Using AutoIt to create "addons" for Rainmeter
Posted: January 12th, 2012, 2:39 pm
As there is a long-awaited new version of AutoIt available, (updated December 23, 2011 with a lot of nice fixes and new additions) I thought I would post a quick and dirty guide to installing and using this very robust tool for creating executables you can use as an "addon" for Rainmeter skins.
Go here: http://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/downloads/
Get the first two items on the list. The "Full Installer" and the "Script Editor". Install them. Make sure to check the "edit script" box when it asks you what to do when opening .au3 files. Also, select "x86" as the default architecture, as otherwise you will need to distribute two versions of your addon with your skins. (for x86 and x64)
Now .au3 files should open in the SciTE editor when you double click on them. In this environment you can edit the code, test it by using "Tools / Go" (errors, and there will be lots of them as you learn, will pop up in a console at the bottom of the screen) and compile to .exe with "Tools / Compile".
When you compile, be sure to select "x86" under "Output arch" and uncheck "Use UPX" (that UPX compression method can give some antivirus apps fits).
The Help menu item in the editor IS YOUR FRIEND. You can just open it and search for what you are trying to do, or highlight any keyword in the code and then click help to zoom right to that function in what I think is one of the better help / manual implementations I have ever used.
Go here: http://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/downloads/
Get the first two items on the list. The "Full Installer" and the "Script Editor". Install them. Make sure to check the "edit script" box when it asks you what to do when opening .au3 files. Also, select "x86" as the default architecture, as otherwise you will need to distribute two versions of your addon with your skins. (for x86 and x64)
Now .au3 files should open in the SciTE editor when you double click on them. In this environment you can edit the code, test it by using "Tools / Go" (errors, and there will be lots of them as you learn, will pop up in a console at the bottom of the screen) and compile to .exe with "Tools / Compile".
When you compile, be sure to select "x86" under "Output arch" and uncheck "Use UPX" (that UPX compression method can give some antivirus apps fits).
The Help menu item in the editor IS YOUR FRIEND. You can just open it and search for what you are trying to do, or highlight any keyword in the code and then click help to zoom right to that function in what I think is one of the better help / manual implementations I have ever used.