Wallpaper types

Play video, web and Apple Aerials wallpapers in every edition, add them to your displays, and choose how wallpapers switch and appear.

Every edition plays three wallpaper types: video, web pages and Apple Aerials. Each display can run its own wallpaper. Loomscreen also animates how wallpapers switch and how they appear at launch.

Add a wallpaper

Drag a video or web folder onto a display in Overview.
Click a display to choose a file, enter a web source or pick from Wallpaper Library.
Apply a wallpaper to a named display, or use apply-to-all to put it on every display.

See Workspace for the overview, shelf and library.

Import tips

Problem	Check	Fix
A web folder will not load	Can an index file be found in the folder?	Point at the `.html` file directly.
A scene import fails right away Pro	A project needs `project.json`. A library folder contains project subfolders.	Choose the project folder or a supported library folder, then read the reported failure. Windows executable wallpapers are not supported.

Video

Plays mp4, m4v, mov and avi, subject to the codecs macOS provides.
Fill, Fit and Stretch.
Playback speed, mute, volume and video effects.
Color modes: Auto, sRGB, Display P3, Rec. 2020 HDR and force SDR.
Play independently on each display, or span one video across displays.
A per-display RAM preload budget that you can configure.

Frame-rate ceiling

Enter a whole number from 1 up to the display's current refresh rate, or choose Max. Presets include 15, 24, 30, 45, 60 and 120 where the display supports them. The control shows the ceiling you set, not measured FPS. A video also cannot play faster than its source frame rate.

Web

Web wallpapers can be URLs, HTML files, local folders or inline HTML. They run in a sandboxed web view.

JavaScript and mouse interaction toggles.
Tracker blocking.
Custom CSS.
Mute and volume.
Refresh interval.
Scale, pan, rotation and physical-pixel layout.

Web wallpapers you create can use the network according to their settings. Web content imported from the Workshop uses ephemeral storage and network isolation.

Apple Aerials

Browse, search and apply the aerial videos macOS has already downloaded. Aerials play like any other video wallpaper. Loomscreen does not download the Apple catalog.

Wallpaper Engine scenes

Loomscreen Pro also renders Wallpaper Engine scene projects with its own Metal renderer; see Wallpaper Engine scenes.

Wallpaper transitions

Settings → General → Wallpaper holds two settings: the wallpaper transition and the opening animation.

Wallpaper transition

The transition plays when a display switches wallpapers. The default is Crossfade.

Choices: None, Crossfade, Meteor, Ink Bloom, Light Leak, Aurora Curtain, Light Weave, Ripple, Bokeh transition, Crystal, Blinds, Stardust and Random.

Ripple, Bokeh transition, Crystal, Blinds and Stardust distort a frame of the old wallpaper into a frame of the new one.
Video and scenes can supply that frame. Web wallpapers and scenes spanned across displays cannot, so those switches use a crossfade.
Automation switches use the same transition, played more slowly.

Opening animation

The opening animation plays once on each display when Loomscreen restores your wallpapers at launch. The default is Loom Line.

Choices: Off, Loom Line, Frame Unfold, Daybreak and Random.

Motion and screen captures

When one action switches several displays, their transitions and openings start together.
With Reduce Motion or Low Power Mode on, transitions become a short crossfade. The opening becomes a short fade-in.
Show wallpaper in screen captures also applies to transitions. When it is off, transitions stay out of screenshots, recordings and screen sharing.