By editing the xml template in the “/usr/share/backgrounds/contest” directory, you can create a slideshow with your own wallpapers. However, this is a tedious and troublesome task, especially if you have hundreds or thousands of wallpapers in your collection. A faster way is to use crebs.

Installation

There is a PPA for crebs, but it is only available for Ubuntu Natty and below. In Ubuntu Natty, For Ubuntu Oneiric 11.10, the PPA will still work, but you will need to add it manually to the sources.list. Add the following two lines to the end of the file Save (Ctrl + O) and exit (Ctrl + X) the file. Next, in your terminal,

Creating custom slideshow

Run the crebs (Create Background Slideshow) app. Click the “+” button to add wallpapers. You can select multiple wallpapers.

Rearrange (using the < and > buttons) the wallpapers to the order you want them to display. Once you are done with the images, you can click on the Slideshow tab to configure the length of the slideshow.

Lastly, enter a name for your slideshow and click the “Tick” button to save.

Activating the slideshow

Even after you have saved the file, it won’t appear in the Appearance section. We have to configure the setting manually. In your terminal, type Replace “my-wonderful-slideshow” with the name of the slideshow that you have saved earlier. Done. Note: 1. The custom slideshow xml file is saved in the /home/username/.crebs folder. 2. An alternative is to use third-party wallpaper changing app, like Wallch etc.