Screensavers are nearly old as computers. Initially, they were meant keep images from being 'burned' onto the monitor screen. This would ruin the monitor. Today, technology has advanced enough that images no longer get burnt on your monitor. However, people enjoy using screensavers because they look cool and entertain visitors. Gnome uses the xscreensaver program to display screensavers. By default, Gnome comes with dozens of screensavers. These can all be configured in the Settings Capplet in Gnome Control Center. The Screensaver Capplet interface is broken into two main sections: Screensaver Options Located on the left side of the screen, the screensaver half lets you configure properties that affect your screensaver's behavior. Screensaver Preview The right half of the capplet is both a preview of your selected screensaver. Chances are, you'll want to setup your screensaver. Below are the steps to setup your screensaver: You can choose different modes to display your screensaver: Disable Screen Saver This will turn off your screensaver entirely. Black screen only Your monitor will display only a black image instead of an animation. This is good for helping to conserve power. One Screen Saver Displays only one screensaver while the screensaver is active. Random Screen Saver xscreensaver can display screensavers in a random fashion. This option displays screensavers randomly. It also puts checkboxes next to the screensavers, so you can choose which to display. Select the screensaver you wish to use. Set the time preferences. The available options are: Blank After How long to wait before your screensavers start. Cycle After If you're using multiple screensavers, set the time which to change your screensavers. Lock Screen After By enabling screen locking, you can help increase physical security. This requires that a user must enter a password before the screensaver stops, allowing them to use the system again. Below the preview window are two buttons: Preview and Settings. By clicking the Preview button, you'll be able to see what the screensaver will look like at full screen. Hit any key to close the screensaver when you're viewing it. Settings lets you configure each individual screensaver. The contents of the Settings button is beyond the scope of this document. The Advanced tab holds a whole plethora of options available to you. The Advanced tab is broken into four sections: Image Manipulation Your screensaver can take your desktop and temporarily run image manipulations on your desktop as your screensaver. Display Power Management Your system can help save power by changing your monitor's status. Diagnostics Sometimes, your system may have problems because of your screensaver. Use this section to enable information to be displayed to help you fix your problem. Colormaps Your screensaver has the ability take your desktop and temporarily run image manipulations on your desktop as your screensaver. Several options exist for you to setup your image manipulation. Select the method of image manipulation you wish to use. If you don't want your screensaver to use any image manipulations, deselect all the options. Power management can help conserve power by setting modes of your monitor. Select the timings for the modes to be set in this section. Sometimes, your system may have problems because of your screensaver. Use this section to enable information to be displayed to help you fix your problem. These won't give you a straight forward answer to your problem. However, your system adminstrator may find this to be useful information in fixing your problem. Colormaps allow some simple color options to be changed. Set your color options here.