IDEA: Screen saver that isn't a screen saver...

[TAF2000]

After searching hear and else-where, I still can't find what I am looking for, so am in the hopes someone can help me...

I need a screen saver that doesn't stop the acctual screen from displaying what is going on.

For example, I have one computer that shows my Outlook email constantly.  I want to see when new mail comes in accounts and such, but the computer sits showing the Outlook program all day... which can't be good for the screen.

I want a screen saver or even just a constant program that runs a line or lines of random color over the screen while not affecting the screen underneath at all... just something to switch up the pixle colors so they don't burn in one color.

Can this be done?

[mouser]

good idea -- there are quite a few screensavers which work by modifying the current screen rather than replacing it -- would be interesting to build a list of them, especially the ones that would be least disruptive of the screen contents so that you could actually come look at it at any time and still be able to read it.

[TAF2000]

Yup... that would be exactly what I am looking for.

[Deozaan]

Windows used to have one that would just kind of distort the screen with a fish-eye lens that moved around the screen. You might try looking for something like that.

[Crush]

Would it be enough to rotate the colors and invert them every few seconds?

[TAF2000]

Windows used to have one that would just kind of distort the screen with a fish-eye lens that moved around the screen. You might try looking for something like that.

I was hoping the 'Bubble' one might do that (I think it works pretty much the same), but it acctually stops the screen from doing anything underneath and stops time and updating of the screen while the screensaver is on.

Would it be enough to rotate the colors and invert them every few seconds?

Rotate the colors and invert?  That might be too visually jaring if done quickly, but maybe a fade from one to another wouldn't be too bad.

It would be fine if they stayed similar shades, but that would probably defeat the purpose and still burn the screen eventually.

[Crush]

I made a surface-filter with edge-detection and the most surfaces in Outlook are totally the same. So you´d only see the important "differences". Fading between the normal screen, filtered screens and combinations of partial movements could do the job. Would this be an alternative? Some other examples with my creation I called "Screenflop" are the following screens.
Normal Window:
Filtered Window1:
Filtered Window2:
Screenflop1:
Screenflop2:
Screenflop3:

[TAF2000]

If the transitions were slow enough, it woudn't be too bad, however, is the top bar/menus left out of the changes?

[Crush]

The whole screen will be changed. On the top you see my program that converts the screen and shows the result in an own window. It can on the fly zoom and move parts of the screen, perhaps this could be also useful? It´s not very complicate to copy the result back to the original screen and hide the program in the background. But you also wanted fading and so on, this means I would have to change the code a little bit. I must check out how to work with changes direct on the screen. At these screenshots the original picture was on another second monitor. If you make a direct screengrap again and again you get a recursion that looks later on like this:

[TAF2000]

Sounds very complicated to code, but I certainly would be interested to try it out if you did.

[mouser]

i would LOVE to see some proper screensaver creations made by dc coders.
(by proper i mean a screensaver that obeys the standard screensaver options and api).

[Crush]

standard screensaver options and api

Are there any, really?

[TAF2000]

I guess what I am looking for isn't really 'proper' either, since it could just as easily be a normal program.

In fact, it might be even better as a normal program.  That way it could run all the time even while you work.   Hummmm.... that may knock out the invertion idea.  I don't know if I could work while the whole screen changes.  (Though I would still be happy to try it.)

Does anyone have an idea on the color line?  Maybe that isn't as easy as I would think either.  I am not at all sure how you could make sure it would stay on top of everything while not interfering with what you are doing underneath.

[mouser]

standard screensaver options and api
Are there any, really?

http://www.wischik.com/scr/howtoscr.html

[Crush]

I´m still searching for a way to force the system drawing to a backbuffer so that I can write to the real screen the transformed one. Using a fullscreen OpenGL-Window would be possible but I´d prefer a "normal" way without 3D-contexts.

[TAF2000]

I´m still searching for a way to force the system drawing to a backbuffer so that I can write to the real screen the transformed one. Using a fullscreen OpenGL-Window would be possible but I´d prefer a "normal" way without 3D-contexts.

Wow.  Boy do I feel like a noob.   

I guess as long as you know what you are talking about... LOL   

[skrommel]

Try LineSaver!

Moves an alternating black and white line accross the screen(s).
To use it as a screensaver, compile it to LineSaver.exe and rename it to LineSaver.scr.

Skrommel

Code

;LineSaver.ahk
; Moves an alternating black and white line accross the screen(s)
; Compile to exe and rename to scr to use as screensaver
;Skrommel @ 2008

#SingleInstance,Force
SetWinDelay,0

Loop,%0% 
{ 
  If %A_Index% Contains s ;Show 
    mode=Show
  If %A_Index% Contains c ;Config 
  {
    MsgBox,0,LineSaver,www.1HourSoftware.com
    ExitApp
  }
  If %A_Index% Contains p,l ;Preview 
    mode=Show
  If %A_Index% Contains a ;PWConfig 
  {
    MsgBox,0,LineSaver,www.1HourSoftware.com
    ExitApp
  }
}

VarSetCapacity(active,4,0) 
DllCall("user32.dll\SystemParametersInfo","uint",0x0072,"uint",0,"uint*",active,"uint",0) ; SPI_GETSCREENSAVERRUNNING = 0x0072  
If (active>0 Or mode="Show")
  SetTimer,EXIT,1000

minx=9999
maxx=0
miny=9999
maxy=0
SysGet,monitors,MonitorCount
Loop,% monitors
{
  SysGet,monitor%A_Index%,Monitor,%A_index%
  If (monitor%A_Index%Left<minx)
    minx:=monitor%A_Index%Left
  If (monitor%A_Index%Right>maxx)
    maxx:=monitor%A_Index%Right
  If (monitor%A_Index%Top<miny)
    miny:=monitor%A_Index%Top
  If (monitor%A_Index%Bottom>maxy)
    maxy:=monitor%A_Index%Bottom
}

Gui,1:Color,FFFFFF
Gui,1:+ToolWindow -Caption +LastFound +AlwaysOnTop
Gui,1:Show,% "X" minx " Y" miny " W1 H" maxy-miny
guiid1:=WinExist()
WinSet,Transparent,255,ahk_id %guiid1%  ; Transparency
WinSet,ExStyle,+0x20,ahk_id %guiid1%    ; Click-through

Gui,2:Color,000000
Gui,2:+ToolWindow -Caption +LastFound +AlwaysOnTop
Gui,2:Show,% "X" minx " Y" miny " W1 H" maxy-miny
guiid2:=WinExist()
WinSet,Transparent,255,ahk_id %guiid2%  ; Transparency
WinSet,ExStyle,+0x20,ahk_id %guiid2%    ; Click-through

Loop
{
  x:=minx
  Loop,% maxx-minx
  {
    WinMove,ahk_id %guiid1%,,%x%,%miny%
    WinSet,AlwaysOnTop,On,ahk_id %guiid1%
    WinMove,ahk_id %guiid2%,,%x%
    WinSet,AlwaysOnTop,On,ahk_id %guiid2%
    Sleep,100
    x+=1
  }
}

EXIT:
  If A_TimeIdlePhysical<1000
    ExitApp
Return

[TAF2000]

 

Er... I write in html, asp, php, ado, javascript.......  All Web stuff.  ::blush::

I don't even think I have a compiler for this.


Do you think you could save it for me as both a exe (to run all the time) and a scr (for screen saver use). 
Or where would I get a compiler for that?  It is C++, right? 

[mouser]

It's autohotkey (ahk): http://www.autohotkey.com/
once you install it you can easily compile the .ahk to .exe as well.

ps.
skrommel used to post all his snacks in .ahk and .exe format here until he got lazy!

[TAF2000]

SWEEEEEET!!!!!
That is just what I was looking for! 

Am I at all right in thinking that adding more sections like this would be able to do more colors?.....

Gui,3:Color,0000FF
Gui,3:+ToolWindow -Caption +LastFound +AlwaysOnTop
Gui,3:Show,% "X" minx " Y" miny " W1 H" maxy-miny
guiid3:=WinExist()
WinSet,Transparent,255,ahk_id %guiid2%  ; Transparency
WinSet,ExStyle,+0x20,ahk_id %guiid2%    ; Click-through

Or would I need to do more monkeying in the code for that to work right?

[Stoic Joker]

i would LOVE to see some proper screensaver creations made by dc coders.
(by proper i mean a screensaver that obeys the standard screensaver options and api).

There are two very basic (ugly) screensavers on my website that come with C++ source code. The code is stripped down to the absolute minimum necessary to follow proper SS behavior using the standard SS APIs.

However... I did these years ago so the code may look like crap...

http://www.stoicjoker.com/Files/Utilities/BallSS.zip
http://www.stoicjoker.com/Files/Utilities/BlankSS.zip

[mouser]

It's be really fun to do a screensaver challenge on DC.. if we rounded up some bare bones skeleton screensavers in different languages, and then set all the coders here loose to make a custom screensaver in their language.. sure would be fun.

[Codebyte]

It's be really fun to do a screensaver challenge on DC.. if we rounded up some bare bones skeleton screensavers in different languages, and then set all the coders here loose to make a custom screensaver in their language.. sure would be fun.

MOUSER has made a screensaver, ask him about it!!!