How to Use the Windows Screensaver Feature to Turn Your Computer Into a Digital Clock

How to Use the Windows Screensaver Feature to Turn Your Computer Into a Digital Clock

My house is under-clocked. I have clocks in the kitchen and dining room and the bedrooms, but none in the living room, or family room save for the tiny clock that is on the cable boxes. I found a great solution without buying more clocks.

Did you know you can turn your idle computer into an easy-to-read digital clock? You can and it’s very easy to do. These instructions are for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Type Screensaver in the taskbar search and click Open when the “Change screen saver” dialog appears.

Under Screen saver, select “3D Text” from the drop-down menu.

Click on “Settings”

And under “Text” choose “Time”.

As you can see in the screenshot above, you can also choose a font, font size, motion, and more to customize the appearance of your clock.

When you’re finished customizing your clock’s settings, click “OK” at the top right of the dialog.

Now, back on the Screen Saver Settings screen (see the screenshot directly below) set the Wait option to the number of minutes of inactivity you want your computer to wait before turning on the screensaver (clock). Note: If you choose, you can also check the “On resume, display the logon screen” option to lock your device automatically when the screen saver turns on.

Click Apply > OK to save your settings.

Now, when your computer is idle for the amount of time you specified, the Digital Clock screensaver will turn on and display the current time. You can move the mouse or press any key to turn the screen saver off. If your computer screen is set to power off after so many minutes, your clock will not be visible. If you want your clock to show all of the time your computer is idle, read on.

What if you want your clock to show all of the time when your computer is idle?

If you want the clock to show all of the time your computer is idle, right-click on the Start button, click on Power Options, and under “Screen” > “When plugged in, turn off after” > choose “Never”.

A Note to Laptop Users:

Use these settings only if your computer is plugged in. Do not do this if your laptop is on battery power.