I have this script that pulls the latest GOES full disc color image of the earth every 10 minutes from NASA and saves it into a directory "wallpaper" as "Earth.jpg".
It's the only image file in the directory. So while the filename never changes the image is new every 10 minutes.
I cannot seem to figure out how to get KDE, or any moderm WM really, to re-read a single image file and update the background. At best some WM's support automatically rotating and updating the background if there are > 1 image files in a directory. But that isn't the case here. In the old days.... I would have simply used xv to update the root window. But clearly that's no longer an option. This has to be possible somehow. Thoughts?

Chris

Does using the Slideshow mode help? If there is only one wallpaper in the list, it should still refresh after the slideshow timeout, but I didn't test it.

kde-cfeck wrote:Does using the Slideshow mode help? If there is only one wallpaper in the list, it should still refresh after the slideshow timeout, but I didn't test it.

So it appears it does *not* refresh after the interval. I set it to change every 1 minute to test it and it's still stuck on the first image it loaded. It doesn't appear to work when there is only one image in the directory, im certain if I put > 1 image in it would cycle between them, but it does not appear to work when there is only a single image file.

To me personally, unless im wrong and it can do it and I just have it misconfigured, it would seem to me that not re-scanning the directory every "n" hours|minutes|seconds and reloading the images even if there is only one image in the folder, or the file name never changes, is incorrect behavior. The current behavior seems like it works for almost everyone but wasn't quite thought all the way through. And then I come along and upset the apple cart. Not quite a bug, but certainly a feature request. I'll see if any other replies come through that might shed more light on solving this.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read my question and shed some light on my issue.

Thank you!

Chris

Interestingly enough, it appears that the preview thumbnail in "Configure Desktop-> Wallpaper", is showing the correct image, it just doesn't update the background. It does update the thumbnail preview though.

I am having the same issue. I have several directories with seasonal wallpaper images in them. A bash script creates a symbolic link to the current season's directory. I set my desktop to use the current directory for the source of the slideshow option. I have to log out and back in to pick up the changes, I do not like having to do that and you certainly would not want to do that every n minutes.

It appears the images are getting cached somewhere. Even though the original image has changed the system does not know that.

I think if we could refresh that cache? It would solve both our issues.

mcoulter wrote:I am having the same issue. I have several directories with seasonal wallpaper images in them. A bash script creates a symbolic link to the current season's directory. I set my desktop to use the current directory for the source of the slideshow option. I have to log out and back in to pick up the changes, I do not like having to do that and you certainly would not want to do that every n minutes.

It appears the images are getting cached somewhere. Even though the original image has changed the system does not know that.

I think if we could refresh that cache? It would solve both our issues.

First, that is a really good idea to use seasonal directories like that. I had never thought about that, but that is a really good idea Thanks!

Second, I think you are right, as I noted above the preview in "Configure Desktop -> Wallpaper" pics up the changes. So the code is there for caching, but for some reason it doesn't apply to the actual background wallpaper image. Which to me seems odd. You would think if you were going to update the thumbnail images and write the code to update them properly you would follow through with applying that same code to actually updating the wallpaper at the same time. It just seems odd to me it doesn't work that way. Like someone wrote the code to work with thumbnails, then went and had lunch and forgot to follow it through to making wallpaper work as the thumbnails do.

This is an ugly work around that works for me. I do not really like but it works. My script runs at midnight, I am not usually on at midnight so it will not be to big of an annoyance. It would be very inconvenient to run every 15 minutes.

killall plasmashell
kstart plasmashell

This kills just the shell. All your open windows stay open.

mcoulter wrote:This is an ugly work around that works for me. I do not really like but it works. My script runs at midnight, I am not usually on at midnight so it will not be to big of an annoyance. It would be very inconvenient to run every 15 minutes.

killall plasmashell
kstart plasmashell

This kills just the shell. All your open windows stay open.

Yow! Yeah... oof. That's like trying to fix a leaking metal pipe with a nuclear warhead. Obviously that works... but my background image is fetched every 10 minutes. That would be no beuno to have to do that every 10 minutes. Maybe ill just submit a bug report?
I should see the open bugs list first and see if this has already been filed.

LOL! Just nuke it!

I agree it's overkill, but it's all I could find. I don't like it either.

So it appears this has been a known and open bug since 2016.

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=363860

Just an idea, if the image is replaced every 10 mins, could you change the timer for the wallpaper change to say 11 mins?, would that work at all?.

Wolfman wrote:Just an idea, if the image is replaced every 10 mins, could you change the timer for the wallpaper change to say 11 mins?, would that work at all?.

I have my interval set to 15 minutes and get the same results.

X86BSD wrote:

mcoulter wrote:This is an ugly work around that works for me. I do not really like but it works. My script runs at midnight, I am not usually on at midnight so it will not be to big of an annoyance. It would be very inconvenient to run every 15 minutes.

killall plasmashell
kstart plasmashell

This kills just the shell. All your open windows stay open.

Yow! Yeah... oof. That's like trying to fix a leaking metal pipe with a nuclear warhead. Obviously that works... but my background image is fetched every 10 minutes. That would be no beuno to have to do that every 10 minutes. Maybe ill just submit a bug report?
I should see the open bugs list first and see if this has already been filed.

So much for submitting a bug report! We both know it is not working like it should! But then it's NOT A BUG! If it looks like a bug, works like a bug, and smells like a bug then IT IS A BUG!!! (sorry for ranting)

I haven't tried (tested) it, but have you looked at the "PortalView Live Desktop Wallpaper" plugin?

Wolfman wrote:Just an idea, if the image is replaced every 10 mins, could you change the timer for the wallpaper change to say 11 mins?, would that work at all?.

I wish a simple thing like that would work

mcoulter wrote:

X86BSD wrote:

mcoulter wrote:This is an ugly work around that works for me. I do not really like but it works. My script runs at midnight, I am not usually on at midnight so it will not be to big of an annoyance. It would be very inconvenient to run every 15 minutes.

killall plasmashell
kstart plasmashell

This kills just the shell. All your open windows stay open.

Yow! Yeah... oof. That's like trying to fix a leaking metal pipe with a nuclear warhead. Obviously that works... but my background image is fetched every 10 minutes. That would be no beuno to have to do that every 10 minutes. Maybe ill just submit a bug report?
I should see the open bugs list first and see if this has already been filed.

So much for submitting a bug report! We both know it is not working like it should! But then it's NOT A BUG! If it looks like a bug, works like a bug, and smells like a bug then IT IS A BUG!!! (sorry for ranting)

I haven't tried (tested) it, but have you looked at the "PortalView Live Desktop Wallpaper" plugin?

I did not. I did try to download the ugh the one it starts with a V and its the top listed one. But when installed I could not find it anywhere. Like I don't know where to find it. It's not in the settings for Configure Desktop -> wallpaper. I searched for it and nothing. I honestly don't know where it is after installing it.

I will go give the one you suggest a try and see if that works.

And I agree about the bug report. You said exactly what I was thinking when I read the post saying it isnt a bug and not worth fixing. I was like Uhhhhhh.....*blink*.
Although I suspect that answer was a direct result of why this has been noted and not fixed since 2016. It's probably a HUGE PITA, and no one wants to touch it. So they keep hoping it will simply go away and people like us will stop wanting it to do what it should do.