My First Skin Help

[Yincognito]

After repeated attempts, no progress.

If you're talking about the main section order earlier, this should have worked. For me, it did, as I illustrated above - not sure what you're doing wrong there.

I will guess and say one or more of the mouse actions in the meter section require alteration?

Exactly. Very easy to do.

Possible to make the animation continuous, even/along with mouse hover/scroll?

If I understood correctly what you want, yes, by commenting out or removing the mouse over/leave actions from [FontChooser]:

Code: Select all

;MouseOverAction=[!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 1"][!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 2"][!CommandMeasure Slider "Execute 1"]
;MouseLeaveAction=[!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 1"][!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 2"][!SetVariable Index 1][!UpdateMeasure Slider][!UpdateMeter *][!Redraw]

Mouse hover's "on demand" animation makes no sense to exist in this case, since it's basically just a "one time" version of the continuous one (it's actually the reverse, but you get the idea).

Alternate - continuous, stops at mouse hover for scrolling, resumes after mouse moveaway acceptable if easier mod

In the same meter:

Code: Select all

MouseOverAction=[!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 1"][!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 2"]
MouseLeaveAction=[!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 1"][!CommandMeasure Slider "Stop 2"][!CommandMeasure Slider "Execute 2"]

Stops both animations (1 = the one time one; 2 = the continuous one) on hover; also stops both (just for safety) and triggers the 2nd (aka the continuous one) on leave. The "resume" effect (as oposed to the "start over" one) is achieved because the index / frame number isn't reset to 1 anymore, basically continuing its iteration from the value it had when the animation was stopped in mouse over previously.

[MourningStar]

Exactly. Very easy to do.

Kool, you reply before I edit it. -thx

The reason I removed the above post content is because I noticed 2 animation images I added that runs continuously (until I put the mouse on it then it stops at the first frame) and I cannot figure out why none of the others do. When I noticed this I decided to look further into it. I still don't know why these 2 do and the others don't. I will continue looking at code with your input above. thank you.

[Yincognito]

Kool, you reply before I edit it. -thx

Yeah, well, I usually reply as soon as I see the post (which happens quickly if I'm online and free) and I write the reply (this takes longer for me, LOL). The fact that I delayed some things in the thread was out of character, so to speak, because I was trying to do other things as well in the meantime. This reply fit both conditions above, hence the speed.

The reason I removed the above post content is because I noticed 2 animation images I added that runs continuously (until I put the mouse on it then it stops at the first frame) and I cannot figure out why none of the others do. When I noticed this I decided to look further into it. I still don't know why these 2 do and the others don't. I will continue looking at code with your input above. thank you.

Adding animations to your skin is not as straightforward as copy pasting the meter and changing the image name, especially if the other animations have different parameters (e.g. different number of frames, etc) and you don't want them to act "in unison". Generally, the simplest way to do it is to create not only different image meters for them, but also different "slider measures" as well, obviously tailored for the new animation and its parameters, and of course adding the necessary "stop N" and "execute N" bangs on that new measure in the desired places/meters. Sure, you can save code and put everything in one "slider measure", but you'd have to create additional suited ActionList options and Action options in that measure and again adding the corresponding "stop N" and "execute N" bangs on the measure in the desired places/meters. It's more or less the same idea as for a single animation, with just the "values" being used being adapted for the new case. Not complicated at all, but involving all the "actors" in the animation instead of a single one of them.

I suspect the effect you saw is because using the same index for all animations (which probably happens if you only dealt with the additional "animation images", aka the new meters) would make the animations having less frames than the max of that index stop, when the current index goes past their number of frames.

[MourningStar]

Yeah, well, I usually reply as soon as I see the post ...

This is helpful and am hopeful I can move forward. Thank you.

[Yincognito]

This is helpful and am hopeful I can move forward. Thank you.

Good luck - just take care not to overwhelm Rainmeter with !Redraw-s. If you want the animations to happen somewhat simultaneously, try to make it so that you have a single !Redraw after all the relevant index incrementing or any other updates are handled.

[MourningStar]

Good luck - just take care not to overwhelm Rainmeter with !Redraw-s. If you want the animations to happen somewhat simultaneously, try to make it so that you have a single !Redraw after all the relevant index incrementing or any other updates are handled.

I think my next skin mods will address this concern. First, I have two questions :

1. This skin folder is named 'BasicDualTemperature'. The inc file is also this name with the extension '.inc'. Is this mandatory?

2. The first skin r-clik menu has a 'More Actions >>' option and cliking displays a second menu. This is, I believe, the first skin menu on all my other skins and is likely the default/main menu. Anyways this has an option titled 'Variants'. This maybe a stupid idea/question, but can it (Variants) be located in the first menu of this skin?

-thx

[death.crafter]

1. This skin folder is named 'BasicDualTemperature'. The inc file is also this name with the extension '.inc'. Is this mandatory?

You can name inc files whatever the hell you want. And they don't even have to be inc particularly. You can make a file FileName.ghjkdkajd for all Rainmeter cares. It just need to contain relevant text content.

2. The first skin r-clik menu has a 'More Actions >>' option and cliking displays a second menu. This is, I believe, the first skin menu on all my other skins and is likely the default/main menu. Anyways this has an option titled 'Variants'. This maybe a stupid idea/question, but can it (Variants) be located in the first menu of this skin?

Depends on how context items are written.

https://docs.rainmeter.net/manual-beta/skins/rainmeter-section/#Context

[Yincognito]

I think my next skin mods will address this concern. First, I have two questions :

1. This skin folder is named 'BasicDualTemperature'. The inc file is also this name with the extension '.inc'. Is this mandatory?

2. The first skin r-clik menu has a 'More Actions >>' option and cliking displays a second menu. This is, I believe, the first skin menu on all my other skins and is likely the default/main menu. Anyways this has an option titled 'Variants'. This maybe a stupid idea/question, but can it (Variants) be located in the first menu of this skin?

-thx

1. No, it's not, just like death.crafter said as well. However, I doubt that your INC file has 'BasicDualTemperature' in its name, it's probably 'Variables.inc' in @Resources. You probably meant 'BasicDualTemperature.INI'.
2. While you could include either 'Variants' or the hardcoded names of those skin variants in your custom (i.e. 1st, in your case) menu, there isn't a way that I know of to "scan" for the actual variant files in order to display a dynamic list of such files there. It's possible that it could be done through some PowerShell RunCommand measure that back-references the custom menu, but I'm not sure the cost/benefit is worthing on this one. I have a skin of my own where I sort of simulated "variants" of the code (NOT of the skin, by the way), like this:

CodeVariants.jpg

[MourningStar]

... You probably meant 'BasicDualTemperature.INI'.

I did, sorry.

2. While you could include either 'Variants' or the hardcoded names of those skin variants in your custom (i.e. 1st, in your case) menu, there isn't a way that I know of to "scan" for the actual variant files in order to display a dynamic list of such files there. It's possible that it could be done through some PowerShell RunCommand measure that back-references the custom menu, but I'm not sure the cost/benefit is worthing on this one. I have a skin of my own where I sort of simulated "variants" of the code (NOT of the skin, by the way), like this:
CodeVariants.jpg

Bummer - This posted for clarity :

[MourningStar]

^
no problem - the variants in the secondary menu will suffice - thx