Affectworks .swfSaver Help file

.swfSaver is a windows only program. It can, right now, only be used in conjunction with Internet Explorer. Why not other browsers? Because all browsers handle their internet cache differently, we wanted to focus on the most prevalent browser first.

To access .swfSaver properties, install the program, then click start / control panel / display. Select the screensaver tab and in the drop down list, select swfSaver. Click the settings button to access .swfSaver properties.

The first time you run swfSaver, it will take a minute or two depending on your system speed and how large your internet explorer cache is. What does the program do? It searches through your cache and finds all the flash files you have viewed on the internet and presents them to you in an easy to read list.

What is a cache? It’s a folder on your computer that Internet Explorer uses speed up your web surfing. If you go to a site more than once, it places the files from that site in your cache and displays that instead of downloading the same files from the web server over and over again. This list shows all the .swf (flash) files currently in your IE cache. Since the content of the cache folder changes when you use IE for viewing web pages (it can only hold so many files), the cache list in .swfSaver will change also.

Modes of operation (#1)

.swfSaver has two modes of operation; basic or advanced. You can select either mode in the upper left hand corner. Simply click one of the radio buttons and the layout of .swfSaver will change to reflect the mode that you are in.

Basic mode

Basic mode is extremely easy to use, but also has limited functionality. At the bottom left of the interface window is the cache list. These are the files currently in your Internet Explorer cache. (#3)

Simply click one of the names in the cache list and a preview will be shown in the monitor above the list (#2). You can either click through the list or hit the down arrow key on your keyboard to scroll through the .swf files. Once you have found the file you want to use as your screensaver, simply click “OK”.

Clicking cancel will cancel all your changes and return you to the display properties. Help will you take you online to this page. The Purchase will take you to this page where you can purchase .swfSaver. To make it as easy as possible for you, we use paypal which accepts all popular credit cards.

If you have a flash file on your computer that you would like to add to the list, click the “Add local file” button (#4). Browse to where the .swf file is located, select it and click “Open”. You will need to locate the file in the list once you have added it if you wish to use it as your screensaver.

Tip: You can also type in a URL (such as: http://www.affectworks.com/logo.swf) in here and .swfSaver will go online and fetch the .swf file that you specify.

You can also set the background color of the swf file (#4). Simply select the file you wish to use as your screensaver and click the background color picker. Select a new color and click OK.

Advanced mode:

Advanced mode lets you build a playlist, save .swf files in a favorites folder so they don’t get overwritten as you surf the web and more.

Cache folder (#1):

Works exactly the same as in Basic Mode with the exception that you have to move the file over from the cache to the playlist for it to be used a screensaver, instead of just selecting it.

Favorites folder (#2):

The favorites folder allows you to copy files from your cache so they don’t get over written while you surf the web. There is no limit on how many files you can save from your cache. The files stored in your Favorites folder will be there until you delete them manually or move them back to the Cache list at which point they will eventually be overwritten by IE.
To move a file out of your favorites, select it and click the arrow left button or right click and select delete.

Play List (#3):

This is the list of files that will be played when your screensaver kicks in when advanced mode is activated. This list can contain as many .swf files as you want and they will be played from top to bottom of the list. You can organize your .swf files by simply dragging and dropping them in the order you want them to play in.

To move .swf files back and forth between your cache, favorites and your play list simply select one or more (hold down ctrl or shift for multiple selections) and either click the arrows, right click and select “move to favorites / playlist” or simply double click on the file name.

Tip: If you have already made a selection in basic mode, you’ll notice that the play list conveniently already has that file added to the list.

Options (#4):

As with basic mode, you can pick your background color. You can also mute the .swfSaver, loop it and make it interactive. Making a .swf file interactive means that you can use your mouse while your screensaver is running instead of terminating .swfSaver. Hit any key on your keyboard to return to your desktop.

If a .swf file requires that you hit a play button before the actual animation will start (usually after the entire file has loaded and it's a large file), you can click the "Skip Menu" checkbox and swfSaver will automatically click the play button for you.

You can also scale the .swf file you have in your playlist if you don't want it to play full screen. Click the arrow buttons up or down to set the scale. The preview window (Basic mode: #2) will interactively show you a preview of how large / small the swf file will be.

If you have more than one swf file in your playlist, you can also set how long each file will play by using the Timer in the options. The timer incriments one second for each click, and there's no limit to how long each file will play. After the timer limit is hit, the next .swf file in your playlist will start playing. Please be aware that setting the Timer to 0 (zero) will actually turn off the Timer.

Add local file (#5)

You can, as in basic mode, add files located on your computer with the “Add local file” button (#5). When you add a new .swf file it will be automatically added to your favorites list. You can also right click in the favorites list and select "Add" for the same functionality.

We hope that you enjoy .swfSaver and use your screensaver for something a more interesting than a starfield from now on!

If you have a question that is not answered here or in the FAQ, please feel free to contact us via email.

Affectworks.