Lively Wallpaper 1.5 with taskbar theming support released

Martin Brinkmann
May 13, 2021
Updated • May 13, 2021
Software
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Lively Wallpaper 1.5 has just been released. The new version of the open source wallpaper application for Windows introduces support for taskbar theming.

I reviewed Lively Wallpaper back in December 2020 and concluded that it was one of the best wallpaper programs for Microsoft's Windows operating system.  The app supports static and animated wallpapers, and even includes interesting options for the latter such as turning YouTube videos or games into wallpapers. It features support for multi-monitor systems, supports screensavers and automation, and has its own API.

lively wallpaper 1.5

Version 1.5 of Lively Wallpaper improves the program further. The size of the installer sites at 199 Megabytes now, some of it is taken up by the included wallpapers, another part by the included .Net Core Runtime version it requires. The application is compatible with Windows 10 version 1903 or newer.

Note that Microsoft Edge / Windows Defender may throw SmartScreen errors when you attempt to download or run the program on Windows machines.

One of the main new features of Lively Wallpaper 1.5 is theming support for the taskbar.

lively wallpaper taskbar theme

The new feature is not turned on automatically after installation or upgrade. You find the options under Settings > System > Taskbar Theme:

  • Clear -- make the Windows taskbar transparent.
  • Blur -- blur the taskbar of the operating system.
  • Fluent -- acrylic blur taskbar.
  • Wallpaper -- transparent taskbar based on the average color of the active wallpaper.
  • Wallpaper Fluent -- same as wallpaper but fluent.

Just select one of the option to activate it immediately. If you are unsure, cycle through all of them to find out which you like the most.

The System settings menu hosts two options that are new as well. Lockscreen Picture and Desktop Picture allow you to set the "picture of an animated wallpaper as the lockscreen or desktop wallpaper".

Several of the included tools and the bundled .Net Core Runtime are updated to newer versions in the release. The developer published a teaser video on YouTube to deminstrate the new features:

Closing Words

Lively Wallpaper is an excellent wallpaper application for Windows 10 version 1903 and newer. While some users may dislike the reliance on .Net Core or the size of the installer, those who do install it will get a great app that offers pretty much everything by now that you could hope for in a wallpaper app.

Now You: do you use a wallpaper application? (via Deskmodder)

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Lively Wallpaper 1.5 with taskbar theming support released
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Lively Wallpaper 1.5 with taskbar theming support released
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Lively Wallpaper 1.5 has just been released. The new version of the open source wallpaper application for Windows introduces taskbar theming support next to other features.
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Comments

  1. Milos Djurdjevic said on June 12, 2021 at 1:54 pm
    Reply

    Unfortunately it doesn’t allow me to change the taskbar setting to clear, blur, fluent, etc… It tells me:
    “Incompatible program found, taskbar theming disabled.
    Taskbarx”

    Can someone help?
    Thank you

  2. cagcag said on May 31, 2021 at 1:15 am
    Reply

    I use CAS Preview from Microsoft. It’s not super advanced but does the job.

  3. iron2000 said on May 17, 2021 at 2:56 am
    Reply

    The UI reminds me of Brilli / 9zen Wallpaper app

  4. y0himba said on May 15, 2021 at 4:28 pm
    Reply

    I’ve used Display Fusion for my wallpapers for many years and really never looked back. It does everything that lively does, and provides a much more useful taskbar on my 2nd monitor as well. It has a ton of functions for window management too.

    The drawback for some is that it is a paid application, but it can be found on sale often, even for a lifetime license.

  5. Buzz said on May 14, 2021 at 10:10 am
    Reply

    Naveed, take a look at WinDynamicDesktop by Timothy Johnson posted on Github
    https://github.com/t1m0thyj/WinDynamicDesktop
    I think that might do what you want.

    1. Jim said on May 18, 2021 at 5:40 pm
      Reply

      Bless you mate, i just found me new favorite app.

  6. Naveed said on May 14, 2021 at 1:15 am
    Reply

    I’d like to see a wallpaper manager that downloads and sets wallpapers from specific sites, based on categories and tags, but specifically by time of day it sets bright or dark wallpapers. I know the first part exists, but I’m yet to see automatic bright and dark wallpapers based on time of day.

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