Introduction
If you've recently upgraded to Windows 11, you may have noticed that the desktop background occasionally changes to a stunning image provided by Windows Spotlight. These images can be saved to your Pictures folder for use as wallpaper or for other purposes. In this article, we'll show you how to use Windows Spotlight shortcuts to save desktop background images to the Pictures folder.
Finding the Desktop Background Files
The first step in saving a Windows Spotlight desktop background image is to locate the files used for these images. By default, these files are stored in the following location:
C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets
Replace "YourUsername" with your actual Windows username. Note that this folder is hidden by default. To view it, you'll need to enable the option to show hidden files and folders in File Explorer.
Using Windows Spotlight Shortcuts
While you can manually copy the desktop background files from the Assets folder to your Pictures folder, there's a faster way to do this using Windows Spotlight shortcuts. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Open the Context Menu
Right-click on an empty space on your desktop, then select "Personalize" from the context menu.
Step 2: Select a Background Image
In the Personalization settings, select "Background" from the left-hand menu. Scroll down to the "Personal folders" section and select the folder containing the Windows Spotlight image you want to save.
Step 3: Copy the Image File Path
Once you've selected the folder, find the image you want to save and right-click on it. Select "Copy as path" from the context menu.
Step 4: Open the Command Prompt
Press the Windows key + X to open the WinX menu, then select "Command Prompt" or "Windows PowerShell" from the list.
Step 5: Navigate to the Pictures Folder
In the Command Prompt or PowerShell window, type the following command and press Enter:
cd %USERPROFILE%\Pictures
This will navigate you to the Pictures folder in your user profile.
Step 6: Copy the Image File
Type the following command, replacing "FilePATH" with the file path you copied in step 3. Press Enter to copy the file to the Pictures folder:
copy "FilePATH" .
For example:
copy "C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager\_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets\1234567890abcdef.jpg" .
Additional Tips
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You can use the Windows Spotlight shortcuts to quickly save multiple desktop background images at once. Simply copy the file paths for each image, then paste them into the Command Prompt or PowerShell window separated by spaces.
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The image files in the Assets folder may not have descriptive names. You can rename them to something more meaningful after saving them to the Pictures folder.