Mac OS X desktop black background (wallpaper)

A minor annoyance with OS X; by default you can’t have a black desktop background. Even from the “Solid Colours” section there are only a few blue / green / grey colours to choose from.

I can understand why the list of colours might be restricted; (a) time to implement a colour chooser or (b) preventing ugly backgrounds(!!) but that doesn’t help me. I actually want a black background because I have a 24” Dell monitor as my main display with the MacBook Pro sat to one side. It makes sense to have a black background since unless I have lots of apps open there’s nothing to show on the laptop screen (and I want to save energy and the pixels).

This is easily fixed by creating you own .png image and placing it in the correct location (example file below):

/Library/Desktop Pictures/Solid Colors/

Finally, I can have my nice Solid Black background:

Download Solid Black.png

Hope that helps anyone who stumbles across this!

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You’re currently reading “Mac OS X desktop black background (wallpaper),” an entry on Slash Dot Dash

Published:: 12.19.06 / 7pm

Category:: Mac OS X

Obie 12.19.06 / 11pm

Not sure if it’s relevant, but on backlit laptop screens having a white background would actually be more energy-efficient.

Kevin 12.28.06 / 3pm

Thanks so much for the tip! It has been bothering me since I bought my first macbook in June.

Chas 03.22.07 / 9pm

Thank you soooooooo much.

maa 03.31.07 / 3pm

AWESOME !!!!!!!!! now i am complete

BonDone 04.02.07 / 4pm

Danke schön. Genau das habe ich gesucht!

no one 04.18.07 / 12am

actually black is more efficient for a laptop.

Sally Syrose 04.26.07 / 8am

Thank you so much.
Until now, the only choice I had in “solid colors” was a disgusting muddy grey.
Now I have this beautiful black. I am most ‘grey-teful’
Sally

Ram 04.29.07 / 2am

Thank you

Danny 05.03.07 / 8am

You are the bomb, I’ve had my powerbook for four years and I’ve been too lazy (until now) to fix this!

eatidly@yahoo.com 05.07.07 / 3am

thank you very much. looks great with my new MBP! very easy to do with the simple directions. you rock!

Pressi 05.19.07 / 10pm

Well done and thanks! Just got my iMac 24i fully loaded and my eyes are now sooth-ed

email@kmadisonmoore.com 05.27.07 / 4am

download on mac doesn’t work

la in sc 05.29.07 / 1am

Worked on my Macintosh.

Thanks!

You need to get my first sex teacher off your site!

Why does the trash have to find ways to spread their DIRT?

Ben 05.29.07 / 1pm

> Why does the trash have to find ways to spread their DIRT?

Yeah it’s unbelievably annoying, I’m getting a huge amount of SPAM comments (all to linking to porn sites). Luckily Askimet is filtering almost all of them but the odd few still slip through.

Leo 06.04.07 / 9pm

Many Thanks you completed what Apple missed

Alvin 07.03.07 / 3am

You complete me.

Antitheos 07.09.07 / 9pm

You are my hero….

mesats 07.21.07 / 1am

that was a terrific tric. i tried to do something with photoshop and putting in the center and then choosing a black background, but this option, directly lets you choose a black background under solid colors. thats gr8, i like this solution, ITS VERY EFFECTIVE.

Dezza 08.04.07 / 10am

Just got my MacBook Pro and wanted a black desktop… Push and clicked on everything I could see, no black desktop.

But now, black desktop.

Thank you so much!

Andrew 09.05.07 / 1am

Another happy Mac here. Thanks. =)

duder 09.06.07 / 8pm

Still useful, still appreciated.

jogreets@gmail.com 09.12.07 / 10pm

just curious –is there a nice and tidy way to delete the Solid Colors folder within the Desktop Pictures dialog; ir seems while I can do aways with that folder, that Solid Colors with the color wheel in the dialog box, has to remain…

…any thoughts?

jed 10.26.07 / 12pm

C’est la kickass! Thank you very much.

Sonny 10.28.07 / 10pm

Cheers, saved at least… 15 minutes of my life…. Add up all the 15 minutes from all the happy comments above + people who didn’t comment and thats a fair chunk of time you’ve saved the mac loving public.

Energy Saver 10.29.07 / 4am

To be truthful, a black pixel on an LCD will use more slightly more energy to darken the pixel (as that is how LCD pixels work) from white to black. The only energy used on a White LCD is the backlight. The energy used on a black LCD is the backlight + the energy used to polarise the middle part of each pixel).

Look at the following if you don’t believe me.

http://commonmansthoughts.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/laptops/laptop_screen.html

Genaro 11.07.07 / 2am

Thanks a lot your the best

Merlinn 12.27.07 / 3pm

This so fab. Many thanks!! Made my day!!

Basic 12.27.07 / 4pm

Finally….

anty 01.09.08 / 6am

thanksssssss.

mm 01.18.08 / 10pm

OMG!!! THX SOO MUCH! IF U WANT 2 SAVE THE ENVIROMENT, DOWNLOAD THI BLACK BACKGROUND TO UR DESKTOP, AND ALSO CHANGE “BLACKLE.COM” TO UR HOMEPAGE. BLACKLE IS THE SAME THING AS GOOGLE, EXCEPT THE BACKGROND IS BLACK, SO THE COMPUTER DOESNT HAV 2 LIGHT THE SCREEN, WHICH USES ENERGY! DO IT!!! <3 MaDiSoN “one in doubt…DON’T THROW IT OUT! RECYCLE IT!!!”

http://kmadisonmoore.blogspot.com 02.06.08 / 5am

This is simply awesome. I have been wanting this for years…and so simple. Thanks a lot for this. You made many mac users so happy.

George 03.20.08 / 11am

Thank you.

jaap 03.25.08 / 2pm

Thanks! I love how for every tiny problem, there is a solution waiting for you a google query away. Cheers!

Kevin 04.04.08 / 7am

Thank you. I thought I was the only one!

me 04.28.08 / 11pm

buyahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter 05.07.08 / 10pm

Tim 05.13.08 / 11am

VMT.

ae 05.19.08 / 6am

YES!!! HAHAHAHA.
We got you know Steve!
hehehe

Paul Larguinho 06.27.08 / 3pm

Finally!!!!!! Back in Black!!!!b

Thanks a mil!

Slash Dot Dash

Mac OS X desktop black background (wallpaper)

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