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Compiling and Distribution
When you compile your screen saver project, make sure that you put a .scr extension behind it. This is how Windows knows to treat your program as a Windows screen saver. To do this, choose the Make Snowman.exe option from the File menu. When the Make Project dialog opens, change the name of the .exe to Snowman.scr (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 The Make Project dialog box.
To distribute your screen saver to other users, you need to distribute DirectX8, all .bmp files, and your compiled .scr file. You might also need some supporting VB files, depending on which ones you use in your project. Place the .scr file and its supporting graphics in the Windows\system32 or WinNT\System32 folder.
To launch your screen saver, go to the Display Properties dialog. Choose the Screen Saver tab and select the Snowman screen saver from the drop-down list.
Figure 2 The Display Properties dialog box.
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The full source code for this project can be found here. I hope you've enjoyed this project, and I look forward to seeing more DirectX screen savers out there.