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Start Menu for Rainmeter v1.5.7

Skins that control functions in Windows or Rainmeter
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exper1mental
Posts: 269
Joined: January 9th, 2013, 7:52 pm
Location: Clemson University

Start Menu for Rainmeter v1.5.7

Post by exper1mental »

Development Status: Discontinued :-(

I simply do not have to time to continue work on this project at any reasonable rate. If anyone else would like to pick up where I left off they are welcome to as long as they give credit where credit is due (not just to me but to all those whose works I used).


My goal with it was to not only bring back most of the features of the classic start menu, but also introduce new ones, which led me to design the metro menu variant. And ofc, for those who liked things the way they were, there's that classic menu.

When installing the skin I strongly recommend you do not disable the load skin option, unless you've already used this skin before.


Requirements
  • • Rainmeter 3.0.2+
    • Windows Vista or later
Using With a Portable Installation of Rainmeter
If you want to be able to launch the Start Menu from your windows taskbar using a portable installation of Rainmeter, a little tweaking is required.
1. In the Menu and MenuSmall folders there are subfolders called Link and LinkSmall. Contained in these are the .LNK shortcut files used to launch the menu from your taskbar.
2. Right click on the .LNK shortcut, select properties, and go to the shortcut tab
3. Replace the current folder paths for the Target and Start In parameters. Be sure not to delete the !ToggleConfig bang.

If you followed the steps correctly the taskbar Start Menu shortcuts should now run without problem on a portable installation of Rainmeter. If you have any further questions feel free to leave a comment below.
Download Sites
DeviantART - .rmskin ~6.4 MB
RainmeterHub - .rmskin.zip ~6.2 MB

Release Notes
1.5.7
  • • Various bug fixes
    • Added six new icon packs
1.5.5
  • • Various bug fixes including to the broken Rainmeter update checker
    • Compatibility improved for portable Rainmeter installations
    • Added ability to check for Rainmeter beta releases
    • Added confirmation popups when pressing shutdown, log off, and restart buttons
    • Performance and appearance has been optimized
    • Added auto-update checker to start menus (can be disabled in settings menu)
    • Added new icon pack
1.5.1
  • • Fixed a bug in the update checker incorrectly displaying a new version available.
1.5.0
  • • The overall UI has been refined and updated and should have a much more metro feel
    • There are now arrows above the power buttons that allow you to view the weather and wifi status in addition to the app list.
    • Settings menus have been polished and simplified
    • The outdated small Classic start menu has been updated with the new features (Metro still not available)
    • There is now a guide accessible from the settings menu that will step you through the process of importing old application tile settings
    • You can now search directly into Windows Explorer
    • You can now use Locate32 to search your computer. Locate32 creates a search database in its folder to allow for near instant searches of anything on your computer. When selected as search engine there will be a button by the search bar to refresh its database (it does not update automatically.
    and much more!
1.3.0
  • • New Start Menu variant, the Metro Menu, which is only currently available in standard size.
    • A separate settings menu has been added for the Metro Menu, including the abilities to change metro icons, the metro app background color, and the metro app icon tint.
    • Several minor improvements to the Setup menu
    • Improved flow of settings menus (not finished however)
    • Fixed a text error in the setup section
    • Moved part of the Change Log to a txt file in the ZIP folder
    • File size reduced by deleting unused images
Open the below to view documentation on pre-v1.3.0 release builds.
1.0.3
  • • Fixed some issues related to changing App info
    • Moved the App info to its own file in preparation for adding the ability to import your app info from old versions (every time you update you loose your old settings, this will allow you to import some of them)
    • Fixed a typo in the credits section
1.0.1
  • • Fixed a bug with the version checker not correctly displaying when there was no new version available.
    • Added used fonts in .zip folder.
1.0.0
  • • You can now run the skin directly in Rainmeter (standard installation for best results, portable installation may have issues) instead of in a stand-alone program.
    • Text buttons have been cosmetically improved
    • The program list now has scrolling (using your mouse or the on-screen arrows)
    • The settings display has been overhauled to incorporate new features and options
    • App icons, names, and their target paths can now be changed directly in the settings display
    • You can change the directory and icons of your Home, Downloads, Docs, Music, Pics, and Vids folder directly in the settings display
    • In the settings display you can now change the displayed hard drives
    • In the settings menu you can now change your user pic to a custom one
    • The "Icons" section is now know as "Icon Packs" and features some new icon packs
    • "Theme" are now known as "Backgrounds" to prepare the way for a real ''Themes" section
    • You can now check to see if your version of the skin is the latest in the Version Info popup accessible from the Settings display
    • You can now view the Credits list via the popup in the Settings display
and much more!

0.5.3b
  • • Fixed issue with wrong .txt file being included in the package.
0.5.3
  • • Small issue with the version information popup fixed
0.5.2
  • • Issues that arose with v0.5.1 should now be fixed
    • From the settings/preview display you can now check your version of Start Menu and Rainmeter
    • Two of DigitalSpectrum's latest themes have been incorporated into the program.
0.5.1
  • • Various bug fixes
    • Consolidated the program and removed un-needed files to reduce the total size as much as possible.
    • There is now a tutorial running you through the post-installation setup process.
0.5
  • • Windows 8 Metro inspired start orb style - Access your Start Menu without using your taskbar!
    • Windows 7 style start orb - For those of us who prefer the things the way they once were.
    • The skin now should properly display your Windows profile picture.
    • Settings Menu has been overhauled, and now includes a preview
    • 5 New Glass-Inspired Themes
    • You can now create your own custom colors for the Themes, Left Text, Right Text, Exit Button, and Icons. This excludes the small icons in the lower right-hand corner.
0.3.0
  • • Exit button now is apart of and drags with the start menu, so it doesn't need to be moved manually into its correct place.
    • More exit button colors added, which you can now change between in the settings menu.
    • You can now switch between large and small start menus by left clicking the start menu, going to variants, and selecting your preferred start menu.
    • Start Menu skins moved into the same folder and made more compact.
    • An unneeded EXE file causing false positives for some firewalls has been removed.
0.2.0
  • • Small Start Menu Added
    • Black, Small Black, and Small White Exit Buttons Added
0.1.0
  • • Initial release
Credits
Go to the settings section in the skin to view the credits, its too big to list here.

License
Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Last edited by exper1mental on July 13th, 2015, 1:18 am, edited 28 times in total.
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jsmorley
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Joined: April 19th, 2009, 11:02 pm
Location: Fort Hunt, Virginia, USA

Re: Start Menu for Windows 8 v1.3.0

Post by jsmorley »

One suggestion:

If you include the font .ttf files in a @Resources\Fonts folder in the root folder of your skin suite, Rainmeter will use them automatically without the end-user having to "install" them in Windows. This means that:

1) The skin installation is much simpler for the end-user.
2) You can create the entire thing as a .rmskin, which means it can be in the Rainmeter area on deviantART or Customize.org.
3) I won't rail against you for offering a .zip file for installing a skin. It is our firm policy that users should NEVER download or touch anything that isn't a .rmskin. Even if a .rmskin is included in the .zip file.
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exper1mental
Posts: 269
Joined: January 9th, 2013, 7:52 pm
Location: Clemson University

Re: Start Menu for Windows 8 v1.3.0

Post by exper1mental »

jsmorley wrote:One suggestion:

If you include the font .ttf files in a @Resources\Fonts folder in the root folder of your skin suite, Rainmeter will use them automatically without the end-user having to "install" them in Windows. This means that:

1) The skin installation is much simpler for the end-user.
2) You can create the entire thing as a .rmskin, which means it can be in the Rainmeter area on deviantART or Customize.org.
3) I won't rail against you for offering a .zip file for installing a skin. It is our firm policy that users should NEVER download or touch anything that isn't a .rmskin.
Ironically I stored my backup fonts at that location. :lol: Guess I can shave one step off the installation process.


2) True, but then I'd have to resubmit the entire thing since deviantART doesn't let you change the download file type from that of the original main file. In addition, my target group with this skin is Windows 8 users, as not all Rainmeter users are running Windows 8, and hence do not need a start menu replacement. As a result, it makes more sense for this to be in the Windows 8 section rather than the Rainmeter section.


3) As I said before, deviantART won't let me change the file format so I'm stuck with using .ZIP files. However, I can upload to alternative locations using .RMSKIN.
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jsmorley
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Re: Start Menu for Windows 8 v1.3.0

Post by jsmorley »

Up to you of course, but you can upload a .rmskin to any area on deviantART, so there is no reason why the .rmskin can't be in some other area than the Rainmeter area. As far as not being able to change the type in a submission. Ok. So delete it and re-submit it as a .rmskin. Two minutes of work.

While what you do with your skin is entirely up to you, it is our firm policy that end-users should never, ever download new skins in the .zip format (can't help it that many old skins on deviantART are .zip) so while your skin looks very clever and probably something a lot of user would like, I can't recommend that anyone get it.

The .rmskin format is not just something we ask authors to use because we like it or are somehow proud of it. It is part of an overall effort to protect our end users as best we can from malware, as well as making the installation of skins as easy as we can. It's not about your skin as such, I'm sure it is 100% fine, and while I don't agree with your reasoning, I do understand it. However, we make no exceptions to our stance that only .rsmkins should be offered to end-users.

I will give your post 24 hours here, and then delete it from the forums.
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exper1mental
Posts: 269
Joined: January 9th, 2013, 7:52 pm
Location: Clemson University

Re: Start Menu for Windows 8 v1.3.0

Post by exper1mental »

jsmorley wrote:Up to you of course, but you can upload a .rmskin to any area on deviantART, so there is no reason why the .rmskin can't be in some other area than the Rainmeter area. As far as not being able to change the type in a submission. Ok. So delete it and re-submit it as a .rmskin. Two minutes of work.

While what you do with your skin is entirely up to you, it is our firm policy that end-users should never, ever download new skins in the .zip format (can't help it that many old skins on deviantART are .zip) so while your skin looks very clever and probably something a lot of user would like, I can't recommend that anyone get it.

The .rmskin format is not just something we ask authors to use because we like it or are somehow proud of it. It is part of an overall effort to protect our end users as best we can from malware, as well as making the installation of skins as easy as we can. It's not about your skin as such, I'm sure it is 100% fine, and while I don't agree with your reasoning, I do understand it. However, we make no exceptions to our stance that only .rsmkins should be offered to end-users.

I will give your post 24 hours here, and then delete it from the forums.
RMSKINs are limited to the Rainmeter section, I checked. :(

Once I post this I'm going to remove the links in the OP to the DA page while I upload the .RMSKIN to a site
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jsmorley
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Re: Start Menu for Windows 8 v1.3.0

Post by jsmorley »

Oh, my bad. I didn't know .rmskin was limited to the Rainmeter area over there. That sorta changes my stance a bit if you really want to post it in some area other than the Rainmeter section. It would be best though if any link here is to a .rmskin if you don't mind.

Edit: I "released" the submission of the .rmskin you did on Customize.org, so you can use that here if you want.
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exper1mental
Posts: 269
Joined: January 9th, 2013, 7:52 pm
Location: Clemson University

Re: Start Menu for Windows 8 v1.3.0

Post by exper1mental »

jsmorley wrote:Oh, my bad. I didn't know .rmskin was limited to the Rainmeter area over there. That sorta changes my stance a bit if you really want to post it in some area other than the Rainmeter section. It would be best though if any link here is to a .rmskin if you don't mind.

Edit: I "released" the submission of the .rmskin you did on Customize.org, so you can use that here if you want.
k, I'll use that for now then (I'd like to go back to not using customize.org b/c as far as I can tell I can't update/edit creations there w/o completely reposting them, but for now it'll work).
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exper1mental
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Joined: January 9th, 2013, 7:52 pm
Location: Clemson University

Re: Start Menu for Rainmeter v1.5.0

Post by exper1mental »

Updated the OP with v1.5.1, request for skin submission to Rainmeter deviantART group sent.
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JGUUUDE
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Joined: August 8th, 2014, 8:01 am

Re: Start Menu for Rainmeter v1.5.7

Post by JGUUUDE »

Hey man I just downloaded the skin on Rainmeterhub and I gotta say nice work. I was just wondering about how to change the code so I could open it as normal instead of topmost and making it so the start menu doesn't automatically close every time I click on something
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exper1mental
Posts: 269
Joined: January 9th, 2013, 7:52 pm
Location: Clemson University

Re: Start Menu for Rainmeter v1.5.7

Post by exper1mental »

JGUUUDE wrote:Hey man I just downloaded the skin on Rainmeterhub and I gotta say nice work. I was just wondering about how to change the code so I could open it as normal instead of topmost and making it so the start menu doesn't automatically close every time I click on something
Sorry for the long delayed reply. Posting this in case anyone else want to know how to do this.

When editing the skin look under the [Rainmeter] section at OnRefreshAction. Remove the bang [!ZPos "1"] and the skin will stop trying to be topmost.
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