HWiNFO | Resizable Gauges 4.1 [Important Bug Fixes]

[Ryanw91]

Just to let everyone know that the "Gauges not updating automatically (staying grey) on startup" problem has been solved and the fix will be included on the next update.

I tried first using a process measure to know when HWiNFO was running or not, but it didn't solve the problem since HWiNFO takes around 10 to 20 seconds after launch to report the values to "gadget" so it was more tricky to let know rainmeter when to actually disable the measures automatically or not, so I decided to take that functionality out, now measures won't be disabled automatically anymore.

The only way measures will be disabled is when there's no sensor value entered manually (Sensor's Index Value <= -1). This applies to the main Gauge Sensor and all 6 list's sensors. However, List Sensor Measures will be disabled automatically when the list is closed, and will only enable those that have an Index Value set when the list is open.

With this fix, now the gauges should automatically read the values around 5 seconds (Default UpdateRate) after HWiNFO is fully running on startup, so it could take around 30 seconds in total for the gauges to display the values after startup (This is due to how HWiNFO starts up).

I noticed this problem more frequently after I moved to Windows 11, so it could either be Windows 11 or a recent HWiNFO update that makes it to take more time to run than usual.

I also tackled the "Gauges being grey when State = 0 but the actual gauge value is not 0" problem. Now gauges will only be grey when either there's no sensor active (Gauge Sensor Index Value <= -1) or HWiNFO is not running (No Gauge Sensor Value is being reported to gadget).

I'm also working on making gauges fully colorable (through Themes making), all the functionality is already done on the code side, but I still have to make some sort of UI to actually change the colors. These changes would act as a Theme which would change not only the Gauge's color but the whole UI.

It will be some sort of simple Theme Making skin, similar to the Gauge Creator. Where you can select 1 or 2 colors and it would automatically create a Theme based on those colors.
Captura de pantalla 2024-07-22 223514.png

Gauge gradient colors can still be modified through HSLiders as normal.
Captura de pantalla 2024-07-22 223444.png

Hey, is this update released yet?

[RicardoTM]

Hey, is this update released yet?

Noup, not yet. I haven't had much time to make the UI for the Theme Creator. I'm even thinking of making it independent from gauge colors, so you can have gauges on different colors instead of everything following the same theme. I'm still thinking about it, I'll start when I have it clear and have time to make it real.

Since that will take some time I might leave that for later and release a version only with the fixes mentioned on my previous post. Not sure yet.

Are you interested in something in particular?

[RicardoTM]

Resizable Gauges 4.1 - Important Bug Fixes

Version 4.1 - Seventh Update

• Now Gauges will update automatically on system startup
• Now gauges won't turn grey when sensor value is 0 or below
• Now gauges will turn grey only if the main gauge index value is <= -1 or HWiNFO is not running.

Well, as I mentioned earlier, this new update is all about fixing important stuff. New packages can be found on the main post.

You'll notice there's now 2 packages, one called "Full skin" and the other "Patch Only". If you are a new user or are updating from version 3.5.1 or below, please install the "Full skin" version. For anyone else updating from version 4.0, you can simply install the "Patch Only" version, this will ensure none of your custom created gauges and their settings are lost.

Anyway, on this update I've fixed the main problems you mentioned, the first being the gauges not updating automatically on system startup, now they will update automatically 5 seconds (the default update rate) after HWiNFO is fully launched.

Someone also mentioned a problem that when the gauge sensor value is normally 0 or some low value, the gauges would appear to "flicker" between grey and some font color. Now gauges won't turn grey if the gauge sensor value is low or 0, they will only turn grey if the gauge sensor index value is <= -1 (On settings skin) or HWiNFO is not running. Both mean there's no sensor data being read at all (since a negative index value is not possible). So if the gauges are grey, check if 1) HWiNFO is running 2) You properly assigned an index value on the settings skin.

To "Disable" a sensor, just leave the index value empty and hit enter, this will make it "-1", or manually type -1. When you disable the main sensor (called "Gauge Sensor") the gauge will turn grey. When sensors are disabled their measures are also disabled, this is to save system resources. All list sensors are automatically disabled when the list is closed, when it is open only those sensors with an index value assigned will be automatically enabled.

Remember you can adjust the list height by dragging it from the bottom when you are not using all 6 sensors on the list.

That's it for today's update. I know there's any new feature on this update but I'm still busy with life, hopefully I can finish the new colorable gauges and themes in the near future, also if you have any new feature in mind you'd like to see on a future update please don't hesitate to share it.

[Nephi]

Hi Ricardo,
have you ever thought about adding other elements to this?
I know that the main purpose is the gauges, but maybe bars would also be possible and not too different in coding (just a guess)?
Would be a pleasant variation to build the look of a monitoring panel.

[Yincognito]

I know that the main purpose is the gauges, but maybe bars would also be possible and not too different in coding (just a guess)?

Generally speaking and as you probably guessed already, most if not all skins come with their own "visual style", e.g. bars, gauges, lines, histograms, etc. Me, I never saw (yet) skins being able to "switch" to a different "visual style" and in the same skin, though it's definitely possible via hiding the "old style" meter(s) and showing the "new style" ones (since the Meter type option is not dynamic in nature, to allow it to be changed during the time a skin is loaded).

That being said, the issue in such a case would be that all these different types of meters presumably showing the same data would need their positions and dimensions being designed in such a way that they "match" and are consistent from a visual perspective (e.g. in the case you mentioned, the bars being centered at the same position as the gauges would, and largely have the same length as the gauge's diameter, so that they seamlessly appear in the same place and with more or less the same size). In other words, skins tyring to do this would most likely have to be designed from the start with that "switching meter" features in mind. I don't know about Ricardo, but I did think of such an "universal" type of skin once or twice, but yeah, the implementation would have to take those visual consistency things into account. Either that, or creating new skins with that different aspect, which would need about the same amount of work.

[RicardoTM]

Hi Ricardo,
have you ever thought about adding other elements to this?
I know that the main purpose is the gauges, but maybe bars would also be possible and not too different in coding (just a guess)?
Would be a pleasant variation to build the look of a monitoring panel.

Hey Nephi, as Yincognito already mentioned, that would require a certain amount of work.

However, the way I've designed the skin actually makes it possible since I'm already adapting the meter's position and size to each gauge design manually.

In theory it should be possible to create a bar "gauge", the main problem I can think of right know is that I would have to create a new set of state images for it as well as the bar designs, and of course add the coding to automatically assign those new state images when the bar designs are selected.
I'm mentioning images because the gauges are images, bars are certainly easy to make using meters but it would be easier to adapt if I use images instead, although this would make the skin bigger in size.

Another important thing to consider is, as Yincognito mentioned, the difference in dimmensions. The gauges are 300x300 and the bars would require to be rectangles instead of squares, which can make it difficult to achive a seamless transition when switching from the gauges to the bars and viceversa.

I have actually considered this in the past and it's possible, it just requires some work and I don't really have the time right now. Maybe after I release the colorable gauges, the themes creator and I feel there's no more important features to add I can spend some time experimenting on this, I also want to add more gauge designs as well.

Thank you for bringing this to the table, I might do a quick experiment on this over the weekend.

[Nephi]

Thanks for your answers!

I am sorry but I have only used this skin so far, therefore I don't really know how all of this works.
I did not even think about switching the style of an element like from gauge to bar, I just assumed that you can have different elements in a skin.
If that is not the case then it would maybe be easier to create a new skin for bars in the same style as the gauges?

And if it is too much work then no worries, I appreaciate all the work you already put into this project.
It was just an idea that came to my mind and the gauges are displaying everything I need perfectly fine.

[Yincognito]

I am sorry but I have only used this skin so far, therefore I don't really know how all of this works.
I did not even think about switching the style of an element like from gauge to bar, I just assumed that you can have different elements in a skin.

No need to feel sorry for it, questions and ideas are always welcomed here, and it's perfectly normal to be unfamiliar with how things work in the beginning. I think the main point both me and Ricardo tried to make was that, while you can have different elements in a skin, the skin design (which was built on the premise that only circular gauges will be used) would have to be adapted to allow other elements to be used when displaying stuff, and make it seamlessly in terms of visuals. Let's see what Ricardo has to say when / if he gets some time to try your suggestions this weekend.

P.S. Creating simple skins using bars as visual elements is quite easy actually, but then Ricardo's Gauges have many nice features that are a bit more advanced to implement - and that's the beauty of them. If it only was about a bar and some colors for a simple skin, it would be a matter of minutes to do it (and you could do it as well without too much effort).