How to Add a Slide show to the Lock Screen in Windows 8.1

When Windows 8 debuted last year, the operating system didn’t only receive criticism for the Start Screen’s stagnant design. Longtime users blasted other areas of the operating system as being to stale in terms of allowing users to feel like their device was their own.

Thankfully, one of the ways Microsoft addressed the issue is by allowing Windows 8.1 users to add slide shows of their photos to their lock screen. These photos don’t have to reside on the user’s PC or tablet either, pictures can be pulled from Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud storage service and synced across devices automatically.

Here’s how to add a slide show to the lock screen in Windows 8.1 and showcase your favorite photos automatically.

Go to the Start Screen.

Swipe from the right edge to the left of your screen to activate the Charms Bar if you’re on a device equipped with a touchscreen. If your device has a mouse and keyboard, place the mouse cursor in the top-right corner of your display.

Click or tap the Settings charm. It’s the icon represented by the cog at the bottom of the Charms Bar.

Click or tap Change PC Settings.

In the PC Settings app, click or tap PC and Devices in the menu. It’s the first option on the left.

Click Lock Screen.

Turn on lock screen slide shows by tapping or clicking on the switch labeled Play A Slide show on the Lock screen.

Click or tap the + icon to add a folder that you would like to pull pictures from.

Use the file picker to select the photos you’d like to display. If you’d like to have your devices automatically showcase pictures loaded to your SkyDrive folder, click or tap This PC and select SkyDrive from the drop down menu.

Click or tap Choose folder to select an entire folder of photos, you can also select each photo by clicking or tapping on them.

That’s it, Windows 8.1 will now display photos on your lock screen randomly. You can also choose whether to stop lock screen slide shows when your device is running on battery power.  It’s important to remember that Windows 8.1 will automatically sync these options to any PC or device using the same Microsoft Account.