What is a .SCR file?
The .scr extension is both a Windows screensaver executable and, in some apps, a text script.
Windows screensaver
- What it is
- A Windows screensaver - a renamed PE executable the operating system runs as a screensaver. Analyser reads the PE header.
- How to tell it apart
- A screensaver begins with the MZ PE magic.
- Did you know
- A Windows .scr is just an .exe under a different extension, which is exactly why screensavers were once a favourite way to smuggle in malware.
- Screensavers were invented to stop static images burning permanently into CRT and plasma phosphor screens, a hazard modern LCD panels no longer face.
- Berkeley Systems' After Dark popularised them in 1989, and its flying-toasters animation grew so iconic it ended up fought over in court.
Script file
- What it is
- Some applications use .scr for a text script (for example command or render scripts). Analyser opens a text .scr as source.
- How to tell it apart
- A script .scr is plain text (no MZ magic).
- Did you know
- Several tools repurpose .scr for plain-text scripts, so the only reliable way to tell one from a screensaver is the MZ executable header.
- AutoCAD uses .scr for a script of commands run in sequence by its SCRIPT command, letting a designer automate repetitive drawing and plotting tasks from a text file.
- In an AutoCAD script every blank space counts as pressing Enter, and any line beginning with a semicolon is ignored as a comment.
- Depth of analysis
- .SCR is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .SCR file
- Drag a .SCR file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.