Download Newseum’s Front Page PDFs as Mac OS X Screen Saver
Requirements:
- Mac OS X
- Automator
- Growl plugin (optional)
- Internet connection
Step 1: Create Front Pages folder
Go to your account folder then to your Pictures folder and create a new folder called Front Pages. You will need to update the path in the first step of the automator script to reflect your account path to the new folder. See below.

Step 2: Open Automator script
Download the script here. Place the script wherever you would like. Now open the script and modify the place of your Front Pages folder. See above.
Step 3: Customize front pages
You can add and remove the URLs for each front page in the Get Specified URLs step. Either add them by hand or add bookmarks. Follow the same URL structure as you add new pages. Save the script. In order to have Automator perform this action at login you need to do a File > Save As and save the script as an Application. You can skip this if you don’t wish to update pages at login.
Step 4: Setup Screen Saver
Go to your System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Screen Saver. Hit the plus sign on the left and select Add Folder of Pictures. Navigate to the Front Pages folder you created and select it.
Step 5: Automatically update pages when you login

Go to your System Preferences once again. Under the Accounts section find your account and click Login Items. Hit the plus sign and add the frontpages.app application you saved to your computer. Do not add the frontpages.workflow script or Automator will simply open and won’t execute the script. This can be hit and miss on some systems. I’m trying to find a better background approach so look for an update to this post.
And that’s it! Enjoy.
Here’s a full screenshot of the script if you need a reference.
Note: The Growl notification option at the end of the script is optional. Feel free to remove it.



