How to programmatically trigger "Next desktop background" in Windows using C#?

Question

I'm developing a customized application for personal use on my system. It's a system controller that runs on startup and appears when I press the F1 and F2 keys simultaneously. I initially built it to trigger specific system functionality without needing to dive into the settings every time.

I’d like to add the ability to cycle through desktop backgrounds. Specifically, I want to mimic the functionality of the "Next desktop background" option in the Windows context menu:

Is there a way to programmatically access this setting in C#?

I already have experience with PInvoke and similar C++ functionality, but I’m still relatively new to this and might need guidance on implementing it properly. What can I try next?

Answer 1

You can use the IDesktopWallpaper.AdvanceSlideshow method, which is a COM interface from the shlobj header, and should be registered in CLSID on your system.

Install CsWin32 NuGet package. Alternatively write up the whole interface manually.

[ComImport]
[Guid("C2CF3110-460E-4FC1-B9D0-8A1C0C9CC4BD")]
public class DesktopWallpaper;

var wallpaper = new DesktopWallpaper();
wallpaper.AdvanceSlideshow(null, 0);