[PowerShell] Custom theme wallpapers compatibility with Bing Wallpaper

[mikejhill]

Bing Wallpaper automatically changes the Windows background to a new one each day. An unofficial archive of backgrounds is available here: https://bingwallpaper.anerg.com/. Sometimes, these backgrounds are bright and uncomfortable with dark themes. ADM wallpaper switch can alleviate this pain, but this causes Bing Wallpaper to automatically disables itself as soon as it detects that another process has changed the wallpaper. This script addresses this to allow Bing Wallpaper to continue to work.

Purpose:

• Allow ADM to set the wallpaper for one theme (e.g., dark) while Bing Wallpaper controls the other theme.

Conditions:

• Windows OS.
• In ADM, "Enable wallpaper switch" is turned on for either "Dark" or "Light" theme.
• Bing Wallpaper is installed and enabled.

Tested with:

• Windows 11
• Auto Dark Mode X 10.4.1.1
• Bing Wallpaper 2.0.1.1
• PowerShell 5.1.22621.4391
• PowerShell 7.4.6

scripts.yaml:

Enabled: true
Component:
  Scripts:
  - Name: Bing Wallpaper
    Command: powershell
    ArgsLight:
      - "-File"
      - "auto-dark-mode-manage-bing-wallpaper.ps1"
      - "-mode"
      - "--enable"
    ArgsDark:
      - "-File"
      - "auto-dark-mode-manage-bing-wallpaper.ps1"
      - "-mode"
      - "--disable"
    AllowedSources: [Any]

Notes:

• Update the -File location accordingly (can also optionally use WorkingDirectory).
• This assumes Bing Wallpaper is in the default %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\BingWallpaperApp directory. Use -appPath <executable> otherwise.
• If for some reason you prefer Bing Wallpaper to control the night theme, swap ArgsLight and ArgsDark.
• This assumes ADM is used for all light/dark theme swaps. Otherwise, the "Daily Wallpaper Refresh" option in Bing Wallpaper will need to be manually re-enabled each time.

auto-dark-mode-manage-bing-wallpaper.ps1:

param (
    [string]$mode,
    [string]$appPath = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\BingWallpaperApp\BingWallpaperApp.exe"
)

if (-not $mode) {
    Write-Error "An argument is required. Please use '--enable' or '--disable'."
    exit 1
}

$registryPath = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\BingWallpaperApp'

if ($mode -eq '--enable') {
    if (-not (Test-Path -Path $appPath)) {
        Write-Error "The specified path for BingWallpaperApp.exe does not exist: $appPath"
        exit 1
    }
    
    # Terminate Bing Wallpaper if already running
    Stop-Process -Name "BingWallpaperApp" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    # Enable automatic wallpaper changes
    Set-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name 'OverrideWallpaper' -Value 1
    # Force wallpaper reapply on start-up
    Remove-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name 'wpSetBackgroundType' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Start-Process -FilePath $appPath
}
elseif ($mode -eq '--disable') {
    # Disable automatic wallpaper changes
    Set-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name 'OverrideWallpaper' -Value 0
    # Terminate Bing Wallpaper to reduce likelihood of interference
    Stop-Process -Name "BingWallpaperApp" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
else {
    Write-Error "Invalid argument. Please use '--enable' or '--disable'."
    exit 1
}