Screen wallpaper: Layouts for monitors and lock screens

Screen wallpaper choices depend on what sits over the picture. A starry night sky above a dark mountain lake leaves the upper half open for a clock. Quiet fields and a low teal arc let you compare layouts for a laptop, monitor, home screen or lock screen.

Tip: Leave space for the lock-screen clock above the mountain lake.

Pictures in this collection

A desktop needs room around shortcuts. A lock screen needs a clear clock area. A phone crops the centre of these wide 16:9 files. In the first picture, the dark lake and mountains sit below the open starry sky. Check that your clock stays clear against the stars.

Starry sky over a dark mountain lake brings a night scene to the screen. Midnight to steel gradient keeps it abstract. Low teal screen arc holds its main form low.

Choose a picture for your layout

Use the crop preview on the device itself. Keep the subject below the clock on a lock screen. For a wide monitor, compare the full frame with your usual window arrangement.

Low teal screen arc is a laptop option when you want less detail behind the upper icon rows. Ridge under a night sky has a low dark outline below an open blue sky. Black to forest gradient and Black to teal gradient offer dark colour fields to compare on a monitor.

Apply your desktop picture

1. Open a card and choose the JPG size that fits your display.
2. Save the file in your Pictures folder.
3. In Windows Settings, open Personalization, then Background.
4. Select Picture and browse to the saved JPG.

For your screen wallpaper setup, follow Microsoft's background guide.

Related collections

Try all wallpaper subjects to compare more subjects, set wallpaper for device setting steps, or unique wallpaper for unusual scenes and close-ups.

Verdict

For screen wallpaper, choose the low arc for icon space or the mountain night for a lock-screen scene.