presumably represent the area that is visible on screen.
With this in mind, it seems as if wallpapers optimised for the Galaxy Nexus should actually be 1440x1280 + some extra black space, so that the actual image squarely fits in the are provided.
Otherwise it would seem that you're taking a 1440x1280 image, cutting off the edges, and then stretching it back up to 1440x1280, resulting in a less clear image (which is a shame on such a gorgeous screen).
Just something I've been wondering about. Feel free to comment or correct me.
Thanks, this is great. Quick question, how would I go about changing the resolution of pictures I already have?
Sorry for my ignorance on this subject.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
apascual89 said:
Thanks, this is great. Quick question, how would I go about changing the resolution of pictures I already have?
Sorry for my ignorance on this subject.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your pictures are too small then you DON'T want to change them as they'll just get ruined. upscaling destroys digital images.
your best bet is to just find new wallpapers to use. Luckily for me i've always downloaded 1600x1400+ wallpapers so i'm good.
i am curious though, does the stock wallpaper picture still pixelate the images and ruin gradients? i know my nexus one does that and i downloaded quickpic to get around it. but i have noticed on my tablet wallpapers look good.
If you use something like quickpic it will select the whole image, the built in Gallery app will show you a guide however I find that it does use the whole image at the ratio.
If someone can suggest a better resolution I would appreciate it, otherwise this is the best I have found so far.
I don't have a Nexus (yet), but if someone with root could check the file /data/system/wallpaper_info.xml, there should be a line reading as follows:
<wp width="something" height="something" name="" />
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which should give the actual expected resolution.
copkay said:
I don't have a Nexus (yet), but if someone with root could check the file /data/system/wallpaper_info.xml, there should be a line reading as follows:
Which should give the actual expected resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1440 x 1280
Niksko said:
I don't think 1440x1280 is the optimal size. When you go to select an image as a wallpaper, the selection box is slightly larger than the two rectangles which presumably represent the area that is visible on screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can drag the edges of the box to make it bigger - there still seem to be corners left out but I was able to get the top / bottom / side edges of the selected area out to the edges of my image.
I made a couple of darkish fractals at 1440 x 1280, in an attempt to extend battery life without going entirely black.
Originally posted in the first wallpaper thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1365415
reposting for convenience:
jdadroid said:
I have put together a collection of wallpapers that are optimised to work with the Galaxy Nexus resolution. I have tried to give some choice and they all look great on my Galaxy Nexus. I have added the original link in the description for those who would like a different crop.
http://imgur.com/a/efWeX/
For those wanting to create their own the images they need to be 1440x1280.
Did not see any existing thread for this. Let me know otherwise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude, these are great! thank you so much!
adamleerusse said:
1440 x 1280
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! So that should mean it does include the 96px soft-button area (also meaning the lower 96px of the wallpaper will not be visible). As soon as VZW decides to launch the damn thing I'll give it some testing, but I'm pretty confident the 1440 x 1280 is correct.
Just thought I'd report back with my experiences.
I've been making some wallpapers and experimenting over the last few days, and I'm very confident that the correct wallpaper size is 1440x1184 ie. you have to remove the 96 pixels taken up by the soft buttons to get things to work nicely.
If you use this size wallpaper, the selection box will be completely filled, without leaving out any parts.
yeap
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19481934&postcount=3
Someone may be able to assist me here, but my absolute most HATED part of Android is the wallpaper selector. I can never actually set a picture I want as wallpaper because of the poxy blue line crop/selector which refuses to actually ever take in the full image.
I've used photoshop to resize a photo to the dimensions for the screen and it's still too big for the photo selector. Am I missing something very elementary here??
**EDIT**
I just made an image which was 100 pixels high as an acid test and when i tried to set IT was wallpaper it was tiny and shrunk, but so was the selector box and I STILL couldn't select the whole image. What the heck am I doing wrong!??
Niksko said:
the correct wallpaper size is 1440x1184 ie. you have to remove the 96 pixels taken up by the soft buttons to get things to work nicely.
If you use this size wallpaper, the selection box will be completely filled, without leaving out any parts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BANE said:
I can never actually set a picture I want as wallpaper because of the poxy blue line crop/selector which refuses to actually ever take in the full image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried 1440 x 1184 as a size? Then if it doesn't select the whole thing first time try dragging the edges of the box.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/isaac-newton-papers/
I'd love to see some from these. I also wish for a NASA respository.
Okay, now that I actually HAVE a Nexus, I can say with certainty that 1440 x 1280 (not 1184) is the correct wallpaper resolution. 1440 x 1184 is not the same aspect ratio as the crop box; however, you can add 96 blank pixels along the bottom of a 1440 x 1184 image (making it 1440 x 1280) and it fills the crop box, and the bottom 96 pixels don't show on the home screen due to the software buttons.
Would post a preview pic, but I need to post more first, I guess
h t t p ://oi41.tinypic.com/v4lzrl.jpg
---------- Post added at 04:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:46 PM ----------
Link to preview size (640x480)
h t t p://i40.tinypic.com/261mdg2.jpg
hey guys.. how come my wallpapers look completely different on my phone than on my laptop/old sgs2?
wallpapers like this
http://www.highwallpapers.com/wallpapers/hd-planet-earth-HD_wallpapers.jpg
look beautiful everywehre.. but for some reason on my phone the blacks dont look black at all and instead look blotchy.. any idea?
I recently got an Epic 4G Touch. I created some custom wallpapers and sized them to 480x800 to match the screen's resolution. The wallpaper has a single object (the HAL 9000 eye) which is a circle.
When I use the wallpaper as the lock screen, the eye is distorted slightly so that it's no longer a circle.
The gallery displays the image properly and the selection screen for the lock screen also displays it correctly.
I think I can compensate for this by resizing the image slightly, but I don't know how many pixels to remove from the image. I think the status bar might be a good starting point, but I don't know how many vertical pixels it uses.
Thoughts?
Lobo Droid said:
I recently got an Epic 4G Touch. I created some custom wallpapers and sized them to 480x800 to match the screen's resolution. The wallpaper has a single object (the HAL 9000 eye) which is a circle.
When I use the wallpaper as the lock screen, the eye is distorted slightly so that it's no longer a circle.
The gallery displays the image properly and the selection screen for the lock screen also displays it correctly.
I think I can compensate for this by resizing the image slightly, but I don't know how many pixels to remove from the image. I think the status bar might be a good starting point, but I don't know how many vertical pixels it uses.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because of wallpaper scrolling, you need 800x960 wallpaper. In other words, double the horizontal dimension to allow for scrolling...
My wallpaper doesn't scroll anymore, I'm not sure why.
nabbed said:
Because of wallpaper scrolling, you need 800x960 wallpaper. In other words, double the horizontal dimension to allow for scrolling...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried creating an 800x960 wallpaper using the same eye image and it didn't work. I used GIMP to create a black background image and then inserted the eye image as a new layer. The 480x800 images I created were done with the same method.
The 800x960 wallpaper is still distorted. So the problem is that the aspect ratio of the lock screen is not quite 480x800 or any multiple of those dimensions.
Through some experimentation, I think that changing the vertical dimension to something less than 800 seems to work. For example, I took my original 480x800 image and cropped 30 pixels off to make an image of 480x770. I then resized the image back to 480x800 while ignoring the aspect ratio. This results in a distorted eye, but the distortion is in the opposite direction. (The 480x800 wallpaper is distorted in the horizontal dimension. The 480x770 resized image is distorted in the vertical dimension.)
The 480x770 image is slightly less distorted so I think this might be the way to go. Short of guessing the right dimensions, I was hoping for a way to determine the best dimensions to use.
To help anyone else reading this thread, I'm attaching the wallpapers I've created. Feel free to download them and try them out.
galaxytabevo said:
My wallpaper doesn't scroll anymore, I'm not sure why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I read somewhere here that the latest Samsung stock update disabled the scrolling wallpaper.
home screen or lock screen?
Lock screen does not scroll.
For home screen you need 800x960 image or you may need to adjust your original 800x480 image to 400x480 and double the pixel size.
To scroll the home screen wallpaper, you need to change the option to make it scroll.
kobridge said:
home screen or lock screen?
Lock screen does not scroll.
For home screen you need 800x960 image or you may need to adjust your original 800x480 image to 400x480 and double the pixel size.
To scroll the home screen wallpaper, you need to change the option to make it scroll.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm working on the lock screen. With most wallpapers, the difference in the aspect ratio is likely not noticeable. I just happen to see it because my lock screen image has only one component and it's very easy to see when it's distorted.
Lobo Droid said:
I think I read somewhere here that the latest Samsung stock update disabled the scrolling wallpaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This really sucks. I also miss the bounce effect on the browser/when you reach the end of a menu. Was it due to the Apple lawsuit?
So I've been messing around with wallpapers on my Galaxy Nexus (Jelly Bean 4.1.1). I've tried several 720x1280 and 1440x1280 wallpapers and didn't crop any of them (or rather, I selected the whole image when it prompted me to crop them).
Now we all know that the Galaxy Nexus has soft keys at the bottom (96 pixels) and a status bar at the top (50 pixels). Obviously, if selecting an image with 1280 pixels in height, parts of that image will be cropped.
There are two "logical" ways that the Galaxy Nexus can do this:
1- Crop 96 pixels from the bottom and 50 pixels from the top.
2- Average them out --> (96+50)/2 = 146/2 = 73 (crop 73 pixels from the top and bottom and display what's left in the centre).
But it doesn't seem to be doing either one of those. After messing around with Photoshop and comparing different crops, I've come to the conclusion that the Galaxy Nexus is in fact cropping a total of 146 pixels, but it's doing it backwards.
It's cropping 96 pixels from the TOP of the image and 50 pixels from the BOTTOM of the image...
Now this isn't a big deal or anything, but who decided to do it this way and why? It seems like a lot of trouble for nothing.
What's up with that?!
The same thing happens with tablet wallpapers. I don't know why either. http://www.rarst.net/hardware/android-tablet-wallpaper-size/
The link above says:
- area to the top becomes visible in applications menu;
- area to the bottom becomes visible in home screen settings menu;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I don't see that at all. There is no background showing in my app drawer on my ASUS tablet. And I don't have a "home screen settings menu".
ive wondered about this too.. ive never looked into it but now you have i wanna know why they do it like this!! weird
Phhoenyxx said:
So I've been messing around with wallpapers on my Galaxy Nexus (Jelly Bean 4.1.1). I've tried several 720x1280 and 1440x1280 wallpapers and didn't crop any of them (or rather, I selected the whole image when it prompted me to crop them).
Now we all know that the Galaxy Nexus has soft keys at the bottom (96 pixels) and a status bar at the top (50 pixels). Obviously, if selecting an image with 1280 pixels in height, parts of that image will be cropped.
There are two "logical" ways that the Galaxy Nexus can do this:
1- Crop 96 pixels from the bottom and 50 pixels from the top.
2- Average them out --> (96+50)/2 = 146/2 = 73 (crop 73 pixels from the top and bottom and display what's left in the centre).
But it doesn't seem to be doing either one of those. After messing around with Photoshop and comparing different crops, I've come to the conclusion that the Galaxy Nexus is in fact cropping a total of 146 pixels, but it's doing it backwards.
It's cropping 96 pixels from the TOP of the image and 50 pixels from the BOTTOM of the image...
Now this isn't a big deal or anything, but who decided to do it this way and why? It seems like a lot of trouble for nothing.
What's up with that?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, you got a loooooot of free time
Sent from my AOKP Nexus using xda Premium
Ugh...another Android device and more confusion about setting full screen wallpapers.
When I try to set a wallpaper - even with the correct resolution - it forces me to crop it. I used "wallpaper wizardri" for it in the past but it doesn't seem to work on the Note. So, what do I have to do to set the wallpaper I want to take up the whole device?
Thanks
olly666 said:
Ugh...another Android device and more confusion about setting full screen wallpapers.
When I try to set a wallpaper - even with the correct resolution - it forces me to crop it. I used "wallpaper wizardri" for it in the past but it doesn't seem to work on the Note. So, what do I have to do to set the wallpaper I want to take up the whole device?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pictures sized at 1280x1280 do not require cropping/adjusting, the cropping windows that appears is optional, in case user wanted to choose oat of the image.
PS. The thread should probably be in Q&A
Sent from my GT-N5100 using xda premium
p107r0 said:
Pictures sized at 1280x1280 do not require cropping/adjusting, the cropping windows that appears is optional, in case user wanted to choose oat of the image.
PS. The thread should probably be in Q&A
Sent from my GT-N5100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not seeing it... Whether I try from the browser or the gallery, when I select set as wallpaper it takes me to the crop screen - if I hit cancel, it cancels the operation.
olly666 said:
Not seeing it... Whether I try from the browser or the gallery, when I select set as wallpaper it takes me to the crop screen - if I hit cancel, it cancels the operation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be that i misunderstood the question, but when setting wallpaper you choose picture first, then the cropping window appears (check attached screenshot) and when you press"Done" your choice is accepted and wallpaper is set
Sent from my GT-N5100 using xda premium
p107r0 said:
Could be that i misunderstood the question, but when setting wallpaper you choose picture first, then the cropping window appears (check attached screenshot) and when you press"Done" your choice is accepted and wallpaper is set
Sent from my GT-N5100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But isn't that image cropping off the corners? I think my issue might be that I have scrolling disabled. What would the resolution be for that?
olly666 said:
But isn't that image cropping off the corners? I think my issue might be that I have scrolling disabled. What would the resolution be for that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you mean the 4 sqaure parts at the edges, then yes, those are lost, but it's anaviodable as the wallpaper gets fitted both for portarait and landscape modes (the two rectangles on my previous screenshot).
If you have 1280x800 image, then it'll fit nicely inside the vertical cropping rectangle, but in the landscape mode only the middle part of the image will be utilized.
p107r0 said:
if you mean the 4 sqaure parts at the edges, then yes, those are lost, but it's anaviodable as the wallpaper gets fitted both for portarait and landscape modes (the two rectangles on my previous screenshot).
If you have 1280x800 image, then it'll fit nicely inside the vertical cropping rectangle, but in the landscape mode only the middle part of the image will be utilized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes no sense to me. The stock wallpapers are 1280x1280 and fit just fine. I've had numerous Android devices and I've got this working on all of them (mainly through the use of third party apps). My HTC One can do it right off the bat. I hate to bring the iPad into the equation - but that's another device that does it just fine.
olly666 said:
That makes no sense to me. The stock wallpapers are 1280x1280 and fit just fine. I've had numerous Android devices and I've got this working on all of them (mainly through the use of third party apps). My HTC One can do it right off the bat. I hate to bring the iPad into the equation - but that's another device that does it just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, I and messed up my previous post by being imprecise.
The situation I described applies only to lockscreen and launchers not supporting scrollable wallpapers (if such still exist).
Now the launcher wallpaper: for 1280x1280 images nothing will get cropped - the vertical rectangle just shows which part of the image will be on the home screen, remaining parts will be used for adjacent screens. If your image is smaller or not square, then you need the cropping window to adjust the image to your taste.
My apologies, can't explain it better than this.
p107r0 said:
You are right, I and messed up my previous post by being imprecise.
The situation I described applies only to lockscreen and launchers not supporting scrollable wallpapers (if such still exist).
Now the launcher wallpaper: for 1280x1280 images nothing will get cropped - the vertical rectangle just shows which part of the image will be on the home screen, remaining parts will be used for adjacent screens. If your image is smaller or not square, then you need the cropping window to adjust the image to your taste.
My apologies, can't explain it better than this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not your fault - we're just getting jumbled and things are getting lots in translation... I just want this to work, ugh! Even when they crop them - and technically I'm okay with that - they morph the images!
olly666 said:
Even when they crop them - and technically I'm okay with that - they morph the images!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your remark on morphing made me check again. Normally i have irregular wallpapers, with no easily identifiable parts, so to be sure I just made a screenshot and then set it as home wallpaper.
Adjusting mechanics works as it should, with the rectangles, squares etc., but to my surprise after adjustments the image gets vertically cropped, my guess is to some 960 pixels height. This would explain the morphing, but the secondary cropping is surely a bug.
PS. I attached two images:
- one is screenshot of this thread in xda app - looks normal
- second is screenshot of the first image set a home wallpaper - notice vertical cropping
Thanks for all your help man. I've been playing around with a download of the stock wallpaper and getting a feel for the cropping. For now I'm just going to suck it up and stick with texture wallpaper so it's not an issue. I'll keep trying...