Asplash screen is agraphical control element consisting of awindow containing animage, a logo, and the current version of the software. A splash screen can appear while a game or program is launching. Asplash page is an introduction page on awebsite.[1][2] A splash screen may cover the entirescreen or web page; or may simply be a rectangle near the center of the screen or page. The splash screens ofoperating systems and some applications that expect to be run in full screen usually cover the entire screen.
Splash screens are typically used by particularly large applications to notify the user that the program is in the process of loading. They provide feedback that a lengthy process is underway. Occasionally, aprogress bar within the splash screen indicates the loading progress. A splash screen disappears when the application's main window appears. Splash screens may be added for a period of time and then replaced anew.
Splash screens typically serve to enhance thelook and feel of an application orweb site, hence they are often visually appealing. They may also haveanimations, graphics, andsound.
On theWeb, a splash screen is apage of aweb site that acts as a front page prior to displaying thehome page. Designers may use splash pages:
An early use of the splash screen on a Flash website was to enable the site developer to launch the site in a JavaScript-controlled new window without browser elements such as scroll-bars or an address bar, and in the exact size of the Flash movie. This has gone out of style with the predominance of pop-up blockers. Instead, many Flash web pages now allow their audience to choose to go to full screen viewing.
Since splash screens often increase the wait for the desired content and may take a long time to load, they are not liked by all users. Web splash screens are especially inconvenient for users with slowinternet connections as the first page may take longer to load. Moreover, if the user has turned off rich content, such as images,Flash, orShockwave, the splash page may not load at all. Splash pages and any associated main pages created inFlash often cannot be accessed by search engines or handled by text readers for the blind.[3]
TheJava programming language has a specific class for creating splash screens, calledjava.awt.SplashScreen[4] that handles standard splash screen functions, e.g. display an image centered on screen that disappears when the first program window opens.
Splash screens can also be created inHTML andCSS if they are designed for a purpose other than as a loading screen. Instead, they are used for other purposes such as giving the option to pick the language.
TheAndroid operating system (starting withAndroid 12) automatically generates a splash screen for every installed app, which can be customised by app developers.[5] The Core Splashscreen Jetpack librarybackports this functionality for older Android versions.[6]
