Customizing the Lock Screen
Like the desktop, the lock screen can have a picture or slideshow background. Windows 10 provides a starter set of background images for the lock screen. The default lock screen images are stored in subfolders of the %WinDir%\Web\Screen folder, where %WinDir% is an environment variable that points to the base installation folder for Windows such as C:\Windows.
For the most part, the default images are sized for either widescreen viewing at 1920 x 1200, but there may also be images sized for widescreen viewing on stretched desktops at 3840 x 1200 or larger. If you select an image at one of these sizes and your computer monitor has a different display resolution size, Windows resizes the image automatically every time the image is used.
To access the Lock Screen page, simply right-click on the desktop and click Personalize. Next, on the Personalization page, click Lock Screen in the left column.
Just as you can create background images to use as wallpaper, you can create background images for the lock screen. To do so, simply create appropriately sized images as .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpg, .jpeg, .dib, .png, .tif, or .tiff files, and then add these files to the %WinDir%\Web\Screen folder. If you do not have access to that folder, or if you would prefer to not make changes to that folder, you can also use pictures from your Pictures Library or elsewhere.
Windows 10 allows you to use two different types of backgrounds on the lock screen:
- Pictures
- Slideshows
You also can specify apps that can display their status on the lock screen, such as Alarms & Clock, Mail, Weather and Calendar.
Using Pictures on the Lock Screen
You can set the picture for the lock screen by completing the following steps:
- Right-click an open area of the desktop, and then click Personalize. Next, on the Personalization page, click Lock Screen in the left column.
- On the Background list, choose Picture. Next, click the picture you want to use, or click Browse to select a picture in another location, such as your personal Documents or Pictures folder.
By default, the picture fills the screen. Generally, the fill is accomplished by zooming in. If you want the picture to fill a stretched desktop by spanning the space from one desktop to the other, you'll need to create a picture that is 2 times the width of the display. Thus, if the display is 1920 pixels wide, the image should be 3840 pixels wide.
Using Slideshows on the Lock Screen
With a slideshow, the image on the lock screen changes automatically every few minutes. Before you can use a slideshow, however, you need to create a picture album containing the pictures you want to display in the background.
The default picture album is the Pictures library in your personal folders. As pictures in your library likely aren't sized or optimized for the lock screen, only pictures that fit the screen are displayed by default. Also by default, when you are using Windows on a desktop or laptop computer, Windows shows the lock screen when the computer is inactive rather than turning off the screen.
Tip:
The optimum size of images for your device depends on the display settings. To check the display settings for you device, click Start and then click Settings. In the Settings dialog box, click System. With Display selected in the left pane, scroll down in the main pane and then select Advanced Display Settings. Under Resolution, you'll see the current resolution for the device's display, such as 1280 x 1024 or 1920 x 1200. If you've stretched the desktop on your device and want to create a stretched background, the background size should be 2 times the width of the display. Thus, if the display is 1920 pixels wide, the image should be 3840 pixels wide.
You configure the slideshow for the lock screen by completing the following steps:
- Right-click an open area of the desktop, and then click Personalize. Next, on the Personalization page, click Lock Screen in the left column.
- On the Background list, choose Slideshow. By default, your Pictures library is used as the source album for the slideshow. You can now add and remove source albums. If you don't want the Pictures library to be used as a source album (perhaps due to it containing embarrassing photos), click Pictures under Choose Albums... and then click Remove.
- The photos in each selected album will be used in the slideshow. To use add a source album, click Add A Folder and then select the source folder. To use remove a source album, click the folder under Choose Albums... and then select Remove.
While you're working with slideshows on the lock screen, you may want to configure advanced settings to optimize the way the slideshows work. If so, click the Advanced Slideshow Settings link and then use these options for optimization:
- Include Camera Roll Folders:
By default, this option is Off and camera roll folders from your Pictures library and OneDrive aren't included in slideshows. If you want these folders included automatically, click the related toggle to switch it to the On position. - Use Only Pictures That Fit My Screen:
By default, this option is On and only pictures that are sized appropriately are displayed on the lock screen. If you want to include images regardless of whether they are sized appropriately, click the related toggle to switch it to the Off position. - When My PC Is Inactive, Show Lock Screen:
By default, this option for desktop and laptop computers is On. This means the lock screen is displayed when the computer is inactive instead of turning off the display. If you want the display to turn off, click the related toggle to switch it to the Off position.
By default, the screen doesn't turn off while the slideshow is playing. To change this behavior, click the Turn Off Screen After... list and then choose a specific turn off time, such as after 30 minutes or after 1 hour.
Configuring Notifications on the Lock Screen
Getting notifications on the lock screen is handy so that you don't have to login to get information you may be looking for, such as whether you have new messages, what the weather is like or what the stock market is doing. Apps that can run in the background and show notifications on the lock screen include:
- Alarms & Clocks
- Calendar
- People
- Store
- Weather
- Xbox
While all of these apps can display short notifications, referred to as quick statuses, only a few apps can display longer, detailed status updates, which for the out-of-the-box apps, includes Weather, Calendar and Xbox.
You can specify apps that can display status updates on the lock screen by completing the following steps:
- Right-click an open area of the desktop, and then click Personalize. Next, on the Personalization page, click Lock Screen in the left column.
- In the main pane, scroll down, until you see the status settings.
- You can configure one app to show detailed status updates on the lock screen. Click Choose An App To Show Detailed Status and then select one of the available apps. If you don't want any app to show a detailed status, select None.
- Using the Choose Apps To Show Quick Status options, you can configure up to seven apps to show quick status updates on the lock screen. Click one of the available slots and then select an app to display updates in this slow. If you don't want any app to show a quick status in a particular slot, select None.
