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How to Change How Often a Mac Screen Saver Changes

This wikiHow teaches you how to change how often the screensaver on your Mac cycles from image to image. You can do it using Terminal, which comes built into your Mac. Open Terminal. You can type 'Terminal' into Spotlight search to access...

Author: Micah Soto3 minutes read
Table of Contents
Part 1 of 4:

Confirming your Settings in Terminal

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    Open Terminal. You can type "Terminal" into Spotlight search to access the program.
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    Verify your current settings. The default length of time is 3 seconds.
    1. Copy and paste the following into the Terminal window: 
      sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "print ':JustASlide:mainDuration'" /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Slideshows.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Content/EffectDescriptions.plist
    2. Press ↵ Enter.
    3. If prompted for your password, type it in and press ↵ Enter. The keystrokes will not appear as you type it in.
    4. Unless you have changed this setting before, a number 3 will appear, confirming that the default setting is in place.
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    Click the Apple logo at the top left of your screen.
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    Click Restart.
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    Press and hold ⌘ Command+R immediately after restarting. Doing so will cause your Mac to boot in recovery.
Part 2 of 4:

Disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP)

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    Click Utilities. Once on the recovery screen, you can open Terminal and disable SIP.
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    Click Terminal.
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    Type in csrutil disable.
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    Press ↵ Enter.
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    Click on the Apple logo. It's at the top left of the menu bar.
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    Click Restart.
Part 3 of 4:

Changing the Screensaver Time Length

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    Open Terminal. You can type "Terminal" into Spotlight search to access the program.
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    Copy and paste the following code into the window: 
    sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "set ':JustASlide:mainDuration' 10" /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Slideshows.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Content/EffectDescriptions.plist
    1. You can replace the "10" in the code with any number of seconds you wish.
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    Press ↵ Enter.
    1. If prompted for your password, type it in and press ↵ Enter. The keystrokes will not appear as you type it in.
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    Type in the first code to confirm your changes.
    1. Type in: 
      sudo /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "print ':JustASlide:mainDuration'" /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Slideshows.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Content/EffectDescriptions.plist
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    Press ↵ Enter.
    1. The number displayed should be the one you entered earlier.
Part 4 of 4:

Re-enabling System Integrity Protection (SIP)

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    Click the Apple logo at the top left of your screen.
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    Click Restart.
  3. images 1 of How to Change How Often a Mac Screen Saver Changes
    Press and hold ⌘ Command + R immediately after restarting. Doing so will cause your Mac to boot in recovery.
  4. images 1 of How to Change How Often a Mac Screen Saver Changes
    Click Utilities. Once on the recovery screen, you can open Terminal and disable SIP.
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    Click Terminal.
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    Type in csrutil enable.
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    Press ↵ Enter.
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    Click on the Apple logo. It's at the top left of the menu bar.
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    Click Restart. SIP will be re-enabled, and your screen saver adjustments will be made!

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