[Rainmeter] section


The [Rainmeter] section of a skin defines options for the entire skin.

Note: The [Rainmeter] section does not support Dynamic Variables or changes using the !SetOption bang, with the exception of custom Context menu items.

General Options

Update Default: 1000

Defines the update interval of the skin in milliseconds. On each update, measures and meters are updated, and the skin is redrawn.

The lowest possible effective value for Update is "16". Some care should be taken to only use very low update rates (less than 100) when really needed, and to balance a low Update with DefaultUpdateDivider, or UpdateDivider on individual measures and meters, in order to keep the CPU usage by Rainmeter as low as possible.

Using Update=-1 will update the skin only once on load (or on refresh). This is a good option when a skin is strictly controlled by mouse actions, like an application menu or launcher. The skin will never update, but will always react to any mouse actions, where you can use !UpdateMeter and !Redraw to control when the skin is updated and redrawn.

Note: While Update=1000 will update the skin "once a second", Update is not related to the system clock, and if a computer is busy or a complicated skin takes longer than the interval to complete a full update of the skin, updates can be unreliable in relation to elapsed time. Do not use the Update value to control clocks or other timing sensitive functions.

DefaultUpdateDivider Default: 1

Default number of updates at which skin measure and meter values are updated. The Update option is multiplied by the specified value to determine how often measures and meters are updated.

Example: If Update=1000 and DefaultUpdateDivider=30, then by default all measures and meters are updated every 30 seconds.

If DefaultUpdateDivider=-1 or any negative number, then by default all measures and meters are only updated once when the skin is loaded or refreshed. This is a good option when a skin is mostly controlled by mouse actions, like an application menu or launcher. The skin will never update, but will always react to any mouse actions, where you can use !UpdateMeter and !Redraw to control when the skin is updated and redrawn.

Note: This option is designed to set a default UpdateDivider for all measures and meters in the skin. It can be overridden by setting UpdateDivider on individual measures or meters. This option should be used when a low Update is desired to support animations or other skin elements requiring rapid update, while avoiding having to manually set an UpdateDivider on a great many other measures and meters that do not need to be updated as quickly.

AccurateText Default: 0

If set to 1, String meters are measured and rendered using improved padding and character spacing similar to that provided by Direct2D.

DynamicWindowSize Default: 0

If set to 1, the window size is adjusted on each update to fit the meters.

SkinWidth, SkinHeight Default: None

Either or both may be set. This will set and constrain the skin to the fixed dimensions defined, either the width, the height, or both. Any meter or part of a meter positioned outside the defined boundaries will be truncated. DynamicWindowSize will be ignored for the defined dimension(s), and meters that would normally display even "outside" the skin will be truncated by the fixed skin dimension(s).

DragMargins Default: 0,0,0,0

Uses 4 values (left, top, right, bottom) separated by commas to define the area from where the window can be dragged. The values define a margin of non-draggable area. It's also possible to use negative numbers in which case the margin is calculated from the opposite side. E.g. DragMargins=0,-100,0,0.

OnRefreshAction

Action to execute when the skin is loaded or refreshed.

Note: The action(s) defined will take place at the very end of the first update cycle. Changes made will generally not be visible until the next update, unless bangs are used to update desired measures and meters and redraw the skin.

OnUpdateAction

Action to execute on each Update of the skin.

Note: The action(s) defined will take place at the very end of the update cycle. Changes made will generally not be visible until the next update, unless bangs are used to update desired measures and meters and redraw the skin.

OnCloseAction

Action to execute when the skin is unloaded or when Rainmeter is closed.

OnFocusAction

Action to execute when the skin receives focus in Windows (focus is given when the mouse is clicked on the skin).

Note: The action(s) defined will take place at the very end of the update cycle. Changes made will generally not be visible until the next update, unless bangs are used to update desired measures and meters and redraw the skin.

OnUnfocusAction

Action to execute when the skin loses focus in Windows (focus is lost when the mouse is clicked outside the skin).

Note: The action(s) defined will take place at the very end of the update cycle. Changes made will generally not be visible until the next update, unless bangs are used to update desired measures and meters and redraw the skin.

OnWakeAction

Action to execute when Windows returns from the sleep or hibernate states.

Note: The action(s) defined will take place at the very end of the first update cycle. Changes made will generally not be visible until the next update, unless bangs are used to update desired measures and meters and redraw the skin.

TransitionUpdate Default: 100

Defines the update time in milliseconds for meter transitions. While a transition is active the meter will update at this rate. Currently, only the Bitmap meter supports meter transitions.

ToolTipHiddenDefault: 0

If set to 1, all tooltips in the skin will be hidden. More information on tooltips.

Group

Defines a group or series of groups that the skin belongs to. For more information please see the Groups page.

SelectedColorDefault: (see below)

A color code used to define the color and transparency of the overlay when a skin is selected in a Drag Group. If this option is not defined, the default setting SelectedColor option is used.

Note: This option will override any default SelectedColor.

DragGroup

A group or series of Drag Groups that the skin belongs to. So if any skin is selected, any skins in the same DragGroup will automatically be selected as well.

Background options

General image options

All general image options are valid for Background.

Background

Path of a background image file.

BackgroundMode Default: 1

Defines the background mode for the skin. Valid values are:

  • 0 : Image as defined by Background
  • 1 : Transparent background
  • 2 : Fill with a solid color
  • 3 : Fill by scaling image as defined by Background
  • 4 : Fill by tiling image as defined by Background

BackgroundMode=2 : The color is set by adding a SolidColor option.

BackgroundMargins Default: 0,0,0,0

If BackgroundMode=3, defines margins of the Background image that are not scaled. The parameters are left,top,right,bottom.

Example: BackgroundMargins=0,10,0,20.
10 pixels from the top and 20 pixels from the bottom of the image are not scaled.

SolidColor, SolidColor2 Default: 128,128,128,255

This option will specify the background color when BackgroundMode=2. If SolidColor2 is also specified, the background is a gradient composed of SolidColor and SolidColor2.

Hint: SolidColor=0,0,0,1 can be used to make transparent areas of the background clickable.

GradientAngle

Angle of the gradient in degrees (for SolidColor and SolidColor2) when BackgroundMode=2.

BevelType Default: 0

If enabled, draws a bevel around the edges of the entire skin when BackgroundMode=2. Valid values are:

  • 0: No bevel
  • 1: Raised
  • 2: Sunken

BevelColor, BevelColor2

If BevelType is set to other than zero, allows setting the colors for the top/left and bottom/right bevels.

For BevelType=1, the BevelColor will represent the color on the left and top edges of the skin. BevelColor2 will represent the colors on the right and bottom of the skin.

For BevelType=2, the BevelColor will represent the color on the right and bottom edges of the skin. BevelColor2 will represent the colors on the left and top of the skin.

Context options

ContextTitle, ContextTitle2, ContextTitle3...

If not blank, adds an item to the skin's context menu under "Custom skin actions". Up to 25 ContextTitleN options are allowed, with up to 30 characters per option. Additional characters are truncated with an ellipsis (...). If more than 3 ContextTitleN options are given, "Custom skin actions" becomes a submenu. If a ContextTitleN option is not valid, all subsequent ContextTitleN options are ignored. In addition, if more than 3 options are given, and the value of ContextTitleN includes only dashes (-), the item is displayed as a separator.

Note: Variables in ContextTitleN are always dynamic. Variable values are read at the time the context menu is opened. This means that the !SetOption bang can be used to change these values.

ContextAction, ContextAction2, ContextAction3...

Action triggered by clicking the corresponding ContextTitleN item. ContextActionN is required for ContextTitleN to be valid, unless the item is a separator.

Note: Variables in ContextActionN are always dynamic. Variable values are read at the time the context menu is opened. This means that the !SetOption bang can be used to change these values.

Aero Blur options

Blur Default: 0

Set to 1 to enable Aero Blur on the Windows 7 operating system. If no BlurRegions are specified, the entire skin background is blurred.

Note: The function will not work on Window 8.1 or Windows 10.

BlurRegion, BlurRegion2, ..., BlurRegionN

Defines areas and shapes of the one or more regions of the skin to be blurred. The format of the option is: BlurRegion=Type, TopX, TopY, BottomX, BottomY ,Radius.

Valid values for Type are:

  • 0 : Region is disabled
  • 1 : Rectangular region
  • 2 : Rectangular region with rounded corners (requires Radius)
  • 3 : Elliptical region

The parameters following Type define the size and shape of the region. They are, in order:

  • TopX : Top left horizontal point in the skin
  • TopY : Top left vertical point in the skin
  • BottomX : Bottom right horizontal point in the skin
  • BottomY : Bottom right vertical point in the skin
  • Radius : Radius of the corners of rounded rectangles (required for Type=2)


Note: Aero Blur options can be dynamically controlled with several bangs.

Example

[Rainmeter]
Update=1000
Blur=1
BlurRegion=1,10,10,190,50
; BlurRegion creates a rectangle starting at 10 pixels from the left, 10 pixels down from the top, and ending at 190 pixels to the right, 50 pixels from the top.

BlurRegion2=3,10,70,80,110
BlurRegion3=2,10,130,190,170,15

[Background]
Meter=Image
W=200
H=180
SolidColor=0,0,0,50
LeftMouseUpAction=[!AddBlur "1,0,0,200,80"]

Deprecated options

Author

The author of the skin.

Note: This option is deprecated. Author should be defined in the [Metadata] section of the skin.

AppVersion

Defines the minimum version of Rainmeter required to use the skin. The formula to calculate the value is: major * 1000000 + minor1 * 1000 + minor2.

Note: This option is deprecated. Use the version capabilities in Skin Packager.

LocalFont, LocalFont2, ...

Loads the specified TTF font files for use with FontFace in String meters.

Note: This option is deprecated. Use the @Resources\Fonts folder instead.