How do I enable "Desktop Slideshow" with Powershell only?

Question

How do I change the setting in Settings App > Personalization > Background so that it uses one of the three selections with PowerShell. I just want it to change the Background setting only, not alter the existing settings or change the background in the background that is controlled by a script. So far I see things where people use powershell to change the background image, but not just control that one setting.

Answer 1

1. Navigate to %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes and copy slideshow.ini and store it somewhere safe, open slideshow.ini and copy the long string after

   [Slideshow] ImagesRootPIDL=/copy-the-long-string-from-here/

   Paste the string as SlideshowDirectoryPath1's value in the script.

2. Edit slideshow.ini path in the script with the one you stored earlier.

   $sourceFile = "C:\slideshow.ini"

Read more at https://diymediahome.org/how-to-enable-windows-desktop-wallpaper-slideshow-silently-with-a-script/

Powershell script:

#-------------------------------------------------------------------#
# ScriptName : Slideshow.ps1                                        #
# Description : Enable Desktop Slideshow (tested, Windows 11 23H2)  #
# Credits  : Ken                            #
#                                                                   #
# Date : 24 May 2024                                                #
#-------------------------------------------------------------------#

# Set registry values for desktop slideshow, 0x0000ea60 is 1 minute interval 
$regPath = "HKCU:\Control Panel\Personalization\Desktop Slideshow"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name "Interval" -Value 0x0000ea60
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name "Shuffle" -Value 0x00000001

# Fill long path string in "SlideshowDirectoryPath1"
$regPath = "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpapers"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name "SlideshowSourceDirectoriesSet" -Value 0x00000001
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name "BackgroundType" -Value 0x00000002
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name "SlideshowDirectoryPath1" -Value "put-long-string-here"

# Change path of your source slideshow you wish to move to Themes folder
$sourceFile = "C:\slideshow.ini"

# Themes folder path
$destinationDir = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\Themes"

# Create the themes directory if it doesn't exist, uncomment if needed.
#if (-not (Test-Path -Path $destinationDir)) {
#    New-Item -Path $destinationDir -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
#}

Copy-Item -Path $sourceFile -Destination $destinationDir -Force

# Check if the "Settings" app is running, if yes, close it, open it the second time and finally close it.
$settingsApp = Get-Process -Name "SystemSettings" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($settingsApp) {
    # Minimize the "Settings" app window
    $showWindowAsync = Add-Type -MemberDefinition @"
        [DllImport("user32.dll")]
        public static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
"@ -Name "Win32ShowWindowAsync" -PassThru
    $showWindowAsync::ShowWindow($settingsApp.MainWindowHandle, 6) | Out-Null

    # Close the "Settings" app
    Stop-Process -InputObject $settingsApp -Force
}

$settingsApp = Get-Process -Name "SystemSettings" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$retryCount = 2
$retryDelay = 2
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $retryCount; $i++) {
    try {
        Start-Process -FilePath "ms-settings:personalization-background" -WindowStyle Hidden
        break
    }
    catch [System.InvalidOperationException] {
        if ($i -eq $retryCount - 1) {
            throw
        }
        Write-Host "Failed to open the Settings app. Retrying in $retryDelay seconds..."
        Start-Sleep -Seconds $retryDelay
    }
}
Start-Sleep -Seconds 1

# Check if the "Settings" app is running again, comment # below lines if you wish to not close settings app.
$settingsApp = Get-Process -Name "SystemSettings" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($settingsApp) {
    Stop-Process -InputObject $settingsApp -Force
}