Apple hasn’t announced any plans to bring the screensavers over to the Mac yet, but they’re such a perfect fit that developer John Coates created a new Swift app that lets anyone get the beautiful backdrops on their desktop.
Here’s how to do it:
- Download Aerial from Github.
- Open the .zip file and double-click Aerial.saver to install.
- Go to System Preferences >> Desktop & Screen Saver >> Screen Saver
- Select Aerial
- Click Screen Saver Options to customize which scenes Aerial uses.
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How to Start the Mac Screen Saver with a Keyboard Shortcut in OS X
Now, after you've installed the new Aerials screensaver, wouldn't it be nice to have a keyboard shortcut to start the screensaver. Though it's possible with hot corners, I prefer keyboard shortcuts.Part 1: Create a Screen Saver Automator Service for OS X
- Launch Automator, found in the /Applications/ directory
- Choose to create a new “Service”
- Use the search box to find “Start Screen Saver” and drag that into the right side panel
- Change “Service receives” to “no input”
- Go to the File menu and choose “Save” naming it something obvious like “Start Screen Saver”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACQCpDtFj1aT8AqAmfJ4mRZkx742cpWxKoGamZX_cXsbVI4Fe0qMBT40hlGgxS9ctxyw6CuL56p_EiYSvjyGFBlhoxUYFS8aqmcUTG2Uinu52OeYYqsjGvSz0MrDH6UAcLsdSwQReo18/s400/2.2.jpg)
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Part 2: Set the “Start Screen Saver” Keystroke for Mac OS X
- Open System Preferences from the Apple menu
- Choose the “Keyboard” preference panel then go to the “Shortcuts” tab
- Select “Services” from the left side menu
- Locate the newly created “Start Screen Saver” service you made, and click on the ‘add shortcut’ button to set your keyboard shortcut to use – in this example we used Control + ⌘ Command + Option + ↓ , but you can set whatever you want
- Exit out of System Preferences and test out your new screen saver keystroke
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7OiMEZ3_16X8Cvuu4ckfN8hq8Hh_g_sa1EkvLRd8RoiQWR1Sc0AaxrmL6maCgCpou1kBgXDSrsMXy6Ri9OxLV2hVBw1yzGx2-gN9Fxm-r3f01amWuvzOCOPzyL12ucobwqcAvpCGb9Y/s400/3.4.jpg)