Oh my gosh, what a bad nightmare I had! I dreamed that I was being chased by a giant four-color flag that wanted to wrap around me. All the fault of that old version of Windows in use on my PC and that obnoxious screensaver that forces me to watch every day. That’s it, I’ve decided, now I’m going to change it with something really original.
Excuse me? Are you in the same situation as me and want to say goodbye to the usual screensavers on your computer? Then do this: read this tutorial all about how to create a fully customized screensaver, not only on Windows but also on Mac, and you’ll see that you won’t regret it. With this guide of mine today I want to address the topic in question going to explain how to make beautiful screensavers, either by using the functions “standard” offered by the operating system itself or by using third-party tools. In both cases, don’t worry, you’ll get a more than satisfactory result.
Ah, I almost forgot… even if you’re not very experienced in computer science and new technologies I can assure you that, contrary to appearances and beyond what you might think, the operations you’ll have to do are extremely simple and within the reach of anyone. Well? How would you like to finally put the chatter aside and start working on it? Yeah? Great. Let’s do it! I wish you, as usual, good reading.
If you’re using a PC with Windows 10 installed on it, right-click anywhere on the desktop with no icons, select Customize from the menu that pops up and select the Lock screen heading from the sidebar on the left in the window that has appeared after which select the Screen saver settings option.
If you are using a PC with Windows 8/8.x or an earlier version of the system installed, you must right-click anywhere on the desktop without icons, you must select the item Customize from the menu that appears and, in the new window that you see appearing on the screen, you must choose the item Screen Saver that is at the bottom right.
Now, regardless of the version of Windows you are using, click on the menu under Screen Saver and select Photo. Then click on the Settings …. button and select the image folder to be used by first clicking on the Browse… button and the slideshow speed. Define whether you want to use random playback or not. Then click on the Save button to confirm your changes.
If you want to preview your applied screensaver, press the Test button. To return to the Windows desktop, simply move the pointer or press any key on the keyboard.
To conclude, indicate after how many minutes you want the screensaver to take action using the menu found next to the Wait: item, choose whether or not to return to the login screen at the time of restoration using the appropriate option on the right and then first click the Apply button and then OK. That’s it!
About Mac
Do you own a Mac and are interested in understanding how to create a custom screensaver using images of your choice? Well, I’m glad to tell you that even in this case you can take advantage of the feature already included in macOS. To use it, click on the System Preferences icon (the one with the gear) that you find on the Dock bar and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click on the Desktop and Screensaver icon.
Now, select the Screensaver tab and indicate the type of animation you want to use for your photo screensaver by choosing from the various ones available on the left: Floating, Flip, Reflections, Origami, Tiles, Scrolling, Photo Juggernaut, Christmas Juggernaut, Photo Wall, Vintage Prints, Ken Burns or Classic.
On the right side of the System Preferences window, select from the Source menu: the Choose Folder… item to select the folder where the photos you want to use for the screensaver are located or the Photo Library… item to get the images you want to use from your Photo Library. Finally, choose whether to sort the slides randomly or not using the appropriate option at the bottom of the window and you’re done.
To test the newly created screensaver, hover the cursor over the preview at the top of the window and click the Preview button that appears. To return to the Mac desktop, move the cursor or press any key on the computer keyboard.
Third-party tools to create a screensaver
Are you not satisfied with the functions already included in Windows and macOS to create custom screensavers and are you looking for third-party tools for this purpose? Then try to take a look at the ad-hoc programs I’ve provided below. I’m sure they will satisfy you.
iScreensaver (Windows/Mac)
The first of the third-party tools for creating a custom screensaver that I suggest you put to the test is iScreensaver. This is a free program that runs on both Windows and Mac and is capable of fulfilling its purpose impeccably by allowing you to generate screensavers with images, videos and/or Flash animations. So, what more could you want?
To use it, first go to the program’s website and click on the logo of the operating system you are using on your computer to start downloading the corresponding file to your PC or Mac. Next, if you are using Windows, open the .exe file, click on Yes and select I accept the agreement then click on the Next button three times. Then finish the setup by clicking on the Finish button.
If you are using a Mac, open the downloaded .dmg package, click Agree in the window that appears on the screen and then drag the iScreensaver icon from the window that appeared on the desktop to the Applications folder of macOS. Then go to the Applications folder of your Mac, right-click on the program’s icon and choose Open for two consecutive times in order to start iScreensaver and get around the limitations imposed by Apple on non-blessed developers.
Now, regardless of your operating system, click Cancel in response to the warning that appears on the screen and then click the New button to start creating a new screensaver. Give your screensaver a name in the field under the heading Please name your screensaver: and click OK.
Now use the editor that has appeared to create and customize your screensaver. Click on the Video tab to add one or more movies to the screensaver, and click on the Audio tab to add audio files to enrich your creation. In both cases, simply drag and drop the files you want to use into the program window. Then use the other available sections to customize the Locking screen and Controls.
Then click on the Preview button in the upper right corner to see a preview of the screensaver you created. If you like it, install your screensaver right away by first clicking on the Share tab at the top of the screen, then on the tab for your operating system and then on the Install button to install the screensaver.
If you want, you can also make an export file so that you can install the screensaver on a different computer or another operating system. To do so, just click on the Build Win button (for Windows) or the Build Mac button (for Mac), which can be found in the Share tab of the program.
To use and/or configure the screensaver, you’ll have to select the screensaver generated with the program from the appropriate section of the Windows or macOS settings as seen in the steps at the beginning of this guide, when I explained how to create and set a custom screensaver with your own photos.
InstantStorm (Windows)
If the above program didn’t convince you in a particular way and if the one you’re using is a Windows PC, the advice I would give you is to take a look at InstantStorm. This is a free software that runs on all Microsoft OSes and allows you to generate fantastic custom screensavers from simple Flash animations. The spectacular results can be installed and used freely on any computer.
To use it, first connect to the program’s website and click on the Download button to download the program to your PC. Once downloaded, open the .exe file, click on Yes and, in the window that opens, first click on OK to confirm the use of the English language (Italian is not included), and then on Next.
Then accept the program’s terms of use by checking the box next to I accept the agreement and click on Next twice and then Finish to finish the installation process and start InstantStorm.
In the window that opens, click on the white paper icon and then type the name you want to assign to the custom screensaver you’re going to create in the text field next to Screensaver Title: and click the Browse button to select the Flash SWF file you want to use as your screensaver.
Now, select the Advanced tab, and click the Open buttons that you will find at the on-screen items to adjust all the appropriate settings regarding the screensaver you are about to generate. Then press the Browse button to select the icon you wish to associate with the screensaver.
You can customize the installation procedure of your screensaver by selecting the Installer tab and clicking on the Open button. In the window that opens, then click the Browse button to select the image you want to appear on the left side of the screensaver installation window.
Now, select the License item on the left and click on the various labels in the window to edit the screensaver license agreement screen. Follow the same procedure with all the other screens of the installation phase (Progress for the progress bar, Finish Screen for the final installation screen, etc.) and click OK to complete the customization of these screens.
You can instead add optional files to your screensaver (images, text, animations, etc.) by selecting the Files tab from InstantStorm’s main window and clicking the Add button.
When you’ve configured everything and are satisfied with the result (you can see previews of the screensaver and the installation process by clicking on the items in the Preview menu), you can generate the installation package for your screensaver by selecting the Publishing tab and clicking on the Create button.
You will then be able to install the screensaver you created on any computer by double-clicking the .exe file generated by InstantStorm and following the guided procedure that is proposed to you. To use and/or configure the screensaver, you have to select the screensaver generated with the program from the appropriate section of the Windows settings, as seen in the previous lines regarding the photo slideshow.