BlurInput is a Rainmeter plugin that provides a transparent and interactive input field for users. Designed for seamless integration into your Rainmeter skins, it allows for text input with various validation options and clipboard controls, all while maintaining a stylish and modern translucent appearance.
- 🌟 Transparent Input Field: A visually appealing input box with a blurred or translucent background.
- ⌨️ Custom Input Types:
- Strings
- Integers
- Letters
- Alphanumeric
- Hexadecimal
- Float
- Custom character sets
- 🔄 Undo/Redo Support: Easily revert or redo changes while typing.
- 📝 Clipboard Operations: Supports Copy, Paste, and Cut operations.
- ⚡ User-Friendly Commands: Trigger actions like starting/stopping input, clearing text, and showing a context menu via Rainmeter bangs.
- 🛡️ Input Validation: Ensures data integrity with built-in validators for different input types.
- ✨ Customizable: Supports character limits, dynamic input length, and text cursor behavior.
- Download the latest release from the Releases section.
- Copy the
BlurInput.dllfile to the Plugins folder of your Rainmeter installation:C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\Plugins - Add the
BlurInputplugin to your Rainmeter skin.
To integrate the BlurInput plugin into your Rainmeter skin, use the following template:
[Rainmeter]
Update=1000
[Metadata]
Name=BlurInput Test Skin
Author=NS TEch Bytes
Information=Usage example to use plugin.
Version=Version 1.5
License=Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0
[Variables]
Text=Type Here
;===================================================================================================================;
[InputHandler]
Measure=Plugin
Plugin=BlurInput
MeterName=Text_1
;Cursor=|
;Password=1
Multiline=1
;FormatMultiline=1
;InputLimit=0
;ViewLimit=0
DefaultValue=#Text#
InputType=String
;AllowedCharacters=abc
UnFocusDismiss=1
;ShowErrorDialog=1
;FormBackgroundColor=255,250,250
;FormButtonColor=136,132,132
;FormTextColor=6,6,6
;SetInActiveValue=0
;InActiveValue=Any Value
OnDismissAction=[!Log "Dismiss"]
;ForceValidInput=1
OnEnterAction=[!Log """[InputHandler]"""][!WriteKeyValue Variables Text """[InputHandler]"""]
OnInvalidAction=[!Log "UnValidInput Type" "Debug"]
OnESCAction=[!Log """[InputHandler]"""]
DynamicVariables=1
;RegExpSubstitute=1
;Substitute="\n":"#*CRLF*#"
;===================================================================================================================;
[BackGround]
Meter=Shape
Shape=Rectangle 0,0,800,400,8 |StrokeWidth 0 | FillColor 22,22,22,200
DynamicVariables=1
[Text_1]
Meter=String
Text=#Text#
FontSize=22
FontColor=255,255,255
X=10
Y=10
Antialias=1
FontWeight=200
stringAlign = Left
FOntFace=Arial
DynamicVariables=1
LeftMouseUpAction=[!CommandMeasure InputHandler "Start"]
The following bangs can be used to interact with the input field:
| Bang | Description |
|---|---|
!CommandMeasure "start" |
Starts the input field. |
!CommandMeasure "stop" |
Stops the input field. |
!CommandMeasure "cleartext" |
Clears all text in the field. |
!CommandMeasure "copy" |
Copies text to the clipboard. |
!CommandMeasure "paste" |
Pastes text from the clipboard. |
!CommandMeasure "cut" |
Cuts text to the clipboard. |
!CommandMeasure "redo" |
Redoes the last action. |
!CommandMeasure "undo" |
Undoes the last action. |
!CommandMeasure "context" |
Opens the context menu. |
You can validate input with specific types:
- String: Allows all characters.
- Integer: Allows numbers and a negative sign at the start.
- Letters: Accepts only alphabetical characters.
- Alphanumeric: Accepts letters and numbers.
- Hexadecimal: Allows hexadecimal characters (A-F, 0-9).
- Float: Accepts floating-point numbers.
- Email: Ensures valid email format.
- Custom: Use the
AllowedCharactersproperty to specify accepted characters.
Example:
InputType=Custom
AllowedCharacters=abc123| Action | Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Backspace | 8 | Removes the character before the cursor position. |
| Delete | 46 | Removes the character at the cursor position. |
| Enter | 13 | Submits the input (if not in multiline mode) or inserts a newline (if in multiline mode). |
| Esc | 27 | Executes the assigned OnESCAction and stops input. |
| Arrow Left | 37 | Moves the cursor one position to the left. |
| Arrow Right | 39 | Moves the cursor one position to the right. |
| Home | 36 | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the text. |
| End | 35 | Moves the cursor to the end of the text. |
| Tab | 9 | Inserts a tab space at the current cursor position. |
| Caps Lock | 20 | Toggles the Caps Lock state. |
These shortcuts require the Ctrl key to be pressed along with a specific key:
| Action | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | Ctrl + C | Copy the current text to the clipboard. |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | Paste text from the clipboard. |
| Cut | Ctrl + X | Cut the current text to the clipboard. |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Undo the last change. |
| Redo | Ctrl + Y | Redo the last undone change. |
| Execute OnEnter | Ctrl + Enter | Executes the action assigned to the OnEnterAction only when Multiline=1, otherwise uses only Enter. |
| Name | Default Value | Require | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MeterName | None | Must Provide | The MeterName is a mandatory configuration parameter in the BlurInput plugin. It specifies the name of the Rainmeter meter that will visually display the text input managed by the plugin. The MeterName is used to dynamically update the meter's text with the input provided by the user. The text displayed can be the raw input, a masked version (e.g., for passwords), or modified using substitution rules. |
| Cursor | | | Optional | The Cursor marks the location where the next character will be inserted or deleted within the text buffer. By default, the Cursor is represented by a vertical bar but it can be customized. |
| Password | 0 | Optional | When Password is enabled Password=1, the text entered by the user is not shown directly in the text meter. Instead, eachcharacter is replaced with a masking symbol *. |
| Multiline | 0 | Optional | When Multiline is enabled Multiline=1, the plugin treats the text input as multi-line. This means users can insert linebreaks using the Enter key, and the text buffer will handle multiple lines. |
| FormatMultiline | 0 | Optional | When FormatMultiline=1, the plugin replaces all line breaks \r\n or \n in the TextBuffer with a single space , effectively flattening the text into a single line. If FormatMultiline=0, no changes are made to the text buffer, and it retains its multi-line format. |
| InputLimit | 0 | Optional | When InputLimit is set to a positive integer e.g.,InputLimit=50, it limits the maximum number of characters that can beentered into the text buffer. If a user attempts to type beyond this limit, the input is ignored. |
| ViewLimit | 0 | Optional | Control how much of the input text is visible in the meter, essentially defining the maximum width of the text displayed to the user. This is particularly useful when you want to display a portion of the text or manage the overflow within a fixed-width display area. If ViewLimit=0, the full length of the TextBuffer is displayed, regardless of how many characters it contains. There is no truncation, and the text appears as entered. |
| DefaultValue | Null | Optional | Defines the default text that appears in the input field when it is first loaded or when it is cleared. This value provides users with a hint, example, or placeholder text, guiding them on what type of input is expected. |
| InputType | String | Optional | Define the type of data that the input field will accept. It determines the kind of validation applied to the user's input, ensuring that only the specified type of data is allowed. This setting allows for multiple predefined input types or a custom set of allowed characters, providing flexibility based on the desired input requirements. It supports a range of predefined types like String, Integer, Float, Letters, Alphanumeric, Hexadecimal, and Email, as well as a Custom option for more specific validation. This flexibility allows for a tailored input experience |
| AllowedCharacters | Null | Optional | The AllowedCharacters setting defines a list of characters that are allowed for input when the InputType is set to "Custom".If you want to allow only numeric digits and alphabetic letters (both lowercase and uppercase), you would set the AllowedCharacters to "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789". |
| UnFocusDismiss | 0 | Optional | When UnFocusDismiss is set to 1, the input field will be dismissed automatically when it loses focus.This is particularly useful for situations where you want the input to be transient, only visible while the user is interacting with it. If UnFocusDismiss is set to 0, the input field will remain visible and active even when it loses focus. |
| ShowErrorDialog | 0 | Optional | If ShowErrorDialog is set to 1, the plugin will display a dialog box such as a pop-up containing an error message wheninvalid input is entered, or an error condition occurs. The Dialog will be displayed after submitting text. |
| SetInActiveValue | 0 | Optional | if ShowErrorDialog is set to 1,then the plugin set the value of InActiveValue instead of DefaultValue .when the input field dismiss or other action is performed. |
| InActiveValue | Null | Optional | The text of InActiveValue will be defined in that option. |
| OnDismissAction | Null | Optional | Defines the action or behavior that occurs when the input field is dismissed or loses focus. This can happen, for example, when the user clicks away from the input field or when any action is performed that causes the input field to no longer be active. |
| OnEnterAction | Null | Optional | Defines the action or behavior that occurs when the user presses the Enter key while interacting with the input field. This setting is useful for triggering specific events, such as submitting the input, running a script, or switching focus to another element, based on the user's input submission. |
| OnInvalidAction | Null | Optional | When a user enters invalid data such as text when only Integers are allowed, the validation function detects the failure and triggers the OnInvalidAction after submitting text. |
| OnESCAction | Null | Optional | Defines the action or behavior that occurs when the user presses the ESC key while interacting with the input field.This setting is useful for triggering specific events, such as submitting the input, running a script, or switching focus to another element, based on the user's input submission. |
| ForceValidInput | 0 | Optional | If ForceValidInput is set to 1, the plugin will enforce strict validation rules for the user input based on the InputType.For example, if the InputType is set to Integer, the plugin ensures that only digits and possibly a negative sign at the start are allowed. If the user enters an invalid character based on the validation rules, the input will be rejected. |
| FormBackgroundColor | 30,30,30 | Optional | The FormBackgroundColor refers to the background color of the form in your ContextForm and the ErrorDialog class. |
| FormButtonColor | 70,70,70 | Optional | The FormButtonColor refers to the button color of the form in your ContextForm and the ErrorDialog class. |
| FormTextColor | 255,255,255 | Optional | The FormTextColor refers to the text color of the form in your ContextForm and the ErrorDialog class. |
Contributions are welcome! If you have ideas for enhancements, bug fixes, or additional features, please submit an issue or pull request.
This project is licensed under the Apache License. See the LICENSE file for details.
- Developed by [Nasir Shahbaz].
- Inspired by the need for a cleaner, transparent input field in Rainmeter.
Enjoy using BlurInput and make your Rainmeter skins more interactive and stylish! 🎨