Desktop wallpapers different on each workspace is a popular Ubuntu effect by Comipz. I have written a tutorial about this, but things got a little change since Ubuntu 11.10 with gnome 2.3 released. So this is rewrite on previous post, if you’re still running on Ubuntu 11.04 and previous edition, read this post to enable different wallpaper.

For Ubuntu 11.10, 12.04 and higher, follow this:

  • Install Gnome Tweak Tool and Disable show desktop. After this, desktop menu and icons will disappear.

    Using Software Center or this command in terminal(Ctrl+Alt+T) to install gnome-tweak-tool

    sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

    Launch it(Advance Settings), turn off “Have file manager handle the desktop”

  • Install CompizConfig-Settings-Manager using software center or commands below
    sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-plugins-extra
  • Launch CCSM, enable Wallpaper plugin and click to go into its configuration window. Click New to add 4 wallpapers one by one.

  • That’s it! Use workspace switcher to see effect!