Install Custom Background Image on LCD Phones

Issue: Customizing the color display bitmap of an IP Phone

Scenario: We would like to modify the bitmap on our color displays (IP 265, IP 265g, IP 565 and IP565g), how is this done?

Resolution: First the bitmap must be in the correct format. See steps below.

Image Preparation:
The image must be formatted to fit within the specifications of dimensions, compression/format, and pallet size. Any deviation from these standards will result in the background image not being properly displayed or not being displayed at all.

- Dimensions: 320 by 240 pixels
- Compression/format: uncompressed bitmap (.bmp)
- Pallet size: 256 colors (24-bit RGB)

First use an image tool to crop and resize your image to the proper dimensions. A free online tool well suited for this task is http://www.resizeyourimage.com/ This tool does not require any installation and is capable of sizing your image to the precise dimensions required by the phone with minimum image distortion.

Next you will need to confirm the image has the proper compression and format as well as pallet size. This is easiest accomplished by use of MS Paint. Paint is included as a free accessory with all modern versions of the Windows OS. Open the properly sized image in MS Paint and select 'Save As ...' from the File menu. Select the option '24-bit Bitmap' from the Save as type option. Select a name for your file that has not been used by phones in your system before and click save. Note that phones will only download new files based on file name so if you were to use a file name that has already been used previously by the phones on your system your phones may not download the new image as desired.

Change System File(s):

You will need to transfer the properly formatted image file to be displayed on the phones to the ftproot directory (i.e. C:\inetpub\ftproot) of your HQ server. You will then need to modify one or more files on your HQ server to inform the phones you would like the image displayed on that they should download the file upon their next reset.

You can have the image displayed on all phones of a specific model that reside on your system. Alternatively you can have the image displayed on a specific individual phone based on the phones unique MAC address. All of these files reside in the ftproot directory of your HQ server. If these files do not exist you will need to create them manually, or modify them manually if they are already present. The filenames should be all lowercase and be named as follows.

- s36custom.txt for IP 265 phones
- s6ccustom.txt for IP 565g phones
- shore_xxxxxx.txt (where xxxxxx is the MAC address of the phone) for specific individual phones.

On the last line of the desired files add the entry as follows:
WallPaper2Pixmap ".bmp"
Please note this is case sensitive! Once the files have been saved you will need to force a reset of all phones that should be affected by the change. Once the reset is complete you should verify that the phone displays the new wallpaper as desired.

Quick Steps:

1. Resize the desired image to the dimensions of 320 by 240.
2. Save the image to the format of 24-bit Bitmap with a unique filename.
3. Transfer the image file to the ftproot directory of your HQ server
4. Modify one or more of the text files within the ftproot directory of your HQ server which manage the desired phones. (shore_s36.txt, shore_s6c.txt, shore_xxxxxx.txt)
5. Add the entry WallPaper2Pixmap ".bmp" to the end of the desired files. (Please note this is case sensitive!)
6. Reset the phones which should display the new image.

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