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Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

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eclectic-tech
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by eclectic-tech »

EB_Troller wrote:I tried the second mathod, but i dont have that drop box where u can change the encoding of a file, so i open rainmeter.ini and save it as rainmeter.ini but with a encoding of Unicode. and it still didnt work. :( i reinstalled the rainmeter entirely, wiped out all my settings and all that and did the standard install :U.. is it possible that i send u my skin pack and u have a look? :U
Layouts save the current Rainmeter.ini file in the Layouts folder, so it can be recalled. So you need to also manually open each Layout folder's 'Rainmeter.ini' file, and make sure it is encoded as Unicode for layouts work.

You already know that layouts and skins without Unicode characters in the folder names work (the package you downloaded from the internet worked), so I don't think sharing your skins will help.

Have you tried renaming the skin folder names not using any Unicode characters and see if layouts are restored?

Check the encoding of ALL 'Rainmeter.ini' files, or sadly, don't use Unicode characters in skin FOLDER names. :(
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balala
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by balala »

EB_Troller wrote:i reinstalled the rainmeter entirely,
Usually completely useless to reinstall it. I doubt anytime this could help.
EB_Troller wrote:is it possible that i send u my skin pack and u have a look? :U
Beside eclectic-tech's reply, pack the skins and upload them, to take a look. Not sure it'll help, but maybe it worth a try. Let's see...
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by EB_Troller »

balala wrote:Usually completely useless to reinstall it. I doubt anytime this could help.

Beside eclectic-tech's reply, pack the skins and upload them, to take a look. Not sure it'll help, but maybe it worth a try. Let's see...
Here is my skin pack, i included the layout which dont work on my computer, and after installation it will load the layout.
HoneyCompLaunchers_1.0.rmskin
(1.47 MiB) Downloaded 12 times
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eclectic-tech
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by eclectic-tech »

Besides not using Unicode characters in Config Names (until your re-encode all Rainmeter.ini files), you should not use brackets [ ] punctuation in the name of skins or in section names. :17denial

Did you save the layout (replacing the current layout) after you did the standard installation?

From the look of Rainmeter.ini in that layout folder, I do not think you saved a new layout; it is missing the basic Rainmeter installation information and the skin information is a jumbled mess due to the brackets in your skin names. All the settings for a skin are normally in one section, but due to you using brackets in the skin name, each skin option is in a separate section!

A normal Rainmeter.ini looks like this:
bracketlessnames.png
Your layout Rainmeter.ini looks like this:
bracketnames.png
Avoid using spaces and any non-alphanumeric characters as skin folder names, skin names, section names, etc.; it is only going to create this needless confusion for you. This may help you: Anatomy of a Skin

After you remove all of those characters from your skins, try uploading a new package with a new layout.

EDIT: Just rename your main folder to from 'Skin [Second]' to 'Skin' and 'Refresh All' in the Manage dialog. If you do that, your skins will reload when Rainmeter restarts.
EB_Troller
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by EB_Troller »

eclectic-tech wrote:Besides not using Unicode characters in Config Names (until your re-encode all Rainmeter.ini files), you should not use brackets [ ] punctuation in the name of skins or in section names. :17denial

Did you save the layout (replacing the current layout) after you did the standard installation?

From the look of Rainmeter.ini in that layout folder, I do not think you saved a new layout; it is missing the basic Rainmeter installation information and the skin information is a jumbled mess due to the brackets in your skin names. All the settings for a skin are normally in one section, but due to you using brackets in the skin name, each skin option is in a separate section!

A normal Rainmeter.ini looks like this:bracketlessnames.png

Your layout Rainmeter.ini looks like this:
bracketnames.png

Avoid using spaces and any non-alphanumeric characters as skin folder names, skin names, section names, etc.; it is only going to create this needless confusion for you. This may help you: Anatomy of a Skin

After you remove all of those characters from your skins, try uploading a new package with a new layout.

EDIT: Just rename your main folder to from 'Skin [Second]' to 'Skin' and 'Refresh All' in the Manage dialog. If you do that, your skins will reload when Rainmeter restarts.
Uhhhhhhhhh............ I changed the name of the skin folder to "Skin". and .. it worked....... i cant believe that was the part that was wrong ... it was a super super simple part....
Anyway, it is fixed now... it loads when rainmeter starts... btw my apology for wasting this much time of u guys just for this extremely simple mistake.... Thanks for helping me out :) :) :17good
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eclectic-tech
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by eclectic-tech »

Glad to help. :great:

Hopefully the Dev Team can work towards getting Rainmeter more Unicode friendly when it comes to skin folder names, but for now, if you stick with alphanumeric characters for those you shouldn't have issues.
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jsmorley
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by jsmorley »

This should be corrected for the next beta. Rainmeter.ini will be encoded as UTF-16 LE when created on a new Rainmeter installation. In order to address upgrade installs for existing users, it is our intent to have Rainmeter check the encoding of Rainmeter.ini on each start of Rainmeter and / or Refresh All, and change the encoding to UTF-16 LE if needed. This should allow for Unicode characters anywhere in the path to skins. Existing saved Layouts, or Layouts loaded from a downloaded .rmskin, will be converted if needed when they are loaded and become the active Rainmeter.ini. Layouts will of course be UTF-16 LE when they are created or re-saved.

It should be noted that this is going to have a minor backwards compatibility issue that we can't avoid. If you are using WebParser to "read" Rainmeter.ini, perhaps to check the "Active" status of a config, you will have to add CodePage=1200 to the parent WebParser measure to properly read the UTF-16 LE encoded file. If you are using Lua to read the file, you just won't be able to. You will have to read the entire file in with WebParser, and pass the result to Lua in order to do whatever value-added stuff you want.

If you are doing either of these things in a skin today, now might be the time to address this in anticipation of the next beta, and a likely final release in the near future.

One other note based on this conversation, you will NEVER be able to use [SomeText] with brackets in the path to Rainmeter skins. The [SomeText] construct is just fraught with meaning in Rainmeter, not the least in Rainmeter.ini, and it can only lead to tears. Never, ever use that.

As a general rule, the paths under ..Rainmeter\Skins that comprise the "config name" of a skin should just use alphabetic/numeric characters in any language, no spaces, and no punctuation or symbols. I actually sometimes use symbols like @ or ! at the beginning of a config name folder to either make them stand out in my long list of skins, or to impact how they are sorted, and that is ok, but do be careful. Characters like spaces, or # or [] or () in a config name can cause head-scratching when the config name is referenced in code.
1.png
The @ character makes my "working / testing" config I use all the time sort to the top.
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balala
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by balala »

jsmorley wrote:This should be corrected for the next beta. Rainmeter.ini will be encoded as UTF-16 LE when created on a new Rainmeter installation. In order to address upgrade installs for existing users, it is our intent to have Rainmeter check the encoding of Rainmeter.ini on each start of Rainmeter and / or Refresh All, and change the encoding to UTF-16 LE if needed. This should allow for Unicode characters anywhere in the path to skins. Existing saved Layouts will be converted if needed when they are loaded and become the active Rainmeter.ini. They will of course be UTF-16 LE when they are created or re-saved.

It should be noted that this is going to have a minor backwards compatibility issue that we can't avoid. If you are using WebParser to "read" Rainmeter.ini, perhaps to check the "Active" status of a config, you will have to add CodePage=1200 to the parent WebParser measure to properly read the UTF-16 LE encoded file. If you are using Lua to read the file, you just won't be able to. You will have to read the entire file in with WebParser, and pass the result to Lua in order to do whatever value-added stuff you want.
And will the ActiveConfig plugin work? I hope so...
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jsmorley
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by jsmorley »

balala wrote:And will the ActiveConfig plugin work? I hope so...
Yes, that is really the preferred way to check the "active" status of a config in any case, as "reading" Rainmeter.ini is kinda brute force, and "expensive" if you are constantly checking. The plugin does not work by reading Rainmeter.ini in any way, and won't be effected by this change.
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balala
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Re: Custom Skins doesn't work with layout

Post by balala »

jsmorley wrote:The plugin does not work by reading Rainmeter.ini in any way, and won't be effected by this change.
Ok, good point, thanks. :thumbup:
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