How to Add a Photo Overlay to Windows 11 Desktop Background

The Windows 11 desktop background image can be whatever you want. You can even set up desktop slideshows to flip through multiple images. However, Windows lacks a built-in feature to add smaller images to overlay the desktop wallpaper.

Many users would probably use this feature to add smaller familiar images to the Windows desktop over wallpapers. The lack of this feature has led some software developers to release applications that display overlay images on the desktop. You can add an overlay image to the Windows desktop with Overlap Wallpaper, Desktop Photo, and 8GadgetPack.

How to add an image overlay with a wallpaper overlay

Overlap Wallpaper is a portable and freely available application for adding overlay images to the desktop. That software allows users to add opaque and transparent images to the desktop. This is how you can add a photo overlay with Wallpaper overlay:

1. Open the download page of the Overlap Wallpaper website.
2. Click on the Overlay wallpaper download link.
3. press the Discharge in the upper right corner of the tab that opens.

4. Open Explorer and the folder your browser is set to download files to.
5. Click on the Overlap Wallpaper ZIP file with the right mouse button and select the Remove all option for the file.

6. Select the Extract Compressed window show extracted option.

7. Click Browse if you want to choose an extraction location. Next, choose a directory in the Select a destination window and click the Select the folder option.
8. Press the utility button Extract to open an extracted overlay wallpaper folder.

Now it’s time to get the Background Overlay up and running:

1. Double click on Overlap Wallpaper.exe to run the program.
2. Next, double-click the Overlap Wallpaper system tray icon and click Settings to open the Settings window.
3. press the input mode button there.

4. Click Browse in the Input Mode Settings window. Then choose an image that you want to add to the desktop and press the button Open button to select it.
5. You will then see a new image overlaid on your desktop that you can change in size and position. To resize that image, enter new values ​​in the size boxes in the Input Mode Settings window.

6. Click on the Apply > okay options to save the resized image.

It is easiest to change the position of the photo through the yellow Settings window. Right-click on the Overlap Wallpaper system tray icon and select Settings. Then hold the alternative and left-click on the overlay image to drag it to a new position on the desktop.

The older version of Overlap Wallpaper 2.6.0 also includes a transparency option, which was removed by the developer in the latest package. Therefore, you will need to download and extract the ZIP of that version if you want to apply transparency effects.

You can apply transparency to an overlay image by reducing the value of the photo transparency settings in the Settings window in Overlap Wallpaper 2.6.0.

How to add an image overlay with a desktop photo

Desktop Photo is a lightweight application that you can install and use on most Windows platforms. Unlike Overlap Wallpaper, this software adds framed overlay images to the desktop. It also allows you to add captions to the displayed photos.

You can add an image overlay to Windows 11 desktop with that software as follows:

1. Open the download page for Desktop Photo 1.00.
2. Select the download now link on the Desktop Photo page.
3. Click the yellow folder icon on the taskbar which opens Explorer.
4. Open the Downloads folder or any other directory that includes the Desktop Photo setup wizard.
5. Double-click setup_desktopphoto.exe to open the Desktop Photo setup wizard.
6. Click next to get to the install location step.
7. Select Browse to choose a folder for the software, if you prefer, and then click okay.

8. Click next > Install to add the software.

Now that Desktop Photo is installed, it’s time to put it to work:

1. Double click on the Desktop Photo shortcut that you will see on your desktop after installation.
2. Then click inside the default picture box to see all the Desktop Photo options.
3. Select the Open Photo option.

4. Next, select an overlay photo view and click the button in the Images window. Open button.
5. Left click on the overlay image and hold down the mouse button to drag and drop it on the desktop.
6. After positioning the image, move the cursor on the image. The software options will disappear from the overlay image when it is not selected.

You can stop there after adding the overlay image. However, most users will probably prefer to configure their images a bit more, at least by resizing them. To do that, select the photo and click the left and right arrows for the Scale option. Please note that the software has maximum and minimum sizes that restrict how much you can resize images.

You can also customize the image overlay with frames. To choose a different border for the image, click the left/right buttons for the Frame option. However, the frames are a bit basic and there are only six to choose from.

To add an image caption, click the Text button. Then enter some text on top of the photo. The maximum length of subtitles is two lines across the width of the image.

Desktop Photo is automatically added to Windows startup. However, it does not include a startup configuration. If you prefer not to have the software start automatically, you will need to disable it through Task Manager. Start up tab.

Neither Desktop Photo nor Overlap Wallpaper allow users to add image overlay slideshows to the desktop. However, you can add various widgets to the desktop with the 8GadgetPack software. Among them is a widget that adds a small slideshow of overlay images to the desktop.

Here’s how to add an image overlay slideshow to your desktop with 8GadgetPack Desktop:

1. Open the 8GadgetPack home page and click Discharge there.
2. Start File Explorer, open your browser’s Downloads folder and double-click 8GadgetPackSetup.msi.
3. Then select the Install in the 8GadgetPack configuration window.
4. Select the Show gadgets when setup is done box to automatically start the software.
5. Click To finalize to exit 8GadgetPack setup.

Now you are ready to add a gadget:

1. Select add device in the 8GadgetPack window.

2. Then double-click the Slideshow gadget on the third page of the widget window.
3. press the Options button to the right of the widget.

4. Click the ellipsis button next to the Binder Dropdown menu.
5. Choose a folder that contains the images you want the widget to display and click the directory selection window. okay button.
6. You can select optional settings in the show each image Y Transition between each image dropdown menus. The first menu includes options to adjust how long the widget displays each image, and the second has transition effect settings.
7. Click okay to save the slideshow settings.

Now you can sit back and enjoy the overlay slideshow of your favorite photos on your desktop. The smallest setting for that widget is a bit small. However, you can expand it by clicking on the gadget larger Size button.

You can also set that widget to display just one image if you prefer. Simply set up a new folder that includes a photo and select that directory for the slideshow. So the widget can only display one image from the folder.

Add your favorite photo on top of your Windows 11 desktop background

It’s a shame there aren’t many software packages available that add image overlays to Windows 11 wallpaper. However, you can still add your favorite family or other personal snapshots to Windows 11 desktop without changing your wallpaper with the software. of this guide. They are relatively simple programs with which you can include a special image on your desktop.