InstantStorm

InstantStorm is a small-sized, yet powerful software program for creating stunning screensavers in Flash in a few simple steps. It puts at your disposal an intuitive set of options and configuration settings. No special experience is required to work with it.

Wizard interface for creating customized screensavers

The app's interface is made in such a way to tinker with settings without any complications. Based on an attractive wizard, it lets you go through each stage at a time to make sure you're not missing out on any features.

Apply a local Flash file as your screensaver

You can get started by specifying a title for the screensaver and selecting an Adobe Flash file from the computer (SWF format) or FutureSplash item (SPL format) using the file browser or "drag and drop" method, after which you can set the scaling mode. It is possible to preview the clip in a very small frame to check for any issues.

Personalize screensaver options

Dialog settings can be configured when ti comes to the image or Flash file (like size), screensaver properties (e.g. display a scale mode selector) and monitor preferences (e.g. allow users to change the screensaver resolution).Furthermore, you can modify screensaver behavior settings concerning exit events (on keyboard or mouse), resolution (e.g. keep the current one), monitors (e.g. display the screensaver on all monitors), Flash Player (e.g. minimum required version) and transparency color.

Add extra details to wrap up the project

Other customizable preferences concern the installer (e.g. create a Start menu or Desktop shortcut), additional files required by the main Flash file, and publishing mode (create a screensaver installer or a standalone SCR file).The project can be saved to file for further modifications. You can load a built-in or external language pack, save the current texts as a language pack, choose the character encoding method, as well as hide the welcome screen on startup.

Evaluation and conclusion

The software utility is low-demanding regarding the system resources, so it doesn't use too much CPU and memory. It has a good response time and creates screensavers swiftly, without hanging, crashing or popping up error dialogs. Taking into account the wide range of customization preferences as well as overall intuitiveness, it seems that InstantStorm is a reliable screensaver maker.