To swap your current screen saver for another one:
Mac OS X contains several preinstalled screen savers
- From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences to open the System Preferences window.
- Click the Desktop & Screen Saver button to display its preferences.
- Click the Screen Saver tab to display just the Screen Saver preferences. All installed screen savers appear in the left pane. The right pane displays a preview of the selected screen saver.
- Click one of the Screen Saver items in the left pane to select it for use.
- If you'd like, click Test to see what the screen saver will look like in use.
By selecting Library, your Mac will automatically create a slideshow screen saver made from your iPhoto pictures.
- In the Screen Saver preferences window, select Library or one of the two choices below it to turn your iPhoto images into a slideshow screen saver.
- In the Screen Saver preferences window, select Pictures Folder to display the images in it, or select Choose Folder, navigate to and select a folder that contains images in the resulting dialog, then click Choose to put it in use.
Once you install a third-party screen saver, either through an installer or manually,
you can select it just like you would with the preinstalled ones.
you can select it just like you would with the preinstalled ones.
- If the screen saver doesn't have an installer to place the file in the right folder, locate the .saver file in the package.
- Drag the file into the Screen Savers folder, which is in the Library folder at the root of your hard disk ~/Library/Screen Savers.
- Follow the steps in "swap your current screen saver for another one," above, to select the third-party screen saver.
Customize your Screen Saver
Now that you've selected a new screen saver, you can further customize its settings. Here are some of the things you can do in the Screen Saver preferences window.
- Click Options to view the selected screen saver's user-configurable display settings and adjust them to your liking. These settings will vary screen saver to screen saver.
- Move the "Start screen saver" slider left or right to change the time, in minutes, at which the screen saver begins to play.
- If you'd like the ability to start the screen saver manually, click Hot Corners. In the resulting dialog, choose Start Screen Saver from any of the four corner pop-up menus and click OK. The screen saver will start when you move your arrow to your chosen screen corner.
- If you're the adventurous type, select "Use random screen saver," and your Mac will automatically select a screen saver when it goes into screen saver mode.