WMP12 Skin Modification

[u01jmg3]

http://platziii.deviantart.com/art/Minimal-WMP-210114267

Hi, I'm trying to modify this Minimal WMP skin and therefore have a few questions.

1. The output of the Track and Artist comes from RegValues; if these values don't exist, the text that comes out is '0'. How do I change this to a dash ('-')? I've tried using RegExpSubstitute but it doesn't work although Substitute does.

2. Attached is a screenshot of WMP12 which has a bar visualisation as music plays. Can this be reproduced in RM as an animation? Are there any skins out there which have something similar? It doesn't have to react to the music but could just be an animation.

3. All my music is BPM scanned so they hold an ID3 tag for BPM. Is there anyway to access this tag using this skin? I know it uses the SongSignature plugin but it doesn't look like this can read custom tags..?

4. Currently, to use this skin, I have to leave WMP12 open including its GUI; is there anyway to run WMP12 as a background process so I can just use this skin standalone?

5. How do I create dynamic text for Play and Pause so that the control symbols change depending on whether a song is playing or paused; I know this can be done using the NowPlaying.dll but this skin uses the SongSignature plugin.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm new to RM as you may have guessed. Thanks.

-Jonny

[smurfier]

• First off, I've converted the skins to use NowPlaying. I also (believe) I've resolved issues 1 and 5.
• Yes, WMP must be running.
• Rainmeter can play an animation, it's just not very good at it. For that take a look at this.
• If the tag is not read by WMP then Rainmeter cannot read the tag.

Revised skins code:

Without Buttons:

Code: Select all

[Rainmeter]
DynamicWindowSize=1

;Measures

[NowPlaying]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=Plugins/NowPlaying.dll
PlayerName=WMP
PlayerType=Status
IfEqualValue=0
IfEqualAction=!Execute [!ShowMeter NA][!HideMeterGroup Meta]
IfAboveValue=0
IfAboveAction=!Execute [!HideMeter NA][!ShowMeterGroup Meta]

[mTrack]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=Plugins/NowPlaying.dll
PlayerName=[NowPlaying]
PlayerType=Title
Substitute="":"-"

[mArtist]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=Plugins/NowPlaying.dll
PlayerName=[NowPlaying]
PlayerType=Artist

;Meters

[Style]
FontFace=Calibri
FontSize=8
StringStyle=BOLD
FontColor=255,255,255,230
StringEffect=Shadow
FontEffectColor=0,0,0,50
AntiAlias=1
Group=Meta

[NA]
MeterStyle=Style
Meter=STRING
X=0
Y=0
Text="You are not listening music"
AntiAlias=1
Hidden=1
Group=None

[Track]
MeterStyle=Style
Meter=STRING
MeasureName=mTrack
X=0
Y=-2
AntiAlias=1

[Artist]
MeterStyle=Style
Meter=STRING
MeasureName=mArtist
X=0
Y=23r
AntiAlias=1

With Buttons:

Code: Select all

[Rainmeter]
DynamicWindowSize=1

;Measures

[NowPlaying]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=Plugins/NowPlaying.dll
PlayerName=WMP
PlayerType=Status
IfEqualValue=0
IfEqualAction=!Execute [!ShowMeter NA][!HideMeterGroup Buttons]
IfAboveValue=0
IfAboveAction=!Execute [!HideMeter NA][!ShowMeterGroup Buttons]

[State]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=Plugins/NowPlaying.dll
PlayerName=[NowPlaying]
PlayerType=State
Substitute="0":"Play","1":"Pause","2":"Play"

[mTrack]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=Plugins/NowPlaying.dll
PlayerName=[NowPlaying]
PlayerType=Title
Substitute="":"-"

[mArtist]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=Plugins/NowPlaying.dll
PlayerName=[NowPlaying]
PlayerType=Artist

;Meters

[Style]
FontFace=Calibri
FontSize=8
StringStyle=BOLD
FontColor=255,255,255,230
StringEffect=Shadow
FontEffectColor=0,0,0,50
AntiAlias=1
Group=Buttons

[NA]
MeterStyle=Style
Meter=STRING
X=0
Y=0
Text="You are not listening music"
AntiAlias=1
Group=None
Hidden=1

[Track]
MeterStyle=Style
Meter=STRING
MeasureName=mTrack
X=0
Y=-2
AntiAlias=1
FontSize=9

[Artist]
MeterStyle=Style
Meter=STRING
MeasureName=mArtist
X=0
Y=15
AntiAlias=1

[Prev]
Meter=Image
ImageName=images/Prev.png
X=0
Y=30
AntiAlias=1
MouseActionCursor=1
LeftMouseUpAction=!CommandMeasure "NowPlaying" "Previous"

[Play]
Meter=Image
ImageName=images/[State].png
X=15
Y=30
AntiAlias=1
LeftMouseUpAction=!CommandMeasure "NowPlaying" "PlayPause"

[Next]
Meter=Image
ImageName=images/Next.png
X=30
Y=30
AntiAlias=1
MouseActionCursor=1
LeftMouseUpAction=!CommandMeasure "NowPlaying" "Next"

[u01jmg3]

Thanks smurfier for your quick reply.

1. The NowPlaying.dll doesn't seem to work for me although it is in the plugins directory of my Rainmeter (2.1) installation. I tried the code you've given below but it doesn't work - the controls do nothing and neither the artist nor track information is displayed. Has the SongSignature.exe been superseded by the NowPlaying.dll? Do I need to grant permission to the dll in order for it to work (on Windows 7)? With the exe I can control it as a plugin in WMP12.

2. Sometimes though, I've closed the GUI of WMP12 but the process (wmplayer.exe) remains open as a background process. I guess this is just by chance and cannot be controlled?

3. Thanks for the idea, I'll create an animated GIF to do this.

4. The tag is there but WMP12 cannot read it so I guess this is a dead end.

[smurfier]

Try changing the PlayerName in the NowPlaying measure to WLM.

[u01jmg3]

Hi smurfier,

The controls now work but no Artist or Track information is displayed - see the attached screenshot of the error log. Also, when I press Play, the control symbol doesn't dynamically change to the Pause symbol.

Thanks.

[smurfier]

I updated the skin codes above. One small typo and I tried something different with the PlayPause button.

[u01jmg3]

No more errors but still no track/artist info (just always a dash) and no dynamic play/pause text. However, prev/play/next all work.

http://rainmeter.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7972

Would something like that work for dynamic play/pause?

Thanks.

[smurfier]

I fired up Windows Media Player and everything works perfect for me with PlayerName=WMP.

We may have to wait for a developer to weigh in on why it isn't working for you.

[u01jmg3]

Okay, thanks for your help so far smurfier.

The only way the controls even work for me is if I use PlayerName=WLM

I'm using Rainmeter 2.1 with Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 7 x64.

Curious to see what the developers suggest...

[smurfier]

If there is an uninstall for that plugin you installed for the old version, uninstall it and try PlayerName=WMP again.