Im confused can i have some clarification please

[Xander]

Okay, Hey guys, So i found Rainmeter maybe 2 or 3 days ago now... and i have a couple of questions as to what it is, how it works - now I'm sure most (if not all) my questions have been answered before, and if they have please feel free to link them, answer them again or guide me as to where i can find... Please don't shout me down for asking somethings and being curious...
So with out further ado here are my questions:
1) Does Rainmeter replace my Windows desktop, So all my current icons and links as well as my background images -- are they wiped off ?? deleted or is it an overlay ???
2) What are the better/and or worse things of Rainmeter -- is that skin based or is that personal opinion??
3) What are skins, how do they work??
4)if for some reason i want to access my normal desktop can i??
5) If i uninstall Rainmeter is my desktop rendered to default or does it stay the same???

Thanks for your time in advance hope to hear from you soon...
Xander

[balala]

Welcome to this really great app and to this forum. A great community is present here, trying to help you when you need.
The answers to your questions:
1) https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?p=89343#p89343
2) I think it's a personal option. There's no quick answer to this question. If you'll have the curiosity to work with Rainmeter (be careful, if you'll working with it, you can become addicted), creating skins, you'll find out what you like and what you dislike on it.
3) https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/skins/
4) You desktop is totally accessible, Rainmeter don't disable / close / remove it, in fact it is a "desktop customization tool".
5) The skins will disappear (they being removed, or at least closed), but nothing else will happened.
Feel free anytime to come back with questions or comments.
Welcome, once again.

[NighthawkSLO]

1) Does Rainmeter replace my Windows desktop, So all my current icons and links as well as my background images -- are they wiped off ?? deleted or is it an overlay ???

Rainmeter is an overlay, when you install it you keep the background and all the icons.

2) What are the better/and or worse things of Rainmeter -- is that skin based or is that personal opinion??

It gives a lot of options and is quite popular, so if you want to just make yourself a rainmeter desktop using skins others have created you won't run out of content. The bad thing would be that if you want some really fancy moving skins rainmeter doesn't really have great animation support - but that's only bad for those who would really want that stuff.

3) What are skins, how do they work??

Skins are the widgets made with rainmeter

4) if for some reason i want to access my normal desktop can i??

Skins can be loaded and unloaded at will so you can view desktop if you want.

5) If i uninstall Rainmeter is my desktop rendered to default or does it stay the same???

Rainmeter must run in the background for the skins to show up. Uninstalling or just exiting it will remove all the skins.

[Xander]

Hey guys thanks for answering - Balala that doc / post link really helped.
i only have one new questions which is:
Why are all these skins i see online (like DevArt) all got backgrounds seemingly part of the *Rainmeter* part of it???

Thanks Xander

ohh and which version do i want to download???

[eclectic-tech]

Why are all these skins i see online (like DevArt) all got backgrounds seemingly part of the *Rainmeter* part of it???

Most of the time the backgrounds are NOT part of the skin. They increase the size of the file and most authors do not include them in the skin, but may provide a link in the description. If they don't just ask the author if they can supply a link to the image.

ohh and which version do i want to download???

You always want to load the latest version; that will support the latest improvements (and corrections) to Rainmeter.

[Xander]

even if its beta??

[Xander]

So anyone got any skins to recommend???

[fonpaolo]

Well... since most of the members of this forum are also skins creators, there may be a conflict of interests.

Here's the official page where you can start, find and download almost everything: http://rainmeter.deviantart.com/gallery/23941137/Skins

[Xander]

Okay
I found a skin
however i cant equip/use/activate it, i clicked on the skin installer and it wont change from defualt
Please explain thanks

Xander
PS: thanks for bearing with me guys

[eclectic-tech]

Okay
I found a skin
however i cant equip/use/activate it, i clicked on the skin installer and it wont change from defualt
Please explain thanks

Xander
PS: thanks for bearing with me guys

Did the installer finish and close without any error?

If so, many skin installs do not automatically load the skins.

Click on the Rainmeter icon in the notification are a of the taskbar to open the Rainmeter Manage dialog window.

AccessRainmeterINI.png

This is where you can manage your installed skins.
Scroll through the list on the left to find the skin you installed. Open the folder list and click on the somefile.ini file name, then click the 'Load' button to the upper right. The skin will appear in the upper left corner of your screen. You can move it to where you want it on your screen by holding down the left mouse button over the skin and dragging it to the new location.

Rainmeter will remember which skins you loaded and where they are placed.