To change the backdrop texture, select General... from the Preferences submenu of the Text menu. The General preferences dialog will then be displayed, which is shown below in Figure 2. All available textures are bundled into a number of texture files, so simply select a texture file from the File popup menu, select the texture you wish to try out from the Texture popup menu and then press the Apply texture button. The texture will then be applied to the backdrop for your viewing pleasure.
Some sample textures are shown below:
To make a texture file work on the Windows version of JWM Pro, you must use the MacOS version of JWM to convert the texture file first into DFF format (ie. select Convert DFF file... from the Special menu). Once in DFF format, you can transfer it to the PC, place it in the Texture folder, run JWM and convert the DFF file back into its proper form. Thus, the best way to make texture files available to all JWM Pro users is to supply it in DFF format (which we do in the Professional Edition Internet download area).
You can create your own textures with software such as TextureMagic (available on MacOS), and thus customise the backdrop exactly to your tastes. For example, you may like to use a texture created from a picture of your family, cat, dog or pet hampster. It's up to you. Of course, with the power of TextureMagic, you can use almost any picture and manipulate it so it creates a seamless texture. Schools may like to use a picture of their school emblem for teachers using the Professional Edition in their offices. The Professional Edition is simply perfect for teachers because it will include the Course module builder.
Technical tips
If you find that JWM Pro comes up with an error saying the texture you tried to apply was incompatible, you will need to use some specialised tools to convert the texture to a form that is compatible. To do this, you will need a Macintosh with ResEdit and a version of the System Software with the Desktop pictures control panel. You will also need some existing technical expertise in this area.
Open the new texture file with ResEdit, open the ppat resource (you may need to set ResEdit to by name in the View menu to have it displayed correctly) and copy and paste each ppat in turn into the opened Desktop pictures control panel. If the paste worked properly, you will see the texture shown in this control panel. Continue copying and pasting until all the textures you want to use are in the control panel. Don't worry if ResEdit says a texture is corrupt if you try to open it for direct editing, since ResEdit can only handle 64x64 pixel textures and most textures are 128x128 pixels or higher.
Now go into the System folder, open the Preferences folder and copy the Desktop Pictures Prefs onto your desktop. This file will contain all the textures used by the Desktop pictures control panel, so you may like to use ResEdit to strip out the ones you don't want. Then rename the Desktop Pictures Prefs file to something more personal and pop it in the Texture folder. JWM should now be able to use all the textures in this file.
When using software such as TextureMagic, you will need to copy and paste completed texture PICTs into the Desktop pictures control panel and then manipulate the Desktop Pictures Prefs file as described above.