How do I install pictures on the desktop on Monterey?

[dcs.79c]

I got a brand new 2022 MacBook Air today.

I have a 2013 MacBook Air with Catalina.

I have some pictures that I want to add to the desktop.

I know the path. It's System/Library/Desktop Pictures. I tried copying & pasting but that didn't work. I don't remember how I copied the pictures from Google Drive to the Desktop Pictures on Catalina.

How do I copy the pictures from Google Drive to the Desktop Pictures folder on Monterey?

 

[MacInWin]

Here you go:

Customize the wallpaper on your Mac

On your Mac, give your desktop a custom look by changing the desktop picture; you can even use one of your own photos.

support.apple.com

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I got a brand new 2022 MacBook Air today.

I have a 2013 MacBook Air with Catalina.

I have some pictures that I want to add to the desktop.

I know the path. It's System/Library/Desktop Pictures. I tried copying & pasting but that didn't work. I don't remember how I copied the pictures from Google Drive to the Desktop Pictures on Catalina.

How do I copy the pictures from Google Drive to the Desktop Pictures folder on Monterrey?

That is NOT the correct location for user-added Desktop wallpaper. That folder is dedicated to the System and ONLY the system can and should modify that folder. That's why it's /System.

As Jake's link expands upon... your personal photos should go either into the Photos app, or into Users/yourhomefolder/Pictures (with a subfolder dedicated to wallpaper if you desire). Then you can tell the OS where to load desktop pictures up from and optionally change them every x minutes.

 

[Rod]

In the Desktop preferences window below just click on the plus button (arrowed) and you can add a folder to choose images from. In my case it's a Desktop Images folder I created in my Pictures Folder, path as described by Lifeisabeach above.

 

[dcs.79c]

Thank you for the quick reply.

I don't remember how I copied the pictures from Google Drive to the desktop folder. I previously created a folder on Google Drive named Desktop Pictures to store pictures. I clicked on the Plus & copied the Desktop Pictures folder from Google Drive to my computer. It took me a while to figure it out.

 

[MacInWin]

Your new MBA has very much tighter security than your old system. Users no longer have access to change anything in /System, unlike before. So, whatever you did before probably won't work now. Just follow the directions and options you have been given and the system will make the changes you want.

 

[Rod]

If your Google Drive appears in the sidebar of a Finder Window like iCloud Drive or MS One Drive does in my case, you can just click on it and view its contents like any other folder in the sidebar. From there you can just Drag an Drop the contents onto your Desktop.
Alternatively, if you have a Menu Bar icon for Google Drive there should be an Open Google Drive command in its menu. Again you can just drag an Drop onto the Desktop. It might take a minute or two to download.