Skip to main content
Tech Radar Tech Radar TechRadar The source for Tech Buying Advice
Subscribe
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
Technology Magazines
Technology Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviews
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12.99
View Deal
  • News
  • Best
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • How To
  • Deals
  • More
    • Versus
    • Appliances
    • Audiovisual
    • Cameras
    • Car Tech
    • Computing
    • Coupons
    • Downloads
    • Entertainment
    • Fitness
    • Laptops
    • Phones
    • Smart Home
    • Tablets
    • TVs
    • Wearables
    • About Us
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Memorial Day sales
  • iPhone 15
  • Google Pixel Fold
  • ChatGPT
  • Wordle hints
  • Best VPN

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. How-to
  3. Computing

How to create a custom Windows 10 desktop with Rainmeter

By Alex Cox
published 6 June 2017

Personalize Windows 10

Designing your own Windows 10 interface

Designing your own Windows 10 interface

Microsoft doesn’t make the most of the Windows desktop. Granted, it’s not averse to supplying some awesome desktop wallpaper, and it’s made attempts to doll it up in the past - Windows Vista’s poorly fleshed out desktop gadgets spring to mind - but that blank space behind your programs could be used for more than just storing too many icons. And so it shall be. 

Rainmeter is the premier desktop customisation tool. It’s kind to your system resources, it’s robust enough that you’ll rarely, if ever, see it crash, and it’s free and open source. 

This doesn’t just mean that you won’t have to pay - it means you have the freedom to create your own custom desktop tools. So let’s get installed, make a beautiful desktop, and see what else we can do.

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
1. Grab and go

1. Grab and go

Getting hold of Rainmeter is easy. Just head to the Rainmeter website and click one of the download links in the bottom left corner of the page. 

We’re using the latest beta here, but you’ll also find a link to the most recent full release version if you’re more concerned about stability than you are about pushing the envelope.

Run through the install process --it’s not difficult - and keep the box ticked at the end to run Rainmeter straight away. 

You’ll see a number of desktop gadgets appear on your main monitor. Rainmeter’s default selection is not outrageously beautiful, but it’s a functional way to keep tabs on certain system statistics.

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
2. Move and add

2. Move and add

While they’ll always sit on the desktop layer, you can move the individual Rainmeter widgets - known as skins - around with a simple left-click drag. Move them next to another skin and they’ll snap in place a certain distance away, so it’s easy to rearrange them in an attractive manner. 

The default collection also helps you reach important Windows tools; try clicking ‘system’ for example, to bring up Task Manager, or any of the drives listed in the Disks skin to open File Explorer at that location.

This default collection, called Illustro, includes more skins than the default three. Right-click an existing widget, head to ‘Illustro >’, and you can switch off the Welcome skin in the middle of the screen, or add things like a quick Google search box or a network monitor.

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
3. Further tweaks

3. Further tweaks

Before we move on to a slight more attractive skin collection, let’s cover a few of the more important settings, applicable to each skin individually. Right-click and head to the 'Settings' option to see them.

You can adjust the level of transparency, and set a fade option which brings the skin to the foreground if you mouse over it. 

You can switch off snapping if custom positioning is more your thing, and in the Settings > Position menu you’re able to layer your skins - select topmost if you want one of your widgets to float above any windows you have open.

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
4. Locking down

4. Locking down

You can use the Settings menu to stop each skin from being draggable, a toggle which comes in particularly handy once you’ve arranged everything just so. 

This, and the visual tweaking options, can also be found in the ‘Manage skin’ right-click menu -- head there and check the Settings tab to disable dragging for the whole of Rainmeter, not just an individual skin.

With the management window open, you may also wish to head to the layouts tab to save the position of your current skins. If you’ve arranged them around particular elements of your desktop wallpaper, tick the appropriate box to save the wallpaper along with their locations. 

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
5. New skins

5. New skins

Let’s find some new widgets. Rainmeter skins are completely user-created, which means two things: that they often display a level of uniqueness and flair you wouldn’t find from a centrally-created crop, and that the best ones take some finding. There’s no central pool of skins - but there are a few places to look. 

The first is Rainmeter’s Deviantart which includes a bunch of examples of users’ cool desktops - generally, clicking one that you like the look of will lead you to a number of links to its individual components. 

You can also check out the Rainmeter subreddit which, more often then not, will send you to Deviantart, or see what’s happening on the Rainmeter forums.

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
6. Add features

6. Add features

Once you’ve found and downloaded a skin - we’re going for this simple but awesome audio visualiser - you’ll have a file with a .rmskin extension. Despite the suggestive name, adding a skin does not affect the look or performance of any other skins on your system, and you can add as many as you like.

Open the file you’ve downloaded (it should be associated with Rainmeter by default) and click Install to bring it in. It should appear on your desktop and get to work straight away, and you can reposition it as we did previously. 

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
7. Deep tweaks

7. Deep tweaks

The plugin we’ve chosen, Fountains of Color, includes an extensive options menu to tweak its many settings exactly to your liking - get some music going, right click that visualiser, and choose 'Options' to see it.

You won’t always be so lucky. Many skins require a little manual manipulation, which involves editing sometimes cryptic configuration files. Take, for example, one of the Illustro modules that come built in. 

Click the Rainmeter icon in your taskbar to bring up its management console and dig down to, for example, the clock.ini file, right-click it, and select Edit to see the content. 

If you’re happy experimenting, go for it - but there’s no specific requirement to do so.

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
8. Build it up

8. Build it up

Adding new elements to awesome wallpapers (check out the Desktoppr website or, again, Deviantart) is a long-winded and very personal approach. You’ll want to play around endlessly, so we won’t tell you exactly what to use. 

But once you’ve found a combination of system monitors, visualisers, weather widgets and other ways to hook into Rainmeter’s measures - its name for the system metrics that make it what it is - make sure you save your desktop so you can restore it if something goes wrong, or when you inevitably want to fiddle and create another fresh look. And consider sharing it – it’s what keeps the community going.

  • Not upgraded to Windows 10 yet? Here's how to upgrade to Windows 10 for free
Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
Alex Cox
Social Links Navigation
See more Software how-to
More about computing
Closeup of a Chromebook

Don't fall for a cheap laptop con on Memorial Day – get a Chromebook instead

Google My Maps open in Google Chrome, showing a custom map

How to use Google My Maps to plan your trip

Latest
levoit air purifier set up in a bedroom

Levoit Core 300S True HEPA air purifier review: an affordable smart air purifier

See more latest ►
Most Popular
6 photography tricks for taking beautiful flower pictures

By Matty GrahamMay 27, 2023

How to change your default browser in Windows

By Allisa JamesMay 26, 2023

This VPN thinks it might have a solution to Netflix password sharing ban

By Chiara CastroMay 26, 2023

Coventry vs Luton Town live stream: how to watch the EFL Championship playoff final online and on TV from anywhere, team news

By Tom WigginsMay 26, 2023

5 ways to improve AirPods' battery life, and check their charge level

By Amelia SchwankeMay 26, 2023

Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians live stream: how to watch the IPL playoff free online today, Qualifier 2

By Kevin LynchMay 26, 2023

Monaco Grand Prix live stream: how to watch F1 online from anywhere, Qualifying

By Mo Harber-LamondMay 26, 2023

Charles Schwab Challenge live stream 2023: how to watch golf online, Round 1

By Kevin LynchMay 25, 2023

How to watch Mayans MC season 5 online: stream the final season of the hit drama from anywhere now

By Daniel PatemanMay 24, 2023

How to watch MasterChef USA season 13 free online: stream every episode of United Tastes of America from anywhere

By Daniel PatemanMay 24, 2023

How to boot someone from your Netflix account and stop password sharing

By Amelia SchwankeMay 24, 2023

  1. Poster for Silo on Apple TV Plus
    1
    Apple TV Plus is now a sci-fi TV show utopia – here are 4 series you need to watch
  2. 2
    Don’t panic: there’s a reason your iPhone’s battery is draining faster than usual
  3. 3
    You'll soon be able to create all kinds of documents in Google Docs - here's how
  4. 4
    Microsoft is finally introducing the feature that’ll make me upgrade to Windows 11
  5. 5
    Windows 11 Moment 3 update is packed with cool features – here are 5
  1. iPhone low battery image
    1
    Don’t panic: there’s a reason your iPhone’s battery is draining faster than usual
  2. 2
    More Microsoft 365 phishing attacks are using this dangerous new method - here's what you need to know
  3. 3
    Windows 11 Moment 3 update is packed with cool features – here are 5
  4. 4
    This Microsoft Teams update could turn your meeting into a complete mess
  5. 5
    I tried smart AR running sunglasses that show me a heads-up-display like Iron Man

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.