iScreensaver : Managed Installation (Latest)

This is the most recent version for macOS 14 Sonoma and macOS Sequoia 15, and current versions of Windows 10 and 11. For older versions see links below:

Table of Contents:
Background
iScreensaver Installations in Windows
iScreensaver Installations in macOS

Legacy Documents:
Managed Installation (macOS versions up to and including macOS 13 Ventura)
Managed Installation (old, legacy instructions)

Last Update: Friday, 05-Jul-2024 07:43:24 PDT

Background & Summary

iScreensaver Version 6 greatly simplifies installation for computers under IT management. On Windows, the software is now delivered as a single-file EXE installer which can easily be converted to a single-file SCR and installed with a few registry keys. On macOS the screensaver is delivered as an .App installer which can be easily converted to a standard .saver ScreenSaver bundle which can be installed with a few commands.

IMPORTANT

Please follow these instructions exactly. Even a small variation (such as changing the name of the screensaver file) can cause problems.

In these instructions, it is assumed that there is an author who is creating the screensaver installer, and a client who is doing the installation.

iScreensaver Managed Installation on Windows

Note: These instructions require iScreensaver 6.8 or later.

To get started, you'll need

iScreensaver Designer 6 - Big Business License (other license levels do not support managed installation).
Some sort of multi-computer management system, such as Active Directory, GPO, SCCM, JAMF, etc. Any vendor is OK as long as the management software can perform two functions:
- Copy the screensaver file to the C:\WINDOWS folder
- Important: if you copy the file to the System folder, please note that the System32 folder is for 64 bit apps, and the System64 folder is for 32 bit apps.
  iScreensaver is a 32 bit app, so it goes in the System64 folder
  Please note that our best practices recommendation is to use C:\WINDOWS instead
- Set registry keys in HKLM or HKCU

To install an iScreensaver version 6 on Windows, please follow these steps:

Build

To be completed by the author

Build your screensaver installer EXE file using iScreensaver Designer 6, using the Big Business license.
Send the following items to the client:
1. The screensaver installer EXE
2. The long screensaver name - this is set inside iScreensaver Designer / Share / Win / FileName / Screensaver
  Important: if you are distributing multiple screensavers, be sure to set unique names for each one.
3. The short screensaver name - this is set inside iScreensaver Designer / Share / Win / FileName / Short Name

Prepare

To be completed by the client
IMPORTANT:: In the following instructions, do not change any filenames. If you need different filenames, contact the author and have them re-build the screensaver with new names.

On a test computer, run the EXE file to install the screensaver on that computer
The SCR file (named sCr) will be put in C:\WINDOWS
Save a copy of this file.

Deploy

To be completed by the client
Using your management tool, create a managed installation script which does the following:

Copies the sCr file to C:\WINDOWS (or equivalent)
Important: if you copy the file to the System folder, please note that the System32 folder is for 64 bit apps, and the System64 folder is for 32 bit apps.
iScreensaver is a 32 bit app, so it goes in the System64 folder
Please note that our best practices recommendation is to use C:\WINDOWS instead

Sets the following Registry Keys:

Required (to enable the screensaver)

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaveActive
	REG_DWORD value = 1

Required (to choose which screensaver is used)

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\SCRNSAVE.EXE
	This should be a REG_SZ (StringValue) with value of the path to the SHORT screensaver name (the 8.3 format filename) for example:
		C:\WINDOWS\MYSAVR.sCr

Optional (to change the delay before the screensaver activates)

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\ScreenSaveTimeOut
	REG_SZ with value 
		600

User-Selectable Options
[Note: these are not needed in normal deployment. Only special situations would require these]. End users can use the screensaver settings panel to change various options, such as whether the HUD (Heads Up Display) is in use, the keyboard behavior, etc. These keys can be set during installation. All keys are located in:

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\iScreensaver\[screensaverName]\

	Key                    Values           Comments
	----------             ---------------  -------------------------
	hudEnabled             true | false     enables or disables the HUD (Heads Up Display)

	keyboardEnterKeyExits  true | false     with HUD enabled, does the Enter key exit the screensaver or show the navigation menu
	keyboardSpaceBarPauses true | false     with HUD enabled, does the SpaceBar exit or pause

Registry Keys set during operation
During operation, the sCr file will set a few Registry keys - these keys ensure the correct rendering engine is chosen with full GPU hardware acceleration. If your IT system does not allow these keys to be set by the sCr file, you will need to set them manually during deployment:

Required (enables the latest IE11 HTML rendering engine)

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION
	This should be a REG_DWORD.
	The name is the SHORT (8.3) name of your sCr file:
		MYSAVR.sCr
	The value should be set to 
		0x00002AF8 (hex) or 11000 (decimal)

Required (enables hardware GPU video acceleration)

	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_GPU_RENDERING
	This should be a REG_DWORD.
	The name is the SHORT (8.3) name of your sCr file:
		MYSAVR.sCr
	The value should be set to 
		0x00000001 (hex) or 1 (decimal)

Important Notes

Windows is very finicky about screensaver names and locations. Please always do the following:

The author must enable the "Use Short Name" option during build so you have 8.3 filename
the extension of the filename must be ".sCr" not ".SCR". The reason is an obscure graphics driver bug in some systems where GPU hardware acceleration is disabled if the filename ends in ".SCR".
Put the file in C:\WINDOWS Although you can put the file elsewhere, the Windows Screen Saver Control Panel only looks for Screensaver SCR files located in C:\WINDOWS. If the file is elsewhere, if the user were to switch away to a different screensaver, your custom screensaver would not be found again.
Important: if you copy the file to the System folder, please note that the System32 folder is for 64 bit apps, and the System64 folder is for 32 bit apps.
iScreensaver is a 32 bit app, so it goes in the System64 folder
Please note that our best practices recommendation is to use C:\WINDOWS instead
Do not change any filenames during deployment. If you need different filenames, contact the author and have them re-build the screensaver with new names.

iScreensaver Managed Installation on macOS

Note: These instructions require iScreensaver 6.8 or later and macOS 14 (Sonoma) or macOS 15 (Sequoia)

For macOS Ventura (13) and older: Managed Installation (macOS versions up to and including macOS 13 Ventura)

To get started, you'll need

iScreensaver Designer 6 - Big Business License (other license levels do not support managed installation).
Some sort of multi-computer management system, such as JAMF, etc. Any vendor is OK as long as the management software can perform two functions:
- Copy the .saver screensaver bundle to the /Library/Screen Savers or ~/Library/Screen Savers folder
- Copies plists to the end user's machine.
- Executes a shell command

Build

To be completed by the author

Build your screensaver installer application (.app.zip) file using iScreensaver Designer 6, using the Big Business license. Make sure the "Zip" option is enabled, and deliver the .app.zip file (if you unzip the file before sending, it may get corrupted).
Send the following items to the client:
1. The zipped screensaver installer application (.app.zip)

Prepare

To be completed by the client

On a test computer, run the Screensaver Installer.app file
Note: you will probably need to control-click or right-click the .app and choose "Open" to bypass the Gatekeeper warning (unless the author code-signed the .app, which is rare)
Use the Install menu to choose where to install the screensaver:

For most installations, you will need to choose the "For All Users" option
- "For Me" installs the .saver to ~/Library/Screen Savers/
  e.g. /Users/[username]/Library/Screen Savers/
- "For All Users" installs the .saver to /Library/Screen Savers/
Save a copy of this .saver bundle
Save a copy of the plist, which is located here:
~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.wallpaper/Store/Index.plist

Deploy

To be completed by the client
Using your management tool, create a managed installation script which does the following:

Copies the .saver file to /Library/Screen Savers/ (for all users) or /Users/[username]/Library/Screen Savers/ (for a single user)
Copies the .plist file to ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.wallpaper/Store/Index.plist
Executes this command
killall WallpaperAgent
which is needed for macOS to recognize the plist changes

User-Selectable Options
[Note: these are not needed in normal deployment. Only special situations would require these]. End users can use the screensaver settings panel to change various options, such as whether the HUD (Heads Up Display) is in use. If you wish, these keys can be set during installation. Keys must be set for each user account individually.

	Key                    Values           Comments
	----------             ---------------  -------------------------
	hudEnabled             true | false     enables or disables the HUD (Heads Up Display)

Example:

Intel macOS:

	plutil -replace hudEnabled -string "false"  /Users/[username]/Library/Containers/com.apple.ScreenSaver.Engine.legacyScreenSaver/Data/Library/Preferences/com.iscreensaver.saver.XXXXXXXX

M1 macOS:

	plutil -replace hudEnabled -string "false"  /Users/[username]/Library/Containers/com.apple.ScreenSaver.Engine.legacyScreenSaver-x86_64/Data/Library/Preferences/com.iscreensaver.saver.XXXXXXXX

For more information, please visit the Forum Discussion