spmug 601 Q. How do I make my Mac automatically change its desktop background? A. In recent versions of Mac OS X, you can set the computer to change its desktop background image at specified intervals in the System Preferences area. To get there, go to the Apple menu to System Preferences. Click on the Desktop & Screen Saver icon and click the Desktop tab. In the dialog box, you can select a folder of photos or iPhoto album to use as background images. Put a check in the box next to "Change picture" and use the drop-down menu to select the length of time to display each image.