How to switch Rainmeter layouts per desktop

On Pro this is as easy as setting up one Action per switch with the appropriate !LoadLayout command. Free users can achieve the same functionality with a bit more involved scripting.

Understanding the action system

Alongside its desktops, WorkTop can run a command of your choosing whenever you switch between them. Commands are configured in the Actions section of the app, and this is the feature that will let us load a Rainmeter layout based on what desktop we are switching to.

Setting it up on Pro

To create an Action, you give it a name, set the triggering event, and select the desktop it applies to. After that you input the command string just as you would in the Command Prompt:

"C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\Rainmeter.exe" !LoadLayout "Work"

Substitute "Work" for one of your layouts. You can test run the command to verify it works, and you should see the layout change. Actions also have some advanced settings but they aren't relevant for this guide. You can read more about them in the Actions docs.

Repeat for each desktop you want a layout on, and you'll have one Action apiece.

For free users: scripting the same functionality

The free version of WorkTop is limited to a single Action, but this single Action allows you to manually implement essentially the same functionality that Pro makes more convenient. With the use of the Any desktop switch trigger and Action variables, combined with a simple script, you can load the corresponding layout just as well as with multiple distinct Actions.

First, create a PowerShell script. Call it switch-rainmeter.ps1 and save it somewhere that makes sense. For this guide we'll use C:\scripts:

param([string]$Desktop)

$rainmeter = "C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\Rainmeter.exe"

# Map each desktop name to the layout you want loaded on it
$layout = switch ($Desktop) {
    "Personal" { "Clean" }
    "Work"     { "Work" }
    "Focus"    { "Monitoring" }
    default    { $null }
}

if ($layout) {
    & $rainmeter !LoadLayout $layout
}

The switch block maps each desktop name to the Rainmeter layout you want to load. Edit those lines to match your own desktops and layouts. The default { $null } line means any desktop you haven't listed just keeps its current layout instead of erroring out. You could also create an empty layout if you prefer.

Now create the Action in WorkTop:

1. Double-click the tray icon (or launch WorkTop from the Start menu) to open the Manager, then click Actions → New action.
2. Give it a name, like Rainmeter layout.
3. Set When to Any desktop switch.
4. Set the Command to:
   shell Copy

   powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\scripts\switch-rainmeter.ps1" -Desktop "{to_name}"

5. Click Test command to check it runs (see the note below), then Create.

{to_name} is a WorkTop variable: before running the command, WorkTop replaces it with the name of the desktop you're switching to. So switching to your Work desktop runs the script with -Desktop "Work", the switch block picks the Work layout, and Rainmeter loads it. The quotes around {to_name} make sure it works even if a desktop name has spaces.

That's it. One Action now handles every desktop, and adding a fourth is one more line in the script. No new Action to create.

If your WorkTop desktops are linked to Windows virtual desktops, the same Action fires when you switch virtual desktops too, so your Rainmeter layout follows them as well. See linking to virtual desktops.

Finer control: individual skins instead of whole layouts

Layouts are the right tool for most setups. You arrange your skins once, save the layout, and switch to it as a single unit. If you want more granular control, loading and unloading individual skins rather than swapping the whole arrangement, use !ActivateConfig and !DeactivateConfigGroup in place of !LoadLayout:

"C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\Rainmeter.exe" !ActivateConfig "monitoring\cpu" "CPU.ini"

This is more verbose and more work to keep in sync, so it's only appropriate when per-skin control actually matters. For most people, layouts are simpler.

Going further

The script above is one case of a general pattern: branch on {to_name} (or {to_id} if you'd rather key off the desktop's stable GUID than its name), then run whatever command fits. The same method works for muting notifications, starting a dev server, changing your audio output, anything you can put in a script. For the full pattern and the complete list of variables WorkTop makes available, see Scripting with variables.