How do I change the wallpaper in LightDM?

Question

I would like to set the wallpaper in LightDM, how do I do that?

Answer 1

Ubuntu 12.04 and 12.10

Ubuntu 12.04 Unity greeter has introduced selected user dynamic background, that means that when selecting a user from the available users list the background will change to reflect the selected user's desktop background.

By default lightdm will set /usr/share/backgrounds/warty-final-ubuntu.png as the default background and the option for the dynamic background switching on.

Setting the dynamic switching off

Open a terminal and get root

sudo -i

_{(Type sudo password)}

Allow the user lightdm to create a connection to the X server

xhost +SI:localuser:lightdm

Switch user to lightdm

su lightdm -s /bin/bash

Turn off the dynamic switching of the background

gsettings set com.canonical.unity-greeter draw-user-backgrounds 'false'

If you want to reset that setting to default after changing it, follow all the steps until the command above and instead use

gsettings reset com.canonical.unity-greeter draw-user-backgrounds

When you are done setting off or reseting to default the dynamic background feature you can close the terminal or type 2x exit, first to revert back to root and the second to clear the root privileges and revert back to your normal user.

Changing the default fixed background

_{(you will only see this one if the user did not set a desktop background picture or if the dynamic setting is set to false)}

Open a terminal and get root

sudo -i

_{(Type sudo password)}

Allow the user lightdm to create a connection to the X server

xhost +SI:localuser:lightdm

Switch user to lightdm

su lightdm -s /bin/bash

Change the default background with a picture of your choice

gsettings set com.canonical.unity-greeter background '/foo/wallpaper.png'

_{(Note: the wallpaper file cannot be located inside a encrypted user's home, those are only mounted after the user has logged in with his account.)}

If you want to revert that to the default background follow all the steps until the command above but instead type

gsettings reset com.canonical.unity-greeter background

When you are done changing the default background feature or reverting back to the default one you can close the terminal or type 2x exit, first to revert back to root and the second to clear the root privileges and revert back to your normal user.

Answer 2

For 11.10

Run this command in the terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T)

gksu gedit /etc/lightdm/unity-greeter.conf

You will see gedit (text-editor app) appear with this text:

Just edit the line that says BACKGROUND=... with the absolute path to the background image of your desire.

Then click save or Ctrl+S and close the window. You are done.

Log out to see it working.

^source

Answer 3

11.10 - Simple LightDM Manager

An enterprising developer has put together a simple applet that will change the wallpaper:

to install

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:claudiocn/slm
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install simple-lightdm-manager

_source

Answer 4

11.10

I'd suggest to use Ubuntu Tweak. You can configure what the logo and the backgroundimage comforably without messing around with config files:

This screenshot was taken on 10.10 Maverick, if somebody can check easily if it works also with recent Ubuntu versions an edit of this answer is welcome!

Answer 5

12.04

Bruno Pereira's answer worked for me but could not be used in a context without X11. Here is an other way to do the same ... without the need of X11 (and easily scriptable) :

Edit the following file :

sudo vi /usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas/com.canonical.unity-greeter.gschema.override

[com.canonical.unity-greeter]
draw-user-backgrounds=false
background='/foo/wallpaper.png'

Apply the new settings :

glib-compile-schemas /usr/share/glib-2.0/schemas/

Answer 6

For 11.10:

You need to edit /etc/lightdm/unity-greeter.conf (sudo nano /etc/lightdm/unity-greeter.conf). In that file you have to replace value of BACKGROUND tag.

For ref check the below screen shot.

Answer 7

All versions

1) Download Ubuntu Tweak:

Download for Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

Download for Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

Download for other Ubuntu

If you use 12.04 Precise: to change the login wallpaper just change your desktop wallpaper, with Ubuntu Tweak you can change only the logo.

If you use 11.10 Oneiric you can use Ubuntu Tweak to change the login wallpaper and logo.

2) Open the downloaded package and install it

3) Launch Ubuntu Tweak.

Go to Tweaks > Login Settings. Click Unlock and click on the image you want to change.

If you use 12.04 Precise: to change the login wallpaper just change your desktop wallpaper, with Ubuntu Tweak you can change the logo.

Answer 8

This what worked for me. Via nautilus, I renamed the original /usr/share/backgrounds/warty-final-ubuntu.png image file inside , then I pasted my preferred image as the login wallpaper and renamed it to warty-final-ubuntu.png, then applied the same file properties as with the original one.

Answer 9

12.04

In Ubuntu 12.04 you don't need to do all those command line edits anymore. All you have to do is change your wallpaper and voilá, LightDM will use it as the background (:

Sadly it seems not fully implemented yet, since when your computer starts, you see the default Ubuntu wallpaper for some seconds before it change to your wallpaper. But since we are talking about a beta (Ubuntu 12.04 is in Beta 2 right now), it's expected.

Hope it answered your question (:

Answer 10

Ubuntu 12.04

Just put the desired lightdm background in the default Ubuntu pictures folder (not a subfolder) and then set it as your wallpaper.

Source: http://wiki.ubuntuusers.de/LightDM#Hintergrundbild

Answer 11

Ubuntu 12.10

This approach uses the dconf-editor, rather than gsettings. Changes to the unity-greeter must be done as the lightdm user. The steps are as follows:

1. Change to root user.
2. Give lightdm user access to the X server.
3. Change to lightdm user.
4. Run dconf-editor.
5. Select /com/canonical/unity-greeter and change properties.

---

1. Change to root user.

   sudo -i
   

2. Give lightdm user access to the X server.

   xhost +SI:localuser:lightdm
   

3. Change to lightdm user.

   su lightdm -s /bin/bash
   

4. Run dconf-editor.

   dconf-editor
   

5. Select /com/canonical/unity-greeter and change properties.

   

Answer 12

11.10

You can find a screencast that demonstrates how to change the LightDM background here.

Answer 13

12.04

This is my solution to those who are not able to change the login screen background.

I was having this problem when I changed the wallpaper but I was getting the default Ubuntu login background. So what I did was locate the wallpaper.jpg file in terminal and change its permissions to, say:

chmod 777 walpaper.jpg

Something which gives full access and now we can see the effect. The wallpaper I choose on desktop is also seen as the login screen background. This applies for all users.