In Windows 7, the sidebar has been removed, but gadgets can still be placed on the desktop. With Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced gadgets to display information such as image slideshows and RSS feeds on the user's desktop the gadgets could optionally be displayed on a sidebar docked to a side of the screen. The desktop slideshow feature supports local images and images obtained via RSS. Windows 7 introduces a desktop slideshow feature that periodically changes the desktop wallpaper based on a user-defined interval the change is accompanied by a smooth fade transition with a duration that can be customized via the Windows Registry. Themes may introduce their own custom sounds, which can be used with others themes as well. A number of new sound schemes (each associated with an included theme) have also been introduced: Afternoon, Calligraphy, Characters, Cityscape, Delta, Festival, Garden, Heritage, Landscape, Quirky, Raga, Savana, and Sonata. All themes included in Windows 7-excluding the default theme-include six wallpaper images.

New themes include Architecture, Characters, Landscapes, Nature, and Scenes, and an additional country-specific theme that is determined based on the defined locale when the operating system is installed although only the theme for a user's home country is displayed within the user interface, the files for all of these other country-specific themes are included in the operating system. The default theme in Windows 7 consists of a single desktop wallpaper named 'Harmony' and the default desktop icons, mouse cursors, and sound scheme introduced in Windows Vista however, none of the desktop backgrounds included with Windows Vista are present in Windows 7. Microsoft provides additional themes for free through its website. The new theme extension simplifies sharing of themes and can also display desktop wallpapers via RSS feeds provided by the Windows RSS Platform. themepack, which is essentially a collection of cabinet files that consist of theme resources including background images, color preferences, desktop icons, mouse cursors, and sound schemes. A new theme pack extension has been introduced. In addition to providing options to customize colors of window chrome and other aspects of the interface including the desktop background, icons, mouse cursors, and sound schemes, the operating system also includes a native desktop slideshow feature. Support for themes has been extended in Windows 7. The Desktop Slideshow feature in Windows 7. Unlike Windows Vista, window borders and the taskbar do not turn opaque when a window is maximized while Windows Aero is active instead, they remain translucent. Windows 7 retains the Windows Aero graphical user interface and visual style introduced in its predecessor, Windows Vista, but many areas have seen enhancements.

Windows 7 background slideshows