Wallpaper Overlay

A Gnome extension to apply overlays on wallpaper.

Table of Contents

• Wallpaper Overlay
  • Table of Contents
  • Screenshots
  • Motivation
  • Features
  • Overlay Creating Guide
  • Getting Started
    • Prerequisite: Install Gnome Tweaks
    • Prerequisite: Install Gnome Extensions Manager or Gnome Extensions
      • Setting Up Gnome Extensions Manager
      • Setting Up Gnome Extensions
    • Prerequisite: Install ImageMagick
    • Install Wallpaper Overlay from Gnome Extensions
    • Install Wallpaper Overlay from source
  • Contributing
  • License

Screenshots

Original	Modified

Modified	Modified

Motivation

I have a habit to change my wallpaper more frequently. And there were some problems I faced on a regular basis:

• I needed to change my dock colour everytime I change my wallpaper so that It may feel consistent with the wallpaper.
• If my dock was transparent then for some wallpapers the color of dock area was so light that the text were barely visible.
• Adding a solid color to dock sometimes gave the feeling that the dock and wallpaper are two separate entities and if I put gradient on the dock then the gradient looked weird as it ranged on the very short heighted dock.
• I made this extension to solve these problems, but while in the making, I realised that It has some potential. Like I can imagine a large set of several innovative overlays which make the Desktop experience more pleasing.

Features

This extension has following features:

• Visit Wallpaper Overlay Collection to download more custom overlay designs or contribute yours.
• Apply an overlay on wallpaper in four easy steps
  • Choose image : Either take the currently set wallpaper or choose it manually through the file picker
  • Choose overlay : Either choose it from the default drop-down or select a custom svg/png overlay
  • Choose color : Each svg overlay can have one colour that can be modified to the colour you choose here.
  • Click apply and the overlay will be applied and wallpaper will be set.
• You can even apply multiple overlays by:
  • Apply one overlay
  • Reselect current set wallpaper
  • Apply second overlay and so on.
• You can set it to automatically apply your selected overlay whenever wallpaper is changed.
• This extension is also compatible with Wallpaper Switcher hence it gives a much more smooth experience when using Wallpaper Overlay and Wallpaper Switcher together.

Overlay Creating Guide

You can create an overlay with your ideas preety easily

• I recommend to copy any overlay file from /src/resources or from Wallpaper Overlays collection. Then edit it in any svg editor like inkscape.
• If you want to have the option to change one color, you can set the changeable color to #0000ff. This color in the whole svg gets replaced while applying overlay.
• You can even create a transparent png to use as an overlay.

Getting Started

To use this extension, you will need

• Gnome 42 or later

Prerequisite: Install Gnome Tweaks

For Ubuntu,

sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks

For Fedora,

sudo dnf install gnome-tweaks

For Arch Linux,

sudo pacman -S gnome-tweak-tool

You may find Gnome Tweaks for other distributions as well. Install them accordingly.

Prerequisite: Install Gnome Extensions Manager or Gnome Extensions

I recommend using Gnome Extensinos Manager as it would make your life easier. Gnome Extensions needs few extra steps to be done

Setting Up Gnome Extensions Manager

For Ubuntu,

sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager

For Fedora,

sudo dnf install gnome-shell-extension-manager

For Arch Linux,

sudo pacman -S gnome-shell-extension-manager

You may find Gnome Extension Manager for other distributions as well. Install them accordingly.

Setting Up Gnome Extensions

For Ubuntu,

sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extensions

For Fedora,

sudo dnf install gnome-shell-extensions

For Arch Linux,

sudo pacman -S gnome-shell-extensions

You may find Gnome Extension for other distributions as well. Install them accordingly.

After installation, open your browser and go to Gnome Extension Website

You would be asked to add a browser extension, install the extension. Now you are ready to install Gnome Extensions.

Prerequisite: Install ImageMagick

Usually ImageMagick is pre-installed in most of the distros. If not, you will have to install it manually. Visit ImageMagick website to know how to install.

Install Wallpaper Overlay from Gnome Extensions

If you are using Gnome Extensions Manager then open it and click Browse and search for Wallpaper Overlay

If you are using Gnome Extensions then Visit Wallpaper Overlay - GNOME Shell Extensions

Now Install it and you are done

Install Wallpaper Overlay from source

1. Clone this repository

   git clone https://github.com/rishuinfinity/WallpaperOverlay.git

2. Change current directory to repository

   cd WallpaperOverlay

3. Now run

   chmod +x ./install.sh && ./install.sh

4. Hit ALT + F2, Type r and hit Enter

If you are on Wayland mode, then log out and log in again.

5. Open Gnome Extensions/ Gnome Extension Manager

6. Enable Wallpaper Switcher extension

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0

Copyright © 2022- Rishu Raj