Suggestions for new version

[sema4]

I decided to check for a new version of rainmeter and 1.2 was available, so I downloaded the zip. I extracted to my program files folder and overwrote the previous version. When I started up the new version it started with the default enigma theme. I was not able to retrieve the theme that took me days to customize :evil: After looking around, I found that under "manage themes" it would allow me to save, but at that point it was already gone. So here are my suggestions (complaints?):


1) When a new version is detected it automatically creates a backup theme file from previous version (I apologize if the installation program does this because I just extracted the zip)

2) Build without the C runtime if possible

3) Move all themes and configs to the My Documents\Rainmeter folder, instead of having it all over the place. Some in C:\Program Files\Rainmeter some in C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Rainmeter and some in the My Documents\Rainmeter folder. Having it this way seems to make it disorganized and hard to find where settings are being stored.

4) Fix it so that it doesn't constantly reload png graphics that don't need to be reloaded. Using filemon from sysinternals, it shows that random png files are being read every second. This causes a hit on performance for my slower computer. It is noticeable when the screen saver is going (about every second, the screen saver locks up).

5) Under the right-click menu of the rainmeter icon in the taskbar, have a menu item that says "All" or "Apply to All" or something similar. In this menu it allows you to check off items such as "Draggable" and "Keep on Screen" without having to go though each menu and check or uncheck for each skin.


Sorry to sound so demanding, but I am not in a good mood after what happened.
I hope you have the time to add some of these features if they don't already exist.

Thank you,
Sema4

[poiru]

1) When one of the default skins is updated, Rainmeter should create a backup into Documents\Rainmeter\Skins\Backup.

3) Skins and themes are not "read" from Program Files\Rainmeter. The default skins and themes are stored there, so that they can be copied into Documents and AppData on first launch.

[Alex2539]

1) When a new version is detected it automatically creates a backup theme file from previous version (I apologize if the installation program does this because I just extracted the zip)

The installer does this. In the latest version, opening up Enigma Configure will also restore your settings. Although, frankly if you extracted the .zip file yourself, YOU should have made sure not to overwrite those files. It's really no one's fault but your own.

2) Build without the C runtime if possible

Absolutely impossible.

3) Move all themes and configs to the My Documents\Rainmeter folder, instead of having it all over the place. Some in C:\Program Files\Rainmeter some in C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Rainmeter and some in the My Documents\Rainmeter folder. Having it this way seems to make it disorganized and hard to find where settings are being stored.

All skins should be located in My Documents\Rainmeter. The ones in Program Files are, as Poiru said, just the backups. The themes are stored in Application Data because they are not meant to be modified by hand. Use RainThemes to save and load themes.

4) Fix it so that it doesn't constantly reload png graphics that don't need to be reloaded. Using filemon from sysinternals, it shows that random png files are being read every second. This causes a hit on performance for my slower computer. It is noticeable when the screen saver is going (about every second, the screen saver locks up).

This is the responsibility of skin makers, not of Rainmeter itself. This can be avoided by adding "UpdateDivider" to any image meters.

5) Under the right-click menu of the rainmeter icon in the taskbar, have a menu item that says "All" or "Apply to All" or something similar. In this menu it allows you to check off items such as "Draggable" and "Keep on Screen" without having to go though each menu and check or uncheck for each skin.

This may be worth looking into.

[jsmorley]

I decided to check for a new version of rainmeter and 1.2 was available, so I downloaded the zip. I extracted to my program files folder and overwrote the previous version. When I started up the new version it started with the default enigma theme. I was not able to retrieve the theme that took me days to customize :evil: After looking around, I found that under "manage themes" it would allow me to save, but at that point it was already gone. So here are my suggestions (complaints?):

1) When a new version is detected it automatically creates a backup theme file from previous version (I apologize if the installation program does this because I just extracted the zip).
When RainThemes is used to create a theme, it automatically backs up your current settings to a theme called AutoBackup. The new 1.2 version of Rainmeter won't let you save a theme using the default names. You never created a theme or saved your setup. Rainmeter.ini is not overwritten on an upgrade (.zip or .exe) if it already exists. I have to agree that at least as far as the themes / Rainmeter.ini is concerned, we have taken the appropriate steps. Perhaps it should be more clear that your setup is at risk if you don't "save" it, but I would expect anyone who working on a setup for "days" to at least wonder about that.

On a related issue, what is in the skins/themes folders in Program Files have two purposes. They are the "payload" Rainmeter uses to create the default skins and themes on a brand new installation or upgrade. They are never "used" by the application after that, and when they are copied on first run, a backup of your existing default skins (Enigma and Gnometer today) are backed up. Second they provide a place to have a "virgin" copy of the default skins / themes if you mess up while editing.

2) Build without the C runtime if possible
Absolutely impossible.

3) Move all themes and configs to the My Documents\Rainmeter folder, instead of having it all over the place. Some in C:\Program Files\Rainmeter some in C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Rainmeter and some in the My Documents\Rainmeter folder. Having it this way seems to make it disorganized and hard to find where settings are being stored.
I completely disagree. While it is true that it took some time to get used to the "evolution" of how Windows stores things from early versions of DOS/Windows to today, and it may not be perfect, it does have it's own logic and we are doing things in a way that follows the Windows guidelines for how apps should behave. The program itself and all executable addons are in Program Files, so they can be protected by UAC from malware. Application settings which are controlled by the application are kept in Application Data. This is true of EVERY modern Windows app, so I can't see how there can be any objection. Your "documents" (the skins), the things you create and control, are in My Documents. All exactly how Windows is meant to work and we have no inclination to change it.

4) Fix it so that it doesn't constantly reload png graphics that don't need to be reloaded. Using filemon from sysinternals, it shows that random png files are being read every second. This causes a hit on performance for my slower computer. It is noticeable when the screen saver is going (about every second, the screen saver locks up).
We will look into this further.

5) Under the right-click menu of the rainmeter icon in the taskbar, have a menu item that says "All" or "Apply to All" or something similar. In this menu it allows you to check off items such as "Draggable" and "Keep on Screen" without having to go though each menu and check or uncheck for each skin.
This does indeed have some merit and we will discuss it.

Sorry you were frustrated by how this turned out. I have no problem at all with the tone or substance of your post, as you did the right thing and explained clearly what you didn't like and offered suggestions. How can we object to that?

[yorgash]

As complete taskbar skins for Rainmeter are becoming more and more popular nowadays, I became curious whether you'd be able to make it so that a specific skin (a skin which is meant to be your taskbar) can reserve the edge of the screen for itself, so that full-screen windows won't hide it, just like a full-fledged taskbar should behave; and unlike the "stay topmost" option you wouldn't have problems like the skin covering important pieces of a window or unintentional misclicks.

A good example of implementation like the one I want RM to be able to would be ObjectDock's "reserve edge of screen" option.

Also, alternatively RM should just have a reserve screen global option, where you could adjust how many pixels you want it to reserve, like "Reserve edge ---> Top ---> 32 pixels", or any workaround to this issue would be fine.

If there already was an option like that I beg your pardon.

[JamesAC]

Also, alternatively RM should just have a reserve screen global option, where you could adjust how many pixels you want it to reserve, like "Reserve edge ---> Top ---> 32 pixels", or any workaround to this issue would be fine.

This is already possible. It is added to the [Rainmeter] section of Rainmeter.ini.

DesktopWorkArea
Sets a new work area for the desktop. The workarea defines the area maximized windows cover. Use four comma separated values to set the location of the top-left and bottom-right corners of the area (eg: DesktopWorkArea=0,0,1500, 1200). Note that moving the taskbar will reset the workarea to Windows' default, as will changing screen resolution.

Unfortunately, anything which affects the windows resolution such as going into sleep mode etc. will reset the setting and rainmeter needs to be restarted to fix it. I believe this is being looked at for 1.3 though.

[yorgash]

I see, thanks for the fast reply.