If you have an Adobe Flash animation or video file, then you can convert it into a Windows screensaver easily using the InstantStorm. InstantStorm is a feature rich tool that allows you to convert Adobe Flash files (SWF files) into Windows screensavers. It is a completely free screensaver tool that adds no nag screens and can be used to create commercial screensavers. You can customize all the aspects of the screensaver including the installer look (all the texts and images), the screensaver behavior, and more.
Here is a list of notable features of InstantStorm :
- Easy to use wizard mode
- Output screensaver files work with all Windows versions
- Customizable screensaver installer and settings dialog
- Support for live previewing and debugging
- Support for widescreen, 4:3, and 5:4 screen resolutions
- Flash 10 (e.g. files using Flash CS4 features) support
- Free even for commercial use, unlimited screensaver redistribution
You can download InstantStorm from the InstantStorm website. The download is in form of an installer of around 2 megabytes in size. Once installed, you can run it from its Start Menu shortcut. It would ask you to create a blank project, start a wizard or open an existing project. I chose to create a blank project as you can easily go back and forth to customize it. The wizard also makes it easy for you to select SWF files, assign a title to screensaver etc. When the blank project opens up, you can browse and select your SWF file under the General tab. You can also assign a title to your screensaver and choose a screen size ratio scale, 4:3, widescreen or same size as SWF file.
You can further customize the screensaver by choosing the screensaver behavior and settings dialog under the Advanced tab. In the installer tab, you can choose options for installer along with options for creating shortcuts in Start Menu. If your main SWF file depends on other files then you can add them under the Files tab. Finally, under the Publish tab, you can create the installer for your screensaver or standalone SCR file.
Once the installer for your screensaver is ready, then you can distribute it on your website or to your friends. If you just want to use the screensaver on your own computer then you do not actually need the installer, just create the SCR file, right-click on it and select Install to install it on your computer.
InstantStorm is a powerful screensaver tool that can be used to create amazing SWF screensavers for all versions of Windows on which Adobe Flash is supported. In case you do not have a SWF file, then you can convert any movie file into a SWF file using a tool like Any Video Converter which supports a huge number of input file formats.
You can download InstantStorm from : http://www.instantstorm.com/download/.