The 2.3 version of Rainmeter will have some important milestones. First and foremost, we are completely reworking how plugins are created for Rainmeter. We also intend, over the course of the beta cycle, to move existing plugins into the new plugin interface, allowing them to take advantage of new capabilities such as using dynamic variables. In addition, we expect to continue to improve Rainmeter's overall performance and add new capabilities that will make it even more powerful.

You can simply install the beta on top of your existing Rainmeter installation. There is no need to uninstall. All your existing skins and settings will be preserved.

For a complete list of past changes, check the change log.

June 17, 2012

• Major changes - making the creation of .rmskin packages to distribute your skins much easier!
  
  In an effort to make it much simpler for users to install skins distributed by authors, and to improve the safety of distributed skins, we have arranged with both deviantART and Customize.org to make the .rmskin (Rainmeter skin package) format the only allowed file type for new uploads to those sites. To support skin authors in this, we have made some big changes in how .rmskin files are created, and some changes to where things are stored by Rainmeter.
  
  First, we have released new Rainmeter Skin Packager functionality. It will allow you to very simply choose the skin or suite folder you want to include, along with any themes or custom plugins you want to distribute with your skin. Then a .rmskin package file is created for you, which any user can install by simply double-clicking it. To learn how to use, check Using Skin Packager.
  
  
  
  We have also made some changes to the Skin Installer functionality to make installing a .rmskin even quicker and easier for users.
  
  
  
  We have moved the storage of custom (not included in the default distribution) plugins from being mixed in with the built-in ones in Program Files\Rainmeter\Plugins to the Appdata folder. (C:\Users\UserName\Appdata\Roaming\Rainmeter on most systems) The old Addons folder if one exists is also moved to this location, although we encourage you to just include addon .exe files in your skin's @Resources folder going forward, and not use any common Addons location. The built-in variable #ADDONSPATH# will now point to the Appdata location. The old Fonts folder is completely eliminated, as LocalFont is no longer needed and fonts should be stored with your skin in the @Resources\Fonts folder. The end result of this is that nothing other than the actual Rainmeter program and supporting files are stored in Program Files, eliminating almost all issues with UAC or permissions.
  
  It should be remembered that we have already made some changes to how things are stored with your actual skins. These changes work hand-in-glove with the new .rmskin functionality to make things a lot easier, clearer, and more reliable for both skin authors and users. When you are creating new skins, whether you intend to distribute them or not, be sure to make note of the improvements described at: @Resources.
• Removed the Backup functionality from Manage in Rainmeter. We found that this was not an efficient way for users to create a backup of their data, was prone to complications when trying to use it to move a setup from one computer to another, and encouraged some folks to just back up their entire Rainmeter installation to distribute skins. Make sure you include the Rainmeter folders in My Documents and Appdata in your normal system backup strategy.

foobar2000 users

If you're using foobar2000 with Rainmeter, you must install (or update) the foo_cad 1.0.1 plugin (download here).

Plugin developers

Plugin developers, check the new plugin API and SDK introduced in Rainmeter 2.3 beta.