Removing Wingdings Font Disables Flying Windows Screen

• Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.1, 3.11

SYMPTOMS

If you remove the Wingdings TrueType font that ships with Microsoft Windows version 3.1 from the list of installed fonts in Control Panel, the Flying Windows screen saver no longer displays the Windows flag. Instead, the flags are replaced with small colored dots.

CAUSE

The flag logo is actually character number 255 in the Wingdings font set; that character must be installed so that the screen saver utility can recognize and use it.

MORE INFORMATION

You can change the character that displays in the logo by modifying the file SSFLYWIN.SCR as follows:

1. Make a backup copy of the SSFLYWIN.SCR file.

2. Open the SSFLYWIN.SCR file in Microsoft Write and choose No Conversion.

3. Search for the word "display." Right before the word display is the y umlaut character (the letter "y" with two dots over it).

4. Change that character to another character.

   NOTE: You can use Character Map to find a character number. In the character set that Windows uses, character number 255 is the y umlaut character for regular text fonts (such as Times New Roman). By substituting a different character, you can make a different Wingdings symbol appear.

5. Save the file as SSFLYWIN.SCR, and test it in the Desktop dialog box of Control Panel.