FX Saver
Toolbox Professional enables you to create very slick slide
shows using a variety of very neat special effects and graphical wipes -- some
of these effects I have not seen in other competitive packages -- so for this
reason alone -- if you want to develop a screen saver with a different look
and feel from others -- this product should have your interest.
FX Saver
Toolbox Professional consists of a very simple interface. You
simply tell it where to find the graphic files you want to use in your screen
saver, select the viewing order and special effects, and tell it to compile
the final screen saver.
At first glance, this may appear fairly standard in comparison
to other screen saver tools -- but there are a lot of features hidden beneath
the surface that make this product very different from others in its class.
For instance, you can preview the graphics selected, and
convert file formats from within the application. You can also magnify areas
of a graphic and move it around to get a closer look and insure it's the
graphic you want for your project. You can select a graphic and make it into
your Windows desktop wallpaper, and you can also make the screen saver set the
last image viewed as wallpaper upon exit -- if you randomize the images in
your screen saver then this is a nice way to display different customer
messages or photos of products, etc. You can also select the on-screen
appearance of the graphics -- tiled, centered, stretched or fit to
screen.
You may also create password-protected screen savers, enabling
you to protect and limit desktop access. This is a nice extra feature if you
decide to make screen savers for others for a fee.
One of the best features of FX
Saver Toolbox Professional is its ability to combine any of the
15 standard wipes in new combinations. In this fashion, you can create some
very unusual and attention-grabbing screen saver effects.
Like many other screen saver development systems, FX
Saver Toolbox Professional does enable you to create
self-installing EXE files for download. But it has a few nuances which make
this cool tool even cooler. You can customize the title, the author name and
six lines of text which will be viewed during installation. You may include
sound files. You may include four lines of text for a copyright message. And
you can enable two buttons to trigger a link to your web site, and to open a
file of your choosing (a Word file, etc.).
All in all, FX
Saver Toolbox Professional is perhaps one of the easiest and
most powerful screen saver development packages to come along in quite a
while. You can download a free trial at their web site here,
or purchase one of three versions ranging in price from $24.95 to $149.95 (the
full version reviewed here with all of the advanced features).
