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How to: Access stunning hi-res OS X screensaver images to use as wallpaper

Mountain Lion includes a set of 44 beautiful screensaver images in stunning 3200×2000 resolution, ideal for use as wallpaper on Retina MacBook Pros, Thunderbolt Displays and larger Cinema Displays.

Getting access to the images to use as wallpaper takes just a few seconds. Instructions follow…

Via OSXDaily

In the Finder, from the Go menu select Go to folder… (or hit CMD-Shift-G).

In the box that opens up, paste in this:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.Framework/Versions/A/Resources/Default Collections/

That will open up the folder where the screensaver images are stored. Hit CMD-A to select all of them, then CMD-C to copy. Now open or create the folder where you’d like to store the wallpaper and hit CMD-V to paste in the copies.

Then simply right-click the photo you’d like to use as your wallpaper and select Set Desktop Picture.

 

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Comments

  1. Ash Boer - 11 years ago

    Some nice work. Have lots of new backgrounds for my MacBook Air :)

  2. hellokitler - 11 years ago

    Cool tip. Why are these hidden in the bowels of the operating system?

  3. Ashley Bremner - 11 years ago

    if someone could put these in a zip folder thatd be great thanks….

  4. NQZ (@surgesoda) - 11 years ago

    Thanks for this.

  5. Eric Davis (@ericperisho) - 11 years ago

    wonder why they weren’t simply included in the /Library/Desktop Pictures folder? I put them there. Thanks for the info.

  6. Saif Karim - 11 years ago

    It says folder not found! Please help?

  7. mindofmedia - 11 years ago

    Does not work for mountain lion. (The default collection folder is not there)

    • mindofmedia - 11 years ago

      Sorry, works for Mountain Lion, not for Mavericks

  8. Oliver Kadak - 11 years ago

    Thanks for the tip!
    You can also drag those folders to Desktop & Screen Saver in System Preferences
    http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/3189/5bud.png

  9. Colin Jeffers - 11 years ago

    Says ‘The Folder can’t be found’ .

  10. how about posting these pictures here or at least previews?

  11. Nakul Bhatnagar - 11 years ago

    It is telling me that the folder cannot be found, and I am running 10.8.4, help?

  12. It is Shift+CMD+G not CMD+Shit+G (I know, it works anyway because you press them together :D ). The folder direction works great ;)

  13. Nice one! Why are they hidden away in the first place though?

  14. Jesse Järvi - 11 years ago

    On Mavericks, the file path is

    /Library/Screen Savers/Default Collections

  15. pbranham - 11 years ago

    I have actually been using these as my backgrounds for about 6-8 months. I put them all in a folder together and have it randomly cycle through them on my two monitors for my wallpaper. I love it. I forget where I heard about it first though.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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