Common Issues and Questions
top ↑The wallpaper doesn't seem to be moving...
Check the Window Menu and make sure the scene is not "paused." If you have Magic Window set to stop on low battery, the scene may have automatically paused for that reason. Also try changing scenes and playing full screen.
Magic Window wallpaper is intended to move slowly. Many scenes that lack clouds or other moving features may look like they are not moving, but watch and over time you will see it change. If you want to see the wallpaper change faster, try using a faster speed. Or view the scenes full screen or with the screen saver, which play them extra fast.
How do I choose different wallpapers for each monitor?
On the Window menu select "Preferences..." and at the bottom of the Preferences page you will see a setting for multiple monitors. Change that setting to "show a different" and you will be able to choose different scenes for each display with the scene browser. You will also then be able to choose different scenes for each from the Window menu as well.
Can I delete scenes I don't want?
Unfortunately Magic Window doesn't have an interface for deleting scenes, but you can delete scenes through the finder. The scenes are located in the "Library" directory under "Application Support":
Your Home Directory / Library / Application Support / Magic Window / Scenes /
If you navigate to this directory you will see all of the scenes listed there. You can delete any you want to. We will add the ability to remove specific scenes in a future update.
How do I prevent Magic Window from slowing down my computer?
Try changing the speed to NORMAL or SLOW. At normal speeds on an average Mac with a single monitor Magic Window uses less than 10% CPU, which is the same as what iTunes uses while playing music. However if you have multiple monitors and use the fastest speed it may use up to 30% CPU, which will slow down older computers.
If speed is set to SLOW or SLOWEST Magic Window will use very little CPU. On the slowest setting it uses less than 1%. If you continue to experience performance issues on normal or fast speeds, try the slower speeds. Either one should have no impact on performance even on the oldest Macintosh computers.
Why doesn't Magic Window work as a system screensaver?
The rules of the Mac App Store do not allow apps to install system screensavers. Because of this we can not offer a system screensaver as part of the app itself. If the rules change we will offer a system screensaver.
Why is the screensaver faster than the fastest wallpaper speed?
The screensaver plays at a super-fast speed that requires almost 20% CPU. Because this amount of CPU can interfere with your usage of other applications, we don't allow this speed to be used for wallpaper. The fastest speed for the wallpaper is about 20% slower than the speed of the screensaver.
Why do I have to download scenes?
Magic Window scenes are very large. They are composed of hundreds and in some cases thousands of photos which are compressed into a special format. In order to maintain high visual quality, the scenes have to be large.
We want the ability to bring you more and more scenes and bring you regular updates. If we included all scenes in the application, you would have to re-download all 1GB of scenes every time we post an update. By having scenes be downloadable, we can give you regular updates and continue to give you more scenes without repeated large downloads.