Carousel Academy

Articles in this section

Windows Screen Saver for Carousel Cloud Overview

  • Updated

Supported Devices

The following device types are currently supported.

  • PC’s running Windows 10, 64-bit (1909 or later).

  • PC’s running Windows 11

Please note:

  • Video content is not supported on the Windows Screen Saver player.

  • PC’s connected to multiple displays will show screensaver on the primary display. Secondary displays will show black.

Screen Saver Setup Instructions

To get started, use the following steps to create at least one Screen Saver Configuration:

  1. Start by logging into your Carousel Cloud Account and navigating to Configure > Players > Express Players and press the How to Share button to the right of the Express Player you wish to use as your screen saver.


  2. Download the provided installer using the “Download” link provided

This will download the Carousel Screen Saver installer. You can use the same installer on any compatible Windows PC, it is not unique to the computer you are using. Simply double click the Carousel.Cloud.Screen.Saver.Installer.msi file to install the screen saver on your computer (Note: you will have to allow the installer to make changes because screen savers are installed into the Windows system).

Once the Screen Saver has been installed you will need to set the appropriate Screen Saver settings in the Control Panel. First, use the Start menu to enter the Control Panel, then use the search box to search for “screen saver” and then click Change screen saver.

Once the Screen Saver Settings are displayed, select Carousel Cloud from the list of available screen savers and then click Settings… to configure it.

Lastly, copy and Paste in the Site Name and Player ID from the Screen Saver Configuration you created earlier and press Save.

Your Carousel Cloud Screen Saver is now installed and configured! Next time the Screen Saver on your PC is activated, your Carousel Cloud Channel will be displayed.

Troubleshooting

Here are a few options to try if you ever experience any problems with the Screen Saver:

  • Make sure the Site Name and Player ID are entered correctly in the Screen Saver Settings.

  • Watch for any error messages when the Screen Saver is launched.

  • Make sure you are using the most recent version of the Windows Screen Saver. You can repeat the download and installation steps at the beginning of this guide to update the screen saver at any time.

  • Re-install the Windows Screen Saver for Carousel Cloud by removing it in Add/Remove Programs and following the installation procedure again. The configuration is stored in %appdata%\Carousel Cloud and can be removed if during the re-installation process.

Enterprise Deployment Information

Download

The ScreenSaver installer is a static asset that can be downloaded from the following public location:

https://carousel-public-files.s3.amazonaws.com/Carousel.Cloud.Screen.Saver.Installer.msi

Installed Files

The installer lays down a .scr file:

C:\Windows\System32\Carousel Cloud.scr

Along with additional files in the Program Files folder:

C:\Program Files\Carousel Cloud Screen Saver\

Configuration file

%appdata%\Carousel Cloud\Carousel Cloud.cfg

The .cfg file’s content is as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<OptionsModel xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
  <SiteName>myserver.carouselsignage.net</SiteName>
  <PlayerID>d5b7d927-d9f3-4c21-8992-f5d9d29abcd6</PlayerID>
</OptionsModel>

The SiteName and PlayerID can be found on your Carousel server’s Express Player Setup page, under Configure → Players → Express Players.

The %appdata%\Carousel Cloud\ folder will also be used at runtime to cache screen saver data.

NOTE: This is a user folder. The configuration file needs to be present for each user account from which the screen saver may launch.

Group Policy setup

Open the Group Policy editor.

Under User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Control Panel → Personalization, open Force Specific Screen Saver.

Select Enabled, set the executable name to Carousel Cloud.scr.

You’ll need to ensure the .cfg file is present for each user logging into the system. One possible workflow would be to generate a static Carousel Cloud.cfg file, host it on your network and ensure a logon script creates the %appdata%\Carousel Cloudfolder and copies the .cfg file into it.

Related articles