I find that previewing the screen saver provides a good check on whether or not a particular GIF was a good choice.

Choose the individual file or directory, then click OK. Click on Screen Saver Options, and this dialog appears (see screenshot below): (Click “Select File or Directory” to choose your GIF or directory of GIFs).ħ) This dialog allows you to set the animation rate of your GIF, set a background color, and even fill a directory with GIFs that the screen saver will randomly display at a pre-set interval. When the installation is complete, open System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver, then click on the Screen Saver tab (see screenshot below): (Click on the AnimatedGIF Screen Saver to select it.)Ħ) Now we need to select the GIF to use as our screen saver. (Choose whether the screensaver is installed for you or all users of the Mac.)ĥ) At this point you’re asked to enter your administrative password, since you’re making a change to the operating system. If you’re the only user of the Mac, go ahead and select “Install for all users of this computer” (see screenshot below), then click Install. Next, you’ll be asked if you wish to install the file for the current user only or for all users. Click Open.)Ĥ) As noted in the screenshot above, click Open to open the file. If you run into the issue of not being able to download your GIF as a GIF file, do a search for the meme using Google or your favorite search engine, then right-click on the GIF displayed and select “Download Image as…”.Įasy-peasy, right? Now comes the hard work.ġ) Download the Animated GIF Screensaver from Github.Ģ) Open your Downloads folder (or whatever folder you have set to save downloads from your browser), right-click the file and select Openģ) You’ll see the following warning dialog: (You’ll be warned that the screensaver file is from an unidentified developer. It can sometimes be difficult to download a GIF as a GIF file - particularly on Giphy! The GIF service has many ways to download files, usually as MP4 movie files. You can see this classic in all of its animated pixelated glory above. This is a really fun way to display your favorite family Live Photo when your Mac’s screen saver kicks in, and perfect for annoying or amusing co-workers with the latest internet meme.Ĭome on now, who hasn’t wanted to have the classic 2011 meme “ nyancat” as a screen saver? After a quick trip to the universal repository of all things GIF - I was able to locate the original “cat with a pop-tart body” nyancat GIF and download it to my Mac. Now if you think your screen saver is going to be Retina Display-worthy eye candy, you can lower your expectations it’s going to be a little more low-resolution. In today’s Quick Tip, you’ll learn how to bring some of that animated fun to your Mac in the form of a screen saver. A few weeks ago, we showed you how easy it is to set up a Live Photo or animated GIF as wallpaper on an iPhone.

Screen saver using google photos