Lively Wallpaper 2.2.1.0 for Windows

Lively Wallpaper 2.2.1.0 for Windows is a free app by the developer rocksdanister that sets animated and interactive wallpapers on your desktop. You can download it from the official Lively site; this page looks at who will enjoy it and who is better off with a still image.

What Lively Wallpaper does

Windows on its own shows a static picture or a slideshow behind your icons. Lively replaces that with moving backgrounds: a looping video, an animated scene, a web page or an interactive effect that reacts to the mouse. You pick a wallpaper from the built-in library or add your own file, and Lively places it on the desktop and keeps it running quietly in the background. The settings let you decide how much the wallpaper may move and when it should rest, so the desktop stays pleasant without getting in the way of work. It is a personal project by an independent developer, which is part of its charm: no ads, no account and a steady stream of updates listed in the public changelog.

Who it is for

• Desktop customisers who like to give Windows a personal look.
• Streamers and creators who show their desktop on camera and want a lively background.
• Owners of large or multiple monitors who want the extra space to look alive.
• Anyone with a spare video clip they would like to see behind their icons.

Who may prefer a static wallpaper

If you work on an older laptop, on battery most of the day, or you simply want every bit of performance for heavy work, a moving wallpaper is a luxury you can skip. The same applies to shared or managed office PCs where installing extra software is not allowed.

How to download and install

1. Go to the official site, rocksdanister.com/lively, and download the Windows installer.
2. Run the installer and start Lively from the Start menu.
3. Choose a wallpaper from the library or drag in your own video or web page.
4. Open the settings to adjust how the wallpaper behaves.

Size and performance

The installer is about 207.96 MB according to catalogue data. Video wallpapers use the graphics card and some memory, so on modest hardware prefer lighter scenes and check the performance options in the settings.

Is it safe?

The app from the official site is safe. Be careful with wallpaper files and web-based scenes from unknown sources, since a web wallpaper is effectively a small website running on your desktop.

Pros and cons

• Pro: free, with no ads or account.
• Pro: supports videos, web pages and interactive scenes.
• Pro: simple to set up.
• Con: animated wallpapers still cost some performance.
• Con: large installer for a wallpaper tool.

Alternatives

From the imaging category in our listings, Photo Image Viewer and Paint help you prepare still images for a classic wallpaper. What is new in each Lively release is listed in the official changelog.