Creating and deploying a screensaver with a static image?

[sidewinder]

Our IT teacher is running a competition where students design posters, and she would like the winner to be put on as a screensaver in our IT suite for a while. It will be supplied to me as a static image.

Now the easiest way to do this on one PC would be to use the photos screensaver and point it to a folder with just the one image in it. But while I can force that screensaver to appear, I assume it isn't easy to specify to each PC which photos to display (registry entry?)

So instead, as I will have to deploy something anyway, it could be easier to somehow package that image up into a .scr file and use that...but which program will do this for free?

[Steve21]

Quite easily to specify photos via reg.

Make the screensaver set to the folder you want, then go to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Slideshow\Screensaver

It'll have a base64 encrypted string (which is the folder path), but you can just export the .reg key via menu.

Then you can deploy the key either via startup script etc, or via group policy for windows registry settings.


Other option would be use something like VB to create an exe that shows the image, and will close on key press etc, then just rename it to .scr (As it's just an exe renamed)

Steve

[Miscbrah]

I wonder if I'm missing something, but Group Policy by OU/WMI filter would be what I'd do.

[sidewinder]

Sounds easy enough, thanks. obviously didnt do enough googling!

[SteveBentley]

I'd be inclined to check the terminology before going too far - a screensaver with just one image on isn't much of a screensaver (in the traditional preventing burn-in sense) unless you're going to do some form of animation with it. I'd suggest showing the top 3 entries on rotation, perhaps photoshop a caption on stating 1st prize, 2nd prize etc?

Are you sure that the teacher really means screensaver and not wallpaper? (People here commonly refer to wallpaper as screensaver for reasons I've never understood)