Welcome to the official, community-edited Enigma FAQ!
- How do I use Enigma?
- How do I replace my Windows taskbar?
- How do I add the big clock in the center of the preview?
An important thing to know: Enigma is not an application itself. It’s a suite of free-floating desktop widgets (or skins), which run on the Rainmeter platform. You need to have Rainmeter installed and running to use Enigma.
If you’re brand new to Rainmeter and you’ve never heard of any of this stuff before, this is the page for you: Rainmeter 101, the official tutorial for using and customizing skins. It’s a great introduction to the world of Rainmeter, and it will probably answer some of your questions about Enigma, as well.
Note: the answers to many of the questions below will assume that you have read Rainmeter 101, or are otherwise familiar with using and editing Rainmeter skins.
Rainmeter does not replace any Windows components. It is a standalone application that adds free-floating widgets (or skins) to your desktop, and it normally works right alongside your regular Windows taskbar, Explorer and wallpaper. Many people put a lot of effort into customizing the appearance of their computers, and they use many different programs, including Rainmeter, to create the dramatic themes that you see in screenshots and videos around the Internet.
The easiest way to change the look of your windows and taskbar is to install a custom visual style. There are literally hundreds of these available on deviantArt, WinCustomize and elsewhere. (Most require the Uxtheme.dll Patcher for Windows XP, Vista and 7. The patcher is very easy to use, and poses no harm to your system.)
To replace the Windows taskbar, you’ll need a program like RocketDock or ObjectDock. Windows also has a built-in setting to auto-hide your taskbar. In addition, you can download Visage, our own little Autohotkey-based accessory which allows you to toggle the visibility of the taskbar with a hotkey.
If you want to go even further, you can install a shell replacement, such as LiteStep, Emerge Desktop or SharpEnviro. Shell replacements are used to completely disable the normal Windows Explorer desktop shell, and replace them with their own window managers. These are extremely powerful tools, with many additional plugins and themes of their own, but they are also complicated and occasionally error-prone. If you aren’t comfortable with in-depth Windows customizing and system tweaking, you should be cautious when trying these tools for the first time.
That's Arcs, another skin that has traditionally been bundled with Enigma. You can now download Arcs separately, here.
