Where are the Unity desktop wallpapers located?

Question

Please see the picture below. Where are the Unity desktop wallpapers located?

Solution 1

/usr/share/backgrounds

The default wallpapers are part of ubuntu-wallpapers-<codename> package (e.g. ubuntu-wallpapers-precise, ubuntu-wallpapers-trusty, etc.). Run dpkg -L ubuntu-wallpapers-$(lsb_release -cs) to get the list of wallpaper files.

Solution 2

In the "Appearance" window go to the drop menu above the thumbnails and pick pictures. You will then be able to pick a wallpaper that is not in the "backgrounds" but in the "pictures" folder which is in your home folder. Using the same start, you can also navigate out of the home folder and fish out a wallpaper stored in /usr/share/backgrounds. While the added wallpapers will not show in the "Appearance" window, they are there if you have copied them there (as the owner from terminal)

Comments

[mikewhatever]

They are in /usr/share/backgrounds/.

[Eric Carvalho]

At the Appearence window there's a dropdown. When you select Wallpapers the images shown are get from the XML files in /usr/share/gnome-background-properties/. If you just drop files in /usr/share/backgrounds they will not be available for selection in that area. When you deleted all wallpapers, maybe they're still shown because their thumbnails are cached somewhere. Can a deleted wallpaper be placed on your desktop, after a reboot? Other packages, maybe the ones which holds KDE or XFCE wallpapers, can install files in background directories.

[Ward Segers]

This works also for 13.10 and so on

[grantmcconnaughey]

14.04 - Still there.

[Sigur]

@EricCarvalho, how to make the droped files available?

[OverrockSTAR]

I am also looking for what @Sigur is asking for.. how to make those new files available @ Apperance window once we copy our own photos @ /usr/share/backgrounds

[SDsolar]

Thank you from March 2018, for Ubuntu 16.04 (A Google search brought me here in under 30 seconds)