This is what my desktop looks like:
Necessary Programs
-Serious Samurize 1.64.3 - UPDATED
-Emerge Desktop
Optional Programs
-Winamp
-Speedfan
-Foobar
First things first, download Emerge Desktop and follow the instrcution on how to use it here. It's awkward and strange to get used to at first, but trust me, it makes everything much faster and nicer in the end. Set it up how you want it, but you will likely will be changing it later to work with Samurize.
Next download Serious Samurize, and we will begin the tutorial!
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1) Open Serious Samurize Config Editor.
2) Determine whether you want to have a transparent background or an interactive background.
2.1) I decided to make it transparent because I noticed it gets a bit laggy when having too much material in the Design area, plus it works better with Emerge Desktop in the long run. *(If you decide to create your own background images or background objects you may want to look for a different tutorial)
^^EXAMPLE OF WHAT NOT TO DO (MY FIRST)
3) To begin you will want to come up with a basic design for how you want your desktop to appear. For me I love simlicity so I try not to overdue anything.
3.1) Ask yourself: What information do you want to see?
-Hard-drive Space
-Time
-Date
-CPU Load
-CPU Temp
-Music (now playing)
3.2) Where do you want your information to be displayed?
-Wherever it looks pretty!
4) START IMPLEMENTING YOUR IDEAS!
4.1) TIME AND DATE
-Click Add Meter.
-Select Add time/date (that was easy)
-Now here is were the design aspect comes in
-Go to the source tab and figure out how formating works, and select your time zone. From here you will want to decide if you will make the time and date conjoined, or seperate like mine.
-Go to the Display tab and type "%v" in the text box to display your format. Another important feature in this tab is the font and color. To create a nice looking desktop, keep to the same font!
4.2) Drive Space
-Click Add Meter.
-Select Add Drive Space
-Simply go to source and choose your drive.
-Then choose your properties under the Display tab. In the text box, for example, write "C: %v GB Free"; this will create the static text "C:" and "GB Free", but will make the meter value (%v) dynamic. So it will appear as "C: 32g Free".
4.3) CPU LOAD
-Click Add Meter.
-Select Add Perfmon...
-Select % Processor Time
-Now you can play around with the settings. For the text box I put "%v%".
-You can also begin adding additional text such as "CPU" by going to, Add Meter, and selecting Add Text.
4.4) CPU TEMP
-Click Add Meter
-Select Harware Status
-Select *Speed Fan
-Go to the source tab and choose what sensor type you want to use, I choose Temp. My text display is, "%v°".
*(For this option to appear you must download SpeedFan and configure your settings inside this program)
4.5) Music
-Click Add Meter
-Slect Media
-Choose between Foobar, QCD, or Winamp
-I use winamp
-First I made a progress bar, so under the general tab choose progressbar, and make the source "%prc". From here you can play around with the display settings.
-Next I made a now playing section. Under general choose text, and type "%wp" as the source format.
5) Make the necessary changes
-You may want to start making everything look how you want it if you didn't already do so. For example, making color changes or creating objects (rectangles, circles), or adding images (hd's, clocks).
-You should now understand how the program works so go crazy! Play around and show me your creations!
6) Save and Use!
-File>>Save As
-Goto Programs>>Serious Samurize>>Samurize
-Right click on tray icon>>Select Config file>>Select your file
-Right Click again and choose Run on Startup
-Now Pick a background image like you normally would and WAALA!
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Let me know if you have any questions or comments :)
-Uber