I was enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon when I decided to freshen up my computer’s look. I wanted to set a series of my favorite photos as a screensaver on my Windows 11 PC. I’d previously done this on older versions of Windows but wasn’t sure if the process had changed with the latest update. I quickly realized that while I was familiar with the basics, I needed to delve deeper to figure out the updated steps for Windows 11.
First, I opened the Settings app by clicking on the Start menu and selecting “Settings,” or I could have pressed Windows + I on my keyboard. The Settings window opened, and I navigated to the “Personalization” section. This was where all the customization options for my PC were located. Within the Personalization menu, I clicked on “Lock screen,” which was a bit confusing at first because I was looking for screensaver options under “Background” or “Themes.” But as it turned out, the screensaver settings were buried a bit deeper.
Under the “Lock screen” settings, there was a link to “Screen saver settings” in the lower part of the window. Clicking on this link opened the Screen Saver Settings dialog box. Here, I was greeted with a drop-down menu where I could select various screensaver options. For my goal, I chose “Photos” from the list.
Once I selected “Photos,” a new button labeled “Settings” became active. I clicked on this to configure the photo screensaver. The “Photos Screensaver Settings” window popped up, allowing me to choose the folder containing the images I wanted to use. I clicked “Browse,” navigated to the folder with my selected photos, and then confirmed my choice.
In this same window, I could adjust the settings for how the photos would appear. There were options for selecting the duration each photo would display, how the photos would transition, and whether to shuffle the images. I experimented with the different settings to get the look I wanted. I set the duration for each photo to 5 seconds and checked the “Shuffle” box so that the photos wouldn’t appear in a fixed order.
Once I was satisfied with the settings, I clicked “Save.” To make sure everything was set up correctly, I previewed the screensaver by clicking the “Preview” button. This allowed me to see how the photos would look on my screen. The photos cycled through beautifully, and the transitions were smooth.
After confirming that everything was perfect, I clicked “Apply” and then “OK” to save the changes. The new screensaver was now set, and I could see my favorite photos every time my computer went idle. It was a simple process, but it took a bit of exploring to find all the options.
For anyone setting up a photo screensaver on Windows 11 or 10, the steps are essentially the same. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Settings app and explore the various customization options available. By following these steps, you can easily transform your computer’s screensaver into a personalized display of your favorite memories.