[EN] (workaround found) slideshow in KDE 5 desktop and live_wallpaper

[dibl]

Nice addition with the new plasma-desktop -- two monitors can show individual (different) slideshows now.   

[urcindalo]

Dear @ayla

I have just posted in Gentoo forums the following:
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I use xplanetFX to render a new Earth image every ten minutes, which I'd like then to set as my desktop wallpaper.

Back in the good old KDE 4 times, it was as easy as selecting "Slideshow" as my desktop wallpaper setting, pointing it to the folder where I render the xplanetFX's image into, and set its timer every ten minutes.

Unfortunately, the same thing does not seem to work automatically on Plasma 5 (stable amd64 packages). By automatically I mean that, if I open Desktop Settings ("Slideshow" mode) and change from "centered" to "scaled", for instance, and then I hit Apply, then the definded folder is read and the wallpaper is updated (the folder contains just one image file, two at most if I set a symlink to it). But, if I do nothing, the timer setting does not seem to be honored and the image is never updated at the defined intervals, even though xplanetFX is correctly updating the rendered image every ten minutes.
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In this thread, you say you found a workaround with the help of some script you wrote. Unfortunately, the script link is not valid anymore.

Would you be so kind as to re-post it, as well as guiding me on how to get Slideshow to work with its help?

Thanks very much in advance.

[ayla]

Hi,

I'm sorry, I don't think that the changes I added to GoldNuggets fine program http://goldnuggetwebs.com/portalview/ will help you in your case.

As you can read in this thread the KDE slideshow changed it's behavior a year ago and I was trying to get the old behavior back by manipulating the content of the folder slideshow uses. I therefore decided to change the script which stores the live images there as the easiest way to get this done.

Also I cannot test slideshow right now because my plasma desktop is crashing when I try to change the settings of my wallpaper

I really hope kde is out of this mess of the last month soon...

As I think the changes in the script are of no use atm I will not repost it, but for what it may be worth I send you the script with commented changes with a pm.

greets
ayla

[dibl]

...if I open Desktop Settings ("Slideshow" mode) and change from "centered" to "scaled", for instance, and then I hit Apply, then the definded folder is read and the wallpaper is updated...

True, it appears to me that merely changing the setting does not immediately change the execution of the slideshow.  You have to restart the plasma desktop, then the changes will be in effect.  However, setting up the shape and centering and timing and so forth would normally only be done once for the initial setup of the slideshow -- after that it should run continuously as you expect.  At least, that's the way it works for me.

[urcindalo]

Thanks ayla for your help and for sending me the script. Aslo, thanks dibl for your comments.


Based on ayla's ideas, I've solved my issue with a very easy workaround: I run the following script right after xplanetFX updates its output.

Code: [Select]

#!/bin/bash
cp /home/user/Config/xplanet/fondo-pantalla.png /home/user/Config/xplanet/fondo-pantalla2.png
cp /home/user/Config/xplanet/fondo-pantalla.png /home/user/Config/xplanet/fondo-pantalla3.png
cp /home/user/Config/xplanet/fondo-pantalla.png /home/user/Config/xplanet/fondo-pantalla4.png


As you can see, I keep four copies of the same file, all of them updated at the same time. This way, even though Slideshow chooses randomly, I always get what I want.