How to Customize Your Music Widget for YouTube Using Rainmeter and NowPlaying.dll Plugin
Q2: What is NowPlaying.dll plugin? Q3: What web players are supported by NowPlaying.dll plugin? Q4: How can I update NowPlaying.dll plugin? Q5: Where can I find more skins or plugins for Rainmeter? A1: Rainmeter is a free and open-source desktop customization tool that allows you to display various information and widgets on your desktop. A2: NowPlaying.dll plugin is a Rainmeter plugin that can display song information and control playback of various media players on your desktop. A3: NowPlaying.dll plugin supports many web players such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, etc. You can see the full list here. A4: You can update NowPlaying.dll plugin by downloading the latest version from here and replacing the old file in your Rainmeter plugins folder. A5: You can find more skins or plugins for Rainmeter on the official website, the forum, or other websites such as DeviantArt or Customize.org. The article with HTML formatting is as follows: How to Use Rainmeter Plugin NowPlaying.dll for YouTube
If you are a fan of listening to music on YouTube while working on your computer, you might want to display some song information and control playback on your desktop. This way, you can easily see what song is playing, pause or skip songs without switching tabs or windows, and customize the appearance of your music widget.
rainmeter plugin nowplaying.dll download youtube
One way to do this is One way to do this is to use Rainmeter, a free and open-source desktop customization tool that allows you to display various information and widgets on your desktop. Rainmeter has many plugins and skins that can enhance your desktop experience, and one of them is NowPlaying.dll plugin, which can display song information and control playback of various media players on your desktop.
In this article, we will show you how to use NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube, one of the most popular web players for music. We will also cover the benefits, requirements, installation, configuration, customization, troubleshooting, and alternatives of using this plugin for YouTube. By the end of this article, you will be able to enjoy your YouTube music on your desktop with ease and style.
Benefits of Using NowPlaying.dll for YouTube
Using NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube has many advantages over just using your browser or other desktop applications. Here are some of them:
You can display song information such as title, artist, album, genre, duration, position, rating, cover art, etc. on your desktop.
You can control playback such as play, pause, stop, next, previous, shuffle, repeat, mute, volume, etc. on your desktop.
You can customize the appearance of your music widget such as fonts, colors, icons, layout, size, transparency, etc. to match your desktop theme and personal preference.
You can save system resources by using web player instead of desktop application.
You can access millions of songs and playlists on YouTube without downloading or installing anything.
Requirements for Using NowPlaying.dll for YouTube
Before you can use NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube, you need to have some software and hardware ready. Here are the requirements:
You need to have Rainmeter installed on your computer. You can download it from the official website. Rainmeter supports Windows 7 and later versions.
You need to have NowPlaying.dll plugin installed on your Rainmeter plugins folder. You can download it from here. The latest version is 4.4.0 as of June 2023.
You need to have a web browser that supports web player extension. You can use Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Opera. Other browsers may not work properly with NowPlaying.dll plugin.
You need to have a web player extension installed on your browser. You can use WebNowPlaying Companion for Chrome or Firefox, or WebNowPlaying Bridge for Edge or Opera. These extensions allow NowPlaying.dll plugin to communicate with web players such as YouTube.
You need to have a web player that supports NowPlaying.dll plugin. You can use YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, etc. You can see the full list of supported web players here.
How to Install NowPlaying.dll Plugin for Rainmeter
Once you have met the requirements above, you can proceed to install NowPlaying.dll plugin for Rainmeter. Here are the steps:
Download NowPlaying.dll plugin from here. You will get a zip file containing the plugin file and some documentation.
Extract the zip file and copy the NowPlaying.dll file to your Rainmeter plugins folder. The default location is C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\Plugins. If you have installed Rainmeter in a different location, you need to find the plugins folder there.
Restart Rainmeter if it is running. You can do this by right-clicking on the Rainmeter icon in the system tray and choosing Exit. Then launch Rainmeter again from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.
Now you have successfully installed NowPlaying.dll plugin for Rainmeter. You can now use it with any skin that supports it.
How to Configure NowPlaying.dll Plugin for YouTube
To use NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube, you need to configure it properly in your skin file. A skin file is a text file that contains the code and settings for your Rainmeter widget. You can edit it with any text editor such as Notepad or Notepad++. Here are the steps:
Find a skin that uses NowPlaying.dll plugin or create your own skin. You can find some skins on the official website, the forum, or other websites such as DeviantArt or Customize.org. You can also create your own skin by following the tutorial here.
Open the skin file Open the skin file with your text editor and find the section that contains the NowPlaying.dll plugin code. It usually starts with [MeasurePlayer] or [mPlayer].
Change the PlayerName option to WebNowPlaying. This tells the plugin to use the web player extension as the source of song information and playback control.
Add other options as needed, such as PlayerType, Measure, Substitute, etc. You can see the full list of options and their descriptions here.
Save the skin file and refresh the skin in Rainmeter. You can do this by right-clicking on the skin and choosing Refresh skin.
Now you have successfully configured NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube. You can now see and control your YouTube music on your desktop.
How to Customize NowPlaying.dll Plugin for YouTube
One of the best features of Rainmeter is that you can customize your widgets to suit your taste and needs. You can change the appearance of your music widget using NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube by modifying the code and settings in your skin file. Here are some tips and examples on how to do this:
You can change the fonts, colors, icons, layout, size, transparency, etc. of your music widget by editing the meter section of your skin file. A meter is a visual element that displays some information or image on your desktop. You can see the full list of meter types and their options here.
You can use bangs and variables to add more functionality and interactivity to your music widget. A bang is a command that performs some action when triggered, such as launching a program, changing a setting, or refreshing a skin. A variable is a placeholder that stores some value that can be used in other parts of the code. You can see the full list of bangs and variables here and here.
You can use formulas and conditionals to add more logic and flexibility to your music widget. A formula is an expression that calculates some value based on some input or condition. A conditional is a statement that executes some code based on whether a condition is true or false. You can see the full list of formulas and conditionals here and here.
For example, you can use the following code to create a simple music widget that displays the song title, artist, album, cover art, and playback controls for YouTube using NowPlaying.dll plugin:
[Rainmeter] Update=1000 DynamicWindowSize=1 AccurateText=1 [Variables] FontFace=Segoe UI FontSize=12 FontColor=255,255,255 SolidColor=0,0,0,150 IconColor=255,255,255 IconSize=16 IconPadding=4 CoverSize=100 CoverPadding=10 [MeasurePlayer] Measure=Plugin Plugin=NowPlaying PlayerName=WebNowPlaying PlayerType=TITLE [MeasureArtist] Measure=Plugin Plugin=NowPlaying PlayerName=WebNowPlaying PlayerType=ARTIST [MeasureAlbum] Measure=Plugin Plugin=NowPlaying PlayerName=WebNowPlaying PlayerType=ALBUM [MeasureCover] Measure=Plugin Plugin=NowPlaying PlayerName=WebNowPlaying PlayerType=COVER [MeterBackground] Meter=Shape Shape=Rectangle 0,0,(#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*2),(#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*2),12 Fill Color #SolidColor# X=0 Y=0 [MeterCover] Meter=Image MeasureName=MeasureCover X=(#CoverPadding#) Y=(#CoverPadding#) W=(#CoverSize#) H=(#CoverSize#) PreserveAspectRatio=1 [MeterTitle] Meter=String MeasureName=MeasurePlayer X=(#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*3) Y=(#CoverPadding#) W=(200) H=(#FontSize#) FontFace=#FontFace# FontSize=#FontSize# FontColor=#FontColor# ClipString=1 [MeterArtist] Meter=String MeasureName=MeasureArtist X=(#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*3) Y=(#FontSize#+#CoverPadding#+2) W=(200) H=(#FontSize#) FontFace=#FontFace# FontSize=#FontSize# FontColor=#FontColor# ClipString=1 [MeterAlbum] Meter=String MeasureName=MeasureAlbum X=(#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*3) Y=((#FontSize#+2)*2+#CoverPadding#+4) W=(200) H=(#FontSize#) FontFace=#FontFace# FontSize=#FontSize FontColor=#FontColor# ClipString=1 [MeterPrevious] Meter=Image ImageName=Previous.png ImageTint=#IconColor# X=(#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*3) Y=((#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#)-(#IconSize#+#IconPadding#)) W=(#IconSize#) H=(#IconSize#) LeftMouseUpAction=[!CommandMeasure MeasurePlayer "Previous"] [MeterPlayPause] Meter=Image ImageName=[MeasurePlayer:IsPlaying] ImageTint=#IconColor# X=((#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*3)+(#IconSize#+#IconPadding#)) Y=((#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#)-(#IconSize#+#IconPadding#)) W=(#IconSize#) H=(#IconSize#) LeftMouseUpAction=[!CommandMeasure MeasurePlayer "PlayPause"] [MeterNext] Meter=Image ImageName=Next.png ImageTint=#IconColor# X=((#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#*3)+(#IconSize#+#IconPadding#)*2) Y=((#CoverSize#+#CoverPadding#)-(#IconSize#+#IconPadding#)) W=(#IconSize#) H=(#IconSize#) LeftMouseUpAction=[!CommandMeasure MeasurePlayer "Next"] [MeasurePlayer:IsPlaying] Measure=Calc Formula=MeasurePlayer = 1 ? 2 : 1 IfEqualValue=1 IfEqualAction=!SetOption MeterPlayPause ImageName "Play.png" IfBelowValue=2 IfBelowAction=!SetOption MeterPlayPause ImageName "Pause.png" DynamicVariables=1
This code will create a music widget like this:
You can change the values of the variables or the options of the meters to customize the widget as you like. You can also use different images or icons for the meters. You can find some icons here or here.
Troubleshooting NowPlaying.dll Plugin for YouTube
Sometimes, you may encounter some problems when using NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube. Here are some common issues and their solutions:
If the music widget does not show any song information or does not respond to any commands, make sure that you have installed and enabled the web player extension on your browser, and that you have chosen WebNowPlaying as the PlayerName option in your skin file.
If the music widget shows incorrect or outdated song information, make sure that you have refreshed the skin in Rainmeter, and that you have updated the NowPlaying.dll plugin to the latest version.
If the music widget does not work with certain web players or browsers, make sure that they are supported by NowPlaying.dll plugin. You can see the full list of supported web players here. You can also try using a different web player or browser.
If the music widget does not display the cover art or shows a broken image, make sure that the web player provides a valid URL for the cover art, and that you have set the PlayerType option to COVER in your skin file.
Alternatives to NowPlaying.dll Plugin for YouTube
If you are looking for some other plugins or skins that can also display or control YouTube music on Rainmeter, here are some alternatives to NowPlaying.dll plugin:
WebNowPlaying plugin: This is a newer plugin that can display song information and control playback of web players such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, etc. It works similarly to NowPlaying.dll plugin, but it has more features and options. You can download it from here.
Vecto skin: This is a sleek and modern skin that uses WebNowPlaying plugin to display song information and control playback of web players such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, etc. It has a minimalist design and a colorful animation. You can download it from here.
Conclusion
In this article, we have shown you how to use NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube, one of the most popular web players for music. We have also covered the benefits, requirements, installation, configuration, customization, troubleshooting, and alternatives of using this plugin for YouTube. By following this guide, you will be able to enjoy your YouTube music on your desktop with ease and style.
NowPlaying.dll plugin is a great tool for displaying and controlling your music on Rainmeter. It supports many web players such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, etc. It also allows you to customize the appearance of your music widget to match your desktop theme and personal preference. It is easy to install and configure, and it has a low impact on system resources It has a low impact on system resources and a high compatibility with web players and browsers. It is a must-have plugin for any music lover who uses Rainmeter.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about NowPlaying.dll plugin for YouTube:
Q1: What is Rainmeter?
A1: Rainmeter is a free and open-source desktop customization tool that allows you to display various information and widgets on your desktop. You can use Rainmeter to create your own personalized and functional desktop environment.
Q2: What is NowPlaying.dll plugin?
A2: NowPlaying.dll plugin is a Rainmeter plugin that can display song information and control playback of various media players on your desktop. It supports many web players such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, etc.
Q3: What web players are supported by NowPlaying.dll plugin?
A3: NowPlaying.dll plugin supports many web players such as YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, Pandora, etc. You can see the full list of supported web players here.
Q4: How can I update NowPlaying.dll plugin?
A4: You can update NowPlaying.dll plugin by downloading the latest version from here and replacing the old file in your Rainmeter plugins folder.
Q5: Where can I find more skins or plugins for Rainmeter?
A5: You can find more skins or plugins for Rainmeter on the official website, the forum, or other websites such as DeviantArt or Customize.org. dcd2dc6462