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Rainmeter Workshop: Autoscaling and YouI've been beating my head against a wall working on a new suite. The hardest, and most tedious thing has been making the skins resizable. It involves a lot of simple math, and trial and error. Over the course of the next few Workshops I'm going to share some of the things that I've learned about resizing skins, as well as other cool things to do with position formulas and dynamic variables. They'll start off pretty basic and work towards more complicated topics.More Like This
Simple Taskbar
DOWNLOAD SKIN
I keep seeing taskbar skins that fit only one specific desktop resolution. It's possible to make a skin fit any resolution, and usually it's fairly simple. A decent grasp on simple algebra, geometry and arithmetic helps greatly though. The taskbar below fits any resolution. I'm assuming that you're somewhat familiar with Rainmet
Rainmeter Workshop: @includeOne of Rainmeter's most useful feature for suite creation is the @include statement. This single line allows all the skins across your future suite to share the same exact code, allowing global changes with just the edit of one file. It also cuts down on redundant code.More Like This
The most common use of @include is global variables. This allows a user (or developer) to customize or change the variables of the suite easily. It also works very well with RainConfigure (or similar program).
But it's more powerful than that. Styles and measures can be used too. Meters can also be used, but they are rendered last, making them on top of everything else. I wouldn't recommend using meters.
Without further ado, sample skin(s)!
DOWNLOAD TUTORIAL SKIN
Download the .rmskin file to see how everything is set up. These two very simple skins show how to use multiple @include statements and demonstrates using Variables and Styles. @include measures
RAINMETER WORKSHOPMaking a Weather Skin or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love WebparserMore Like This
This is a simple weather skin that shows the current weather using MSN Weather. The other major site used is Yahoo Weather. The measures are from Poiru's upcoming Gnometer suite.
[Rainmeter]
-Same old, same old
[Rainmeter]
Author=Varelse
Update=1000
[Variables]
-The first three variables are used to set your location, hi or lo temperature, and what units the temperature is to be displayed in. weather.LH-valid values for this are Hi or Lo. WeatherCode is the most important variables. It is used to find your location. Go to MSN Weather, and set your location. Look for the little RSS icon on the right. The RSS url will have your WeatherCode in it. The url will look like hxxp://weather.msn.com/RSS.aspx?wealocations=wc:#WeatherCode#&weadegreetype=#TemperatureUnit#. Your WeatherCode is the string between #WeatherCode#. Lastly, TemperatureUnit displays the temperature in Fahrenheit or Celcius; valid values are C or F.
Rainmeter Workshop - 2I'm very pleased with the encouragement that the first Rainmeter Workshop got. I'm even happier with people's questions and requests. Last time I was asked to do a Winamp skin, talk more about String meters, and elaborate on measures. If you want me to cover a topic, just ask in the comments. Without further ado:More Like This
Winamp Skin Tutorial
I'll skip the introduction and the basics this time since I covered them pretty well last time. This skin demonstrates using Plugins, drawing circles, using Calc measures. I'll also talk more in depth about using measures and String meters. This is a much more complicated skin than last time. Every Winamp skin that displays time has a heavy emphasis on Calc measures; this one is no different.
[Rainmeter]
-Nothing has changed from last time.
[Rainmeter]
Author=Varelse
Update=1000
[Variables]
-SOLIDCOLOR defines the background color, in this case black, and COLOR defines the Text color and the progress bar color. HEIGHT defines the FontSize and NAME defines
Rainmeter WorkshopPackaging SkinsMore Like This
The whole purpose of Rainmeter Workshop is to get people who would not otherwise create their own skin to do just that. But some of them may ask,"But, Varelse, I have this totally awesome skin/ suite/compilation of skins (that aren't mine but I'm uploading anyway), and I don't know how to package it so others can download it."
Skin packaging is relatively easy no matter the complexity of the skin/suite.
1. Organize the skin folder.
The folder might include addons, fonts, lots of images, etc. Each should go into their own seperate folder. A common way of doing this is to use a resource folder like the one in Enigma and Omnimo. Of course, these aren't absolute rules and I've been known not to follow my own advise.
2. Package the skin into an archive file.
This is the most important step, and is easy to do. There are several ways to do this. You can zip it with Windows built in archiver, use Winrar, 7zip, or others. The main archives are .zip,.rar, or occasio
Rainmeter WorkshopiTunes CADMore Like This
This is a simple iTunes controller. The coding isn't anything too different from the other tutorials and is rather straightforward, so I'm not going to go in depth on a lot of things.
Got an idea for a tutorial? Suggest it in the comments.
I'm going to start mirroring these on my user page so people don't have to sift through dozens of other blog posts to find them. They just won't have Bendenfield's awesome CSS. Also, credit to Kaelri because some of the code is 'borrowed' from enigma.
"
[Rainmeter]
Author=Varelse
Update=1000
[Variables]
BGCOLOR=0,0,0
COLOR=255,255,255,200
COLOR2=255,255,255,50
;Measures----------------
[MeasureProgress]
- Finds the progress of the song duration as a percentage.
[MeasureProgress]
Measure= Plugin
Plugin= PluginsiTunesPlugin.dll
Command=GetPlayerPositionPercent
MaxValue=100
[Artist]
- Gets the artist name of the currently playing song. You can see that it substitutes an ampersand or 'and'
Rainmeter Workshop: @includeOne of Rainmeter's most useful feature for suite creation is the @include statement. This single line allows all the skins across your future suite to share the same exact code, allowing global changes with just the edit of one file. It also cuts down on redundant code.More Like This
The most common use of @include is global variables. This allows a user (or developer) to customize or change the variables of the suite easily. It also works very well with RainConfigure (or similar program).
But it's more powerful than that. Styles and measures can be used too. Meters can also be used, but they are rendered last, making them on top of everything else. I wouldn't recommend using meters.
Without further ado, sample skin(s)!
DOWNLOAD TUTORIAL SKIN
Download the .rmskin file to see how everything is set up. These two very simple skins show how to use multiple @include statements and demonstrates using Variables and Styles. @include measures
Rainmeter Workshop - Wifi and Battery meters.DOWNLOAD SKINMore Like This
Wifi and Battery meters are a staple of laptop users and are incredibly easy to create.
ImageCrop, ImageTint, and all of the other Image related features are a very useful feature of Rainmeter opening a whole new method of creating dynamic images. We're also going to use some neat tricks with DyanamicVariables, Substitution, and Conditional Statements to make the battery indicator change color and blink when the battery is low.
Note: The big reason we're using ImageCrop instead of a Bar meter is that when using an Image with a Bar meter, the Image cannot be scaled.
We need to start by grabbing the image we're going to use.
It's grey because we're going to use ImageTint to change it's color in Rainmeter.
Lets start our code by setting up the basics and some Variables that we're going to use later on.
[Rainmeter]
Author=Smurfier
Update=1000
[Metadata]
Name=Wifi and Battery Meter
Rainmeter Workshop - Orbital ClockDOWNLOAD SKINMore Like This
The Orbital Clock displays the time in the circles as well as moves the circles around an orbit like the hands of a clock.
One of the awesome things about Rainmeter is the Calc measure. It allows you to do some really cool things. In this case, move meter around the skin based off of time. The skin is a little heavy on algebra and trigonometry.
This isn't a math lesson, so I'm not going to go too terribly in depth on the equations used.
[Rainmeter]
Author=Varelse
Update=1000
[Variables]
BGColor is the background color of the 'hands'.
BGColor=255,255,255,100
RH is the orbit radius of the Hours. RM is the orbit radius of the Minutes, and RS is the Orbit radius of Seconds.
RH=170
RM=110
RS=60
These are text variables. The Fontsizes determine the sizes of the string in the 'hands'.
FontSize1=22
FontSize2=17
FontSize3=12
FONT=Trebuchet MS
TEXTColor=
Rainmeter Workshop - 2I'm very pleased with the encouragement that the first Rainmeter Workshop got. I'm even happier with people's questions and requests. Last time I was asked to do a Winamp skin, talk more about String meters, and elaborate on measures. If you want me to cover a topic, just ask in the comments. Without further ado:More Like This
Winamp Skin Tutorial
I'll skip the introduction and the basics this time since I covered them pretty well last time. This skin demonstrates using Plugins, drawing circles, using Calc measures. I'll also talk more in depth about using measures and String meters. This is a much more complicated skin than last time. Every Winamp skin that displays time has a heavy emphasis on Calc measures; this one is no different.
[Rainmeter]
-Nothing has changed from last time.
[Rainmeter]
Author=Varelse
Update=1000
[Variables]
-SOLIDCOLOR defines the background color, in this case black, and COLOR defines the Text color and the progress bar color. HEIGHT defines the FontSize and NAME defines
Rainmeter Workshop - 1RAINMETER WORKSHOPMore Like This
When I first started using Rainmeter I scoured Deviant Art for skins that fit what I was looking for. I didn’t find any. So I ended up dissecting skins, reading the help file, and discovered that it’s not nearly as complicated as it looks.
The goal of this series is to show how easy it is to make your own skins. I’ll be showing simple skins and code and talking about everything from basic skin creation to some of the more complicated things you can do with Rainmeter.
MAKING A NOTES SKIN
The skin I’ll be demonstrating is probably the simplest notes skin you can create. The skin is fundamentally made by combining different blocks of code. Each block as its own unique name. Each block of code is either a Measure or a Meter. Measures can be thought as a piece of code that stores information, and a Meter is one that displays something. The skin also shows the use of several different features, all of which I’m going to explain. These fea
RAINMETER WORKSHOPMaking a Weather Skin or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love WebparserMore Like This
This is a simple weather skin that shows the current weather using MSN Weather. The other major site used is Yahoo Weather. The measures are from Poiru's upcoming Gnometer suite.
[Rainmeter]
-Same old, same old
[Rainmeter]
Author=Varelse
Update=1000
[Variables]
-The first three variables are used to set your location, hi or lo temperature, and what units the temperature is to be displayed in. weather.LH-valid values for this are Hi or Lo. WeatherCode is the most important variables. It is used to find your location. Go to MSN Weather, and set your location. Look for the little RSS icon on the right. The RSS url will have your WeatherCode in it. The url will look like hxxp://weather.msn.com/RSS.aspx?wealocations=wc:#WeatherCode#&weadegreetype=#TemperatureUnit#. Your WeatherCode is the string between #WeatherCode#. Lastly, TemperatureUnit displays the temperature in Fahrenheit or Celcius; valid values are C or F.
Rainmeter Workshop: Autoscaling and YouI've been beating my head against a wall working on a new suite. The hardest, and most tedious thing has been making the skins resizable. It involves a lot of simple math, and trial and error. Over the course of the next few Workshops I'm going to share some of the things that I've learned about resizing skins, as well as other cool things to do with position formulas and dynamic variables. They'll start off pretty basic and work towards more complicated topics.More Like This
Simple Taskbar
DOWNLOAD SKIN
I keep seeing taskbar skins that fit only one specific desktop resolution. It's possible to make a skin fit any resolution, and usually it's fairly simple. A decent grasp on simple algebra, geometry and arithmetic helps greatly though. The taskbar below fits any resolution. I'm assuming that you're somewhat familiar with Rainmet
Malware Report #5There's a slew of new malware skins uploaded to the main Rainmeter Gallery in the last couple of days. All downloads in the list at the end of this post are infected.More Like This
We try and check all the skins uploaded to our gallery for malware before accepting them and we try to keep this list up-to-date, but real-time interferes, so please practice safe downloading!
Some things to watch for:
- comments are usually disabled or hidden
- they are fairly new to dA, just a couple of new skins
- their profile page only has a few items on it
- they rip a skin/preview/description then upload it with malware or keyloggers
- downloads are zipped and have an .exe file which is the virus
- don't download files like Build.exe, Run.exe, FullInstall.exe, *.rmskin.exe, Full_Set_Up.pif - basically anything that ends in .exe or .pif.
How to test each download for a virus:
- Right-click 'Download File' link, choose 'Copy Link Location'
- Go to VirusTotal at http://www.virustotal.com/index
Want to be a part of the #Rainmeter group?Hey,More Like This
The #Rainmeter deviantArt group was founded just over two years ago. We started small, but our fantastic team as well as the entire community have gone to great lengths to make us big. Today, many of us are busy -- be it with school, university, or work -- and the time has come to look for some new blood.
Do you want to be a part of all this? Do you want to manage the SOTM polls? Help moderate the gallery? Write blog posts? Enjoy our company?
If so, just send a note to us. Tell a little about yourself and what you'd like to do.
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below.
Update: Search over, thanks for the applications!
~poiru
Rainmeter Workshop - Wifi and Battery meters.DOWNLOAD SKINMore Like This
Wifi and Battery meters are a staple of laptop users and are incredibly easy to create.
ImageCrop, ImageTint, and all of the other Image related features are a very useful feature of Rainmeter opening a whole new method of creating dynamic images. We're also going to use some neat tricks with DyanamicVariables, Substitution, and Conditional Statements to make the battery indicator change color and blink when the battery is low.
Note: The big reason we're using ImageCrop instead of a Bar meter is that when using an Image with a Bar meter, the Image cannot be scaled.
We need to start by grabbing the image we're going to use.
It's grey because we're going to use ImageTint to change it's color in Rainmeter.
Lets start our code by setting up the basics and some Variables that we're going to use later on.
[Rainmeter]
Author=Smurfier
Update=1000
[Metadata]
Name=Wifi and Battery Meter
Rainmeter 2.2 beta r1037 makes life easier!Another Sunday has passed and another Rainmeter 2.2 beta has been released. As usual, grab it from rainmeter.net.More Like This
One of the more important features in this release is the changed behavior of the "Normal" (default) z-position. Until now, if you wanted a skin to stay visible when you clicked the "Show desktop" button (or pressed WIN + D), you had to manually set the skin position to "On desktop" either through the skin context menu or through the Manage dialog. And it had to be done for every single skin manually. As of the new beta, the default "Normal" position will stay on your desktop as well. In other words, you won't have to mess with the positions (most of the time).
Some of you may be wondering how the "Normal" and "On desktop" positions differ after this change. When clicked, "Normal" skins will be brought to the top of non-topmost windows. This means that you can click on a "Normal" skin to temporarily bring it on top of, say, Fire
The New Sta.sh Writer is Here!Hi FolksMore Like This
If you've used the awesome new Sta.sh that was released recently, then you may have noticed a big button on in the top right saying that Sta.Sh Writer is coming soon
Well, I'm happy to say, that 'Soon' is now!
What is this Sta.sh Writer?
Sta.sh Writer is a new tool that unifies the way content is submitted.
It allows you to write journals, news, and literature deviations all from one place!
Plus Sta.sh Writer has a helpful WYSIWYG so you can insert links and show deviations without having to type out long winded code
Adding deviations into Sta.sh Writer couldn't be easier, simply drag and drop from your Sta.sh, favourites, gallery or search using the side panel.
You can even adjust the size if the thumb using the pencil tool in the corner of each image, it's that simple!
Get started at Sta.sh/Writer
The Resource RoundupHalloween EditionMore Like This
The Resource Roundup is a new, regular feature showcasing some of the best resources deviantART members have created to share with the world!
The deviantART Resources Gallery is an awesome asset for both beginning artists and seasoned pros. Check out some of these amazing submissions, which might help inspire your next artistic endeavor.
Design
Back to Top
BrushesAbstract Brushes 13 by ~Ghost-001-Crack Effect Brushes by ~funerals0ngGrunge Brushes 3 by ~KeReN-RCobwebs Photoshop Brushes by ~redheadstockBlood Splatter Pack by ~nathradas
Back to Top
Tutorials
My Other Bloody Method by ~Lady-Dementia-StockPhotoshop Zombie Walkthrough by `conzpiracyHomemade Blood Tutorial by ~CaptainShort1Peeling Skin and Gore Tutorial by ~Deadstar-GrishTutorial: My Na'vi Avatar... by ~SolarShineThe Lighting Tutorial - Part 1 by =kuschelirmel-stock
Rainmeter 2.2 beta r995 available!One of the most requested features over the years has been localization support. We are pleased to start off the version 2.2 beta cycle with long-awaited support for localization. Rainmeter dialogs and context menus can now be displayed in 19 (and counting) different languages ranging from Chinese to Spanish to Hebrew. The user interface language can even be changed on the fly through the Manage Settings dialog.More Like This
For a list of languages contributed by the Rainmeter community, check Translation Status. If you can't find your language in the list, consider submitting a translation.
As usual, download from rainmeter.net. For a complete list of changes since 2.1, check the release news.
Enjoy!
~poiru
Premium Members, you've just leveled up!You heard it here first! Because we are so appreciative of all your continuous support, we wanted to include a little something special to the Premium Membership package. While we have many more changes in the works that will knock your socks off, I'm excited to announce that we've just added an ongoing 10% discount on Prints and deviantWEAR purchases! That's ten percent off all Photo Prints, Fine Art Prints, Wrapped Canvases, Art Gifts, T-shirts, Backpacks, Hoodies, and the rest of our devious gear.More Like This
Wanna' know the best part? The 10% will almost always stack with other promotions we're running. For example, if we're running a 15% discount on Fine Art Prints, you'll get 25% off thanks to your Premium Membership! While it's not quite as extreme as my favorite show "Extreme Couponing," it's pretty sweet, right?! And, no, you don't have to cut any coupons or pay for this upgrade... just think of it as an additional benefit to your current Premium Membership as a thank you from devi
iTunes 10.5 and NowPlayingSince the release of iTunes 10.5 there have been have been numerous reports of the NowPlaying plugin no longer playing nicely with iTunes. This issue will also exist with the older iTunes plugin that is included with Rainmeter.More Like This
Thanks to the hard work of ~poiru this issue has been fixed with NowPlaying in the latest Rainmeter 2.2 betas. Don't forget that the beta versions also include preliminary support for localization. Download at rainmeter.net.
If you are still using the older iTunes plugin now would be the perfect time to check out NowPlaying.
~smurfier
[Featured Skin] RainsweeperMore Like This
Rainsweeper by ~Kaelri is another leap in making Rainmeter do things that no one ever thought possible. Through the use of a clever Lua script Rainsweeper is a clone of the classic Minesweeper game. The ingenious design allows for many features including a GUI options editor, saved high scores, and it has no images or other resource files making it light as it can be.
Thanks for the hard work on another amazing skin!
~smurfier
Malware Report #5There's a slew of new malware skins uploaded to the main Rainmeter Gallery in the last couple of days. All downloads in the list at the end of this post are infected.More Like This
We try and check all the skins uploaded to our gallery for malware before accepting them and we try to keep this list up-to-date, but real-time interferes, so please practice safe downloading!
Some things to watch for:
- comments are usually disabled or hidden
- they are fairly new to dA, just a couple of new skins
- their profile page only has a few items on it
- they rip a skin/preview/description then upload it with malware or keyloggers
- downloads are zipped and have an .exe file which is the virus
- don't download files like Build.exe, Run.exe, FullInstall.exe, *.rmskin.exe, Full_Set_Up.pif - basically anything that ends in .exe or .pif.
How to test each download for a virus:
- Right-click 'Download File' link, choose 'Copy Link Location'
- Go to VirusTotal at http://www.virustotal.com/index
Submission RulesSubmission RulesMore Like This
UPDATE: All skins submitted to our galleries must be downloadable from deviantART and not offsite - keeps it safe for all of us! We only accept skins/screenshots/add-ons/plug-ins that are properly credited. For further clarification, read blog posting Proper Crediting.
Featured GalleryStrictly for skins/suites that have won the 'Skin of the Month' Award.CLOSED
Rainmeter SkinsOnly for original skins/suites that you have created personally or as a collaboration with others.Skins that have been heavily modded will be accepted into this gallery only if they are truly different from the original and the original artist has been credited and linked to. Otherwise submit them to the Modded Skins gallery.All skins must be packed in the
Celebrate deviantART's 12th Birthday!It's our 12th Birthday!More Like This
Posted August 7th, 2012 by $Ayame-Kenoshi
Today, August 7th, 2012, marks 12 years since deviantART's creation - aka, it's our 12th birthday! In the last 12 years, we, as a community, have grown by leaps and bounds, fostered creative thought and dialogue, and submitted a lot of artwork - over 220 million deviations. It's with great honor and pleasure that we invite you to party with us as we toast to another devious year of art!
Introducing the First Ever Creative Grants Recipients!
On May 1, 2012, deviantART introduced the Creative Grants program - a source of funding allowing artists to make creative dreams a reality. We're pleased to announce the first cycle of funding has ended, and from the over 500 applicat
