How to install skins for all users

[Micker]

So, I'm an administrator on a few computers and I wish to install a standard skin for all users. I want to install it for all existing and not-yet existing users (I'm on windows 10, and new people get accounts by logging in via our organisations e-mail adress). However, usually a skin is only installed for the current user. How can I install this for all users?

[CyberTheWorm]

Rainmeter has a portable install available that you could put in a public accessible area, but then any change by 1 users would effect everyone

[jsmorley]

The %APPDATA% folder where Rainmeter.ini and other general files related to Rainmeter MUST be in a "writable" location for the local user running Rainmeter. This will be true with a "portable" install as well, which will not work well with multiple users. Any change they make, moving a skin, loading or unloading a skin, changing options like "Keep on screen" etc. would impact ALL users. That won't work.

The skins on the other hand, can be in any folder, one you might share between users. You simply have to change the SkinPath option in the [Rainmeter] section of Rainmeter.ini for each and every user, to the new desired path for the skins. This folder doesn't have to be writable by any of the users.

I caution that Rainmeter is not designed, on purpose, to be "locked down" and used in a shared, corporate environment. Any user can, and must be able to, change that SkinPath option right back to whatever they want, and can load or unload any skin in the Skins folder. You simply can't lock down Rainmeter for a particular user. You can't ever enforce that any particular skin be run for instance.

Just my personal view, but any System Admin in a company that even ALLOWED Rainmeter to be installed on company computers should be frog-marched out by security, clutching their cardboard box with their pitiful personal possessions.





Rainmeter is by design not "secure" enough to be used in that environment.

[TheGingaNinja]

I am also in a similar situation. I have a File path pointing to Program Files/Rainmeter that I want ALL new users to point to. My root user is already pointing there, but when a new user is created on the system it will create a new path in Documents by default... I can't have the new users manually change this. They will have the computer experience of a 3 year old. I need it to be already pointing to where I want it to be.

So the main thing I am looking for is a way to make the Skin Path be in Program Files and to not make a new path for new users when they are created in their respective Documents folder.

[balala]

So the main thing I am looking for is a way to make the Skin Path be in Program Files and to not make a new path for new users when they are created in their respective Documents folder.

Although I'm not sure this is a good idea, you can right click Rainmeter icon in the notification area and click Edit settings. Modify the SkinPath variable in the [Rainmeter] section, using the desired path.
Then (important) completely restart Rainmeter, not just refresh all.

[TheGingaNinja]

balala, I found that solution to work for the current user only. Is there any way for all new users to also default to this location? I'm assuming that if I sysprep it may keep that setting for new users and work, but Windows 10 v1803 is super buggy and I cannot get sysprep to activate correctly. So it seems I am out of luck...

[balala]

balala, I found that solution to work for the current user only. Is there any way for all new users to also default to this location? I'm assuming that if I sysprep it may keep that setting for new users and work, but Windows 10 v1803 is super buggy and I cannot get sysprep to activate correctly. So it seems I am out of luck...

Sorry, it seems I made a mistake. No solution yet, but probably jsmorley or someone else will give one.
Sorry again...