Windows 11 has a feature that enables us to change desktop wallpapers at specified intervals. However, by default, it only scans pictures in the root directory of our choice and doesn’t allow us to include its subfolders. To change this, we need to make changes to the Windows 11 system.

Install link_Nto1 PowerShell Script

link_Nto1 is a PowerShell script that helps us create hard/symbolic links to all files of a specified source folder inside a specified destination folder. In the context of this post, we can specify our wallpapers folder (which contains subfolders), and then the script will make symbolic links to all pictures in its subfolders. The script then places those symbolic links in certain folders which we specify, then we can make Windows 11 use that folder instead of our original wallpapers folder.

Begin installing the script by running PowerShell as Administrator:

PS> Install-Script -Name link_Nto1

Then cd to our wallpapers folder:

PS> cd C:/Users/myuser/wallpapers

Create a new folder that will store the generated symbolic links:

PS> mkdir desktop_slideshow

Suppose in the wallpapers folder we have these subfolders: animals, floral, landscapes, then execute the script by passing these arguments:

PS> link_Nto1.ps1 desktop_slideshow animals,floral,landscapes

⚠️ If you get this error:

link_Nto1.ps1 : File C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Scripts\link_Nto1.ps1 cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system. For more information, see about_Execution_Policies at https:/go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170. 

We need to change our Execution Policy before we run the link_Nto1 script. Run this in PowerShell:

PS> Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

After we run the link_Nto1 script, change the Execution Policy back:

PS> Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted

Set the Windows 11 slideshow source to the desktop_slideshow folder

1. Go to Settings > Personalization > Background

2. In the “Choose a picture album for a slideshow”, pick the desktop_slideshow folder we’ve just created from prior steps.

Windows 11 will now include all pictures inside our wallpapers folder. Cheers!