Some Plugins Converted to Measures

[balala]

Note that as we move forward converting other plugins to measures, I will only be documenting the change(s) when the change hits the "release" version of Rainmeter. I won't be documenting this, and we shouldn't push it, during the "beta" stages, as that will indeed cause heartburn and confusion.

Agree...

[jsmorley]

I have made similar changes to NowPlaying, which has also been converted from a plugin to a measure.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/measures/nowplaying/

Existing links on the forums or other places will redirect to the correct page.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/plugins/nowplaying/#NotAPlugin

[balala]

I have made similar changes to NowPlaying, which has also been converted from a plugin to a measure.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/measures/nowplaying/

Existing links on the forums or other places will redirect to the correct page.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/plugins/nowplaying/#NotAPlugin

[jsmorley]

I have made similar changes to RecycleManager, which has also been converted from a plugin to a measure.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/measures/recyclemanager

Existing links on the forums or other places will redirect to the correct page.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/plugins/recyclemanager/#NotAPlugin

[jsmorley]

I have made similar changes to MediaKey, which has also been converted from a plugin to a measure.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/measures/mediakey

Existing links on the forums or other places will redirect to the correct page.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/plugins/mediakey/#NotAPlugin

[jsmorley]

And that's all of them for now.

Last reminder... I hope we don't make too big a deal out of this on existing skins when we are helping on the forums.

While the correct syntax is now Measure=Whatever, and I'm fine with encouraging that, particularly with new skins, make no mistake. The old syntax works equally well, and there is no difference in performance or functionality. The change that actually improves performance is entirely internal. Converting these plugins to measures does have a small but real improvement to efficiency. However, the efficiency is gained by how the measure is "executed" in code, not in how it is "defined" in the skin.

In effect, there is a routine that reads the skin .ini when it is loaded or refreshed, and it is basically saying:

If (Measure = "WebParser") or (Measure = "Plugin" and Plugin = "WebParser") then call the routines that execute the WebParser measure. The same measure routines are executed no matter which syntax you use.

Still, it is a good thing to have what folks use comport with what is in the documentation, that has to avoid confusion. So by all means let's gently encourage the new use.


P.S. RecycleManager has been converted from a plugin to a measure in recent versions of Rainmeter.
https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual/measures/recyclemanager/#NotAPlugin

[CyberTheWorm]

Good job guys, I just tried this and it's not hard to change an existing skin while removing 1 line of code per Measure so in total I removed 6 lines on a simple skin.

[jsmorley]

Good job guys, I just tried this and it's not hard to change an existing skin while removing 1 line of code per Measure so in total I removed 6 lines on a simple skin.

If you use Notepad++, there is a way to do it in one go...

Under "Search", select "Find in files"

1.jpg

Find what: Measure=Plugin\r\nPlugin=WebParser\r\n
Replace with: Measure=WebParser\r\n
Filters: *.ini
Directory: C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Rainmeter\Skins

Select "In all sub-folders" and "Extended"
Click "Replace in Files"

Result:

2.jpg

Yes, I have a lot of skins...

[eclectic-tech]

2018-02-08 23_17_56-Find in Files.png

I think I need to take some time and clean up my skins folder ...

[jsmorley]

I think I need to take some time and clean up my skins folder ...

LOL... You win!