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Good Skin to Start Learning in 2018

Get help with creating, editing & fixing problems with skins
Fluxtopia
Posts: 2
Joined: August 3rd, 2018, 5:31 pm

Good Skin to Start Learning in 2018

Post by Fluxtopia »

Hello, I just installed Rainmeter & I'm very excited to start learning how to use it, but I'm very confused.

I went over to Deviant Art & found some nice looking work, which is helpful for getting started but so far I can't figure anything out. It is hard to find an interface, only a list of code, and when I open an Edit Settings dialog there is a disclaimer on top "Don't edit this unless you really know what you're doing!". So I can see there is a culture that encourages you to create your own and edit your own skins, but then on the flip side, there's this message "but only if you already know what you are doing...".

Well I don't know what I'm doing & I'm just trying to figure out how to use the application. For me, sifting through a long list of code isn't a good place to start, as I know a little Java and C programming but not anything specific to Raintree.

What I am having trouble understanding is how do I set up from where a widget takes its data: if I want to use my YouTube username and click on a list of playlists in a widget instead of using WinAmp, how do I set that up? If I want to add a widget that shows recent emails, a google calendar, or specific application or folder shortcuts, where do I start? More complex ideas I had were to have a widget that searched a specific site and made a list of most recently added search results, so that it would update when new material was posted. So if I wanted to see when new jobs are posted or if new blog posts or videos are added, it would show up on a widget.

So, since the skin I chose isn't so great for a beginner to learn & edit, could someone point me to one that is? Any additional resources are appreciated :D (specific tutorials or guided instructions are preferred so I don't spend to much time wandering aimlessly searching for answers).

Editing the graphics is something I would like to learn eventually, and I have a good background in digital media to begin to learn that, but really I just want to add functionality and organization to my desktop.

Thanks in advance for your response!
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jsmorley
Developer
Posts: 22628
Joined: April 19th, 2009, 11:02 pm
Location: Fort Hunt, Virginia, USA

Re: Good Skin to Start Learning in 2018

Post by jsmorley »

Fluxtopia
Posts: 2
Joined: August 3rd, 2018, 5:31 pm

Re: Good Skin to Start Learning in 2018

Post by Fluxtopia »

Hi thanks jsmorley!

Could you please recommend a starter skin to download with a few customizable options? I haven't had much luck trying out skins I found with clear variables that they intend for you to customize.

I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate.

Thank you!
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FreeRaider
Posts: 826
Joined: November 20th, 2012, 11:58 pm

Re: Good Skin to Start Learning in 2018

Post by FreeRaider »

I think that Illustro (which is installed with Rainmeter) is the best starter skin for making customizations.