Rain on glass: a rainy window screensaver for Windows
Rain on glass in Screensavers by Zaweba shows drops running down a window over soft lights. Set how much rain, drop speed and what's behind the glass.
There is something oddly comforting about watching rain run down a window while you're warm inside. Rain on glass in Screensavers by Zaweba captures that feeling. Raindrops gather on the glass and run down it, in front of soft, out-of-focus lights. It is drawn by the app's own code, and three settings decide how heavy the rain is and what you're looking out at.
It is a classic pack screensaver, and one of the quietest in it. If your idea of a good idle screen is something restful, it is a strong candidate.
How much rain and how fast
How much rain controls the number of drops on the glass. Light rain leaves most of the window clear, with a few drops gathering and running now and then. Heavy rain covers the glass and gives a proper downpour. The speed of the drops runs from 1 to 10. Slow drops creep down the glass, pause and merge. Fast drops run straight down, the way they do in a hard shower.
Light rain with slow drops is the most restful setting. Heavy rain with fast drops is livelier and makes a good change on a grey winter afternoon. The middle of both is a sensible place to start.
What's behind the glass
The third setting chooses the scene outside, seen through the blur of a rainy window. City lights at night gives soft, glowing circles of colour, like a street seen from an upstairs window after dark. Woods at dusk is darker and greener, more like a cottage window looking out at trees as the light fades. Plain grey is simple and neutral, just rain on a dull day.
City lights at night is the most striking, and works well in the evening. Woods at dusk is quieter and suits a home study. Plain grey is the least distracting, a good choice for an office where you want something gentle on the screen without colour pulling your eye.
Trying it out
Pick the background first in the manager, because it sets the mood, then adjust the rain and speed while the live preview follows along. Once it looks right, press Preview full screen to see it as it will really appear. The drops are much easier to judge at full size, and a heavy rain that looks pleasant in a small window can feel busy across a whole monitor. Moving the mouse or pressing a key closes the preview.
Letting the rain fall on your desktop
Use this screensaver builds it into your profile with no administrator rights needed and opens Windows' Screen Saver Settings, so you can choose how long the PC waits and whether it asks for your password when you come back. You can return to the manager whenever you like and change the scene or the amount of rain. The new settings are read the next time the screensaver starts, so nothing needs building again.
If you use two or more monitors, you can have a rainy window on each, one large window stretched across all of them, or rain on the main monitor only with the others black. A window on each screen feels like sitting in a room with two windows, and looks particularly good with city lights at night.
When it works best
Rain on glass suits long idle spells and dim rooms, and it is a natural partner for Aquarium and Lava lamp if you want a calm set. Tick the three of them in Install several and the screensaver picks one at random each time. On a laptop, the frame cap and battery saver in Install and options keep it light, with the screen simply going black when the battery falls below the level you set.
If you ever lose track of what you've changed, Reset to defaults puts the rain, speed and scene back to how they started.
