DeskScapes allows you to apply static and animated wallpaper (called "Dreams") to
your Windows 7, Vista or XP desktop. Dreams use your
computers video card to display the animated wallpaper,
greatly reducing the CPU usage of your computer. When
you run an application full screen (maximized), DeskScapes
stops the Dream to save on system resources (since
you cannot see the Dream). When you minimize or downsize
the application window, DeskScapes resumes playing
the Dream. Like static wallpaper, animated wallpaper
is behind any desktop icons you may have.
When running on laptop battery power, DeskScapes will pause the Dream and notify you to help conserve energy.
DeskScapes includes
seven Dreams, which consist of three dynamic (i.e. Desktop Earth, Desktop
Slideshow, Expanding Shapes, Water Dream. Winter Snow), one video
based (i.e. Planktonic), and one hybrid (i.e. Vintage Dream). Desktop
Slideshow cycles through selected static (non-animated) wallpaper. Apply any one of numerous effects to alter a Dream. Then use DeskScapes to head over to the WinCustomize web
site where you can download over 1,800 additional Dreams.
All of the features of the 30 Day Free Trial, without expiring.
Features of DeskScapes (30 Day Free Trial)
- New! Colouring tab - change the colour of static wallpaper.
- New! Added support for Triggered Dreams in DreamMaker.
- New! Added the ability to combine Effects.
- New! Added Expanding Shapes dynamic Dream.
- New! Added Existing Wallpaper option - change colour of existing wallpaper.
- New! Option to disable pausing of Dreams when application window is maximized.
- New! Software Development Kits (SDK) included to create your own effects. Free SDK available for download from Stardock to create dynamic Dreams.
- New! Includes Hybrid Dream!
- New! Apply one of numerous Effects, including new canvas and paper textures.
- New! Randomly change selected Dreams & how often they change.
- New! Control desktop icon transparency.
- New! Desktop Slideshow - a dynamic Dream that displays static wallpaper with optional effects.
- New! Multiple monitor support, different background on each monitor. (Windows 7/Vista only.)
- New! Support for Microsoft .THEMEPACK. (Windows 7 only.)
- Change your desktop with one of the several Dreams included with DeskScapes.
- Adjust quality vs. performance setting for dynamic Dreams. (Windows 7/Vista
only.)
- Choose if you want Dreams to run while on laptop battery power.
- Download & apply over 1,800 Dreams, and 13,500+ wallpapers from WinCustomize.com.
- Purchase and display Master Skin Dreams from WinCustomize.com.
- Create your own Dreams with the included DreamMaker & NWABuild utilities.
- Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit or
64-bit) in versions (Home, Basic, Premium, Ultimate, Business, Enterprise) and Windows XP (32-bit) with Service Pack 3.
Note:
Windows Vista Ultimate users do not need to purchase DeskScapes to run Dream files. Just download the free 30 day Trial Version from here.
- Minimum Requirements: Windows 7/Vista users must have support for DirectX
9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory, Pixel Shader
2.0 and 32-bit color. The video card must have a Windows Experience
Index Graphics score of 2.0 or better.
- Minimum Requirements: Windows XP users must have a card supporting
DirectX 9, 128 MB of graphics memory, Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32-bit
color. In addition only machines running a PCIe (PCI Express) or AGP
8x video card are recommended. AGP 4x/2x will not be supported.
- Attention XP Users!
Do not apply a Dream on Windows XP if your machine
has an ATI AGP graphics card until you have updated
your Catalyst drivers to at least version 8.12.
The drivers available at the time of Deskscapes
release were not specifically tuned for optimal
results. ATI tested and updated their driver to
address this issue. You can find the latest catalyst driver here: http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx
- Please refer to the FAQ for more information on video codecs, etc.
at: http://www.stardock.com/products/deskscapes/faq.asp
- Minimum screen resolution: 768 (width) by 350 (height).
- Impulse & Internet connection required to download and
update software.
Impulse Requirements
Upgrading from Previous Versions
Impulse will handle the upgrade from previous versions.
Check Impulse for updates to DeskScapes and other installed
Stardock software.
Check WinCustomize.com for
a large selection of Master Skins (for purchase) and
hundreds of free Dreams.
Default File Paths
Dreams are stored (by default) on your computer with
a ".dream" (without
quotes)
file extension/type and in the folders:
Windows 7:
Dreams:
C:\Users\<user login>\My Documents\Stardock\Dreams
Extracted files folder: C:\Users\All Users\Stardock\DeskScapes\ExtractedData
Hybrid Dream NWA Encoder (32 bit):
C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes3\NWABuild.exe
Hybrid Dream NWA Encoder (64 bit):
C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes3\NWABuild.exe
Windows Vista:
Dreams:
C:\user-data\<user login>\Dreams
Extracted files folder: C:\Users\All Users\Stardock\DeskScapes\ExtractedData
Hybrid Dream NWA Encoder (32 bit):
C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes\NWABuild.exe
Hybrid Dream NWA Encoder (64 bit):
C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes\NWABuild.exe
Windows
XP: (32 bit only)
Dreams: C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\My Documents\Stardock\Dreams
Extracted files folder: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Stardock\DeskScapes
DeskScapes Hybrid Dream NWA Encoder:
C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes3\NWABuild.exe
Note: C: is the default drive, and <user name> is the name you logged on as and the
name of the folder where your documents are stored under.
File Extensions / Types
DeskScapes:
- .DREAM - are animated wallpapers (i.e. video-based, dynamic, hybrid).
- .JPG, .BMP - static wallpaper.
- .MPG, .WMV - video files.
DreamMaker:
- Dynamic Dreams - consist of Dynamic Link Libraries (.DLL), requiring C++ programming.
- Hybrid Dreams - consists of a .HYBRID, .PNG, .JPG or .NWA files.
NWA files can be created with the included NWABuild.exe utility (located in the DeskScapes folder) or Stardock's SkinStudio 6 (or higher).
- Video Dreams - consist of a .MPEG, .MPG, .WMV or .AVI video file.
Please contact Stardock Support at:
www.stardock.com/support. On
that web page you will find helpful FAQ's and
other troubleshooting information. If
you are unable to resolve your issue, please
use the “Technical Support” link to "Submit a Ticket" to Support. Please include as much information about your
computer as possible; version of Windows (i.e. XP 32-bit, Vista 64-bit Business, Windows 7 32-bit Home Premium), type of computer (i.e. brand, model, speed, RAM, video card),
version of DeskScapes, etc. On the "About DeskScapes" tab, please click "Copy to clipboard" and paste into the ticket. This
information will allow Support to diagnose your issue
much quicker and allow for a faster response.
Resources
You can download the free SDK (Software Development Kit) for creating dynamic Dreams from the Stardock DeskScapes download page. The SDK includes C++ programming that will aid in the development of dynamic Dreams.
An SDK for creating effects is included in the DeskScapes\Effects folder on your hard-drive:
Windows 7/Vista (32 bit): C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes3\Effects
Windows 7/Vista (64 bit): C:\Program Files (x86)\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes3\Effects
Windows XP (32 bit only): C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes3\Effects
Look for these files: “Building new effects.txt “, and “Dll based effect sample code.zip”.
For additional information on DeskScapes, please refer
to these articles on WinCustomize:
Object Desktop: The road to DeskScapes 3 by Frogboy (October 7, 2009) - Brad (CEO/Founder of Stardock) explains what he wanted to see in this major upgrade.
DeskScapes 3 Effects Feature by Island Dog (September 30, 2009) - includes a video of the new effects feature.
DeskScapes 3 New User Interface by
Island Dog (September 1, 2009) -
an introduction to DeskScapes 3.
Tools
of the Dream Trade by Master
Baron, (February 6, 2008) - an
excellent article describing common tools he uses
to create Dreams. Master Baron is widely known for
creating Dreams, including highly rated "Master Skins"
on WinCustomize and elsewhere.
How
to Create Dreams (Links) by CarGuy1,
(March 27, 2008) - includes over a dozen links to
articles and resources related to DeskScapes Dreams.
Quick Lesson in Dreams - (November 30, 2007) introduced by Zoomba, article written by Seabass. Includes a tutorial with plenty of screenshots using Skin Studio 6.
WinCustomize.com is
a great resource for not only getting a lot of great
Dreams,
but also provides articles, forums, gallery, store
and more. This is a great site run by Stardock
with community involvement to bring together the best
in skinning (graphics) for Windows. The site
is free to use.
You can upload
a Dream file you created to share on WinCustomize. This
may include original material you created.
Direct link to WinCustomize
message Forums (http://forums.wincustomize.com/)
The version of this manual is 2.1 (6-22-10) and is based on DeskScapes
(version 3.2). This manual was written
and is maintained by Jim Kennedy (TheProf).
Please email comments or corrections regarding
this documentation to:
documentation@stardock.com.
