function FadeMeter(meter, startAlpha, endAlpha, speed)
    local startAlpha = startAlpha or 255    --"default" starting alpha
    local endAlpha = endAlpha or 0  --"default ending alpha
    local speed = speed or 0.1
    local meter = SKIN:GetMeter(meter)  --get the meter to fade

    if meter == nil then print("Error: "..meter.." is not a valid meter.") return end   --some simple error checking
    if (startAlpha > 255 or startAlpha < 0) or (endAlpha > 255 or endAlpha < 0) then print("Error: Alpha value out of range, must be between 0-255") return end

    if startAlpha > endAlpha then speed = -speed end    --counting down instead of up

    local meterType = string.lower(meter:GetOption("Meter"))    --get the "type" of meter (ie. String, Bar, etc.)
    local config = SKIN:GetVariable("CURRENTCONFIG")

    local solidColor, solidColor2 = nil, nil
    if meter:GetOption("SolidColor") ~= "" then solidColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("SolidColor")) end
    if meter:GetOption("SolidColor2") ~= "" then solidColor2 = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("SolidColor2")) end

    if meterType == "bar" then
        local barColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("BarColor"))
        local imageAlpha = meter:GetOption("ImageAlpha")
        setAlpha(meter:GetName(), config, startAlpha, endAlpha, speed, "SolidColor", solidColor, "SolidColor2", solidColor2, "BarColor", barColor, "ImageAlpha", imageAlpha)
    elseif meterType == "bitmap" or meterType == "button" or meterType == "image" or meterType == "rotator" then
        local imageAlpha = meter:GetOption("ImageAlpha")
        setAlpha(meter:GetName(), config, startAlpha, endAlpha, speed, "SolidColor", solidColor, "SolidColor2", solidColor2, "ImageAlpha", imageAlpha)
    elseif meterType == "histogram" then
        local primaryColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("PrimaryColor"))
        local secondaryColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("SecondaryColor"))
        local bothColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("BothColor"))
        local primaryImageAlpha = meter:GetOption("PrimaryImageAlpha")
        local secondaryImageAlpha = meter:GetOption("SecondaryImageAlpha")
        local bothImageAlpha = meter:GetOption("BothImageAlpha")
        setAlpha(meter:GetName(), config, startAlpha, endAlpha, speed, "SolidColor", solidColor, "SolidColor2", solidColor2, "PrimaryColor", primaryColor, "SecondaryColor", secondaryColor, "BothColor", bothColor, "PrimaryImageAlpha", primaryImageAlpha, "SecondaryImageAlpha", secondaryImageAlpha, "BothImageAlpha", bothImageAlpha)
    elseif meterType == "line" then
        SKIN:Bang("!ShowMeter "..meter:GetName().." "..config)
        local horizontalLineColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("HorizontalLineColor"))
        local lineColor = { }
        lineColor[1] = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("LineColor"))
        local i = 2
        repeat
            local found = false
            if meter:GetOption("MeasureName"..i) == "" then found = true else lineColor[i] = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("LineColor"..i)) end
            i = i + 1
        until (found == true)
        for i=startAlpha, endAlpha, speed do
            if ((speed > 0) and ((i + speed) > endAlpha)) or ((speed < 0) and ((i + speed) < endAlpha)) then i = endAlpha end
            if horizontalLineColor ~= nil then SKIN:Bang("!SetOption "..meter:GetName().." HorizontalLineColor "..horizontalLineColor..i.." "..config) end
            if solidColor ~= nil then SKIN:Bang("!SetOption "..meter:GetName().." SolidColor "..solidColor..i.." "..config) end
            if solidColor2 ~= nil then SKIN:Bang("!SetOption "..meter:GetName().." SolidColor2 "..solidColor2..i.." "..config) end
            if lineColor[1] ~= nil then SKIN:Bang("!SetOption "..meter:GetName().." LineColor "..lineColor[1]..i.." "..config) end
            for j=2, #lineColor do SKIN:Bang("!SetOption "..meter:GetName().." LineColor"..j.." "..lineColor[j]..i.." "..config) end
            SKIN:Bang("!UpdateMeter "..meter:GetName().." "..config)
            SKIN:Bang("!Redraw "..config)
        end
    elseif meterType == "roundline" then
        local lineColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("LineColor"))
        setAlpha(meter:GetName(), config, startAlpha, endAlpha, speed, "SolidColor", solidColor, "SolidColor2", solidColor2, "LineColor", lineColor)
    elseif meterType == "string" then
        local fontColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("FontColor"), "0,0,0,")
        local effectColor = stripAlpha(meter:GetOption("FontEffectColor"), "0,0,0,")
        setAlpha(meter:GetName(), config, startAlpha, endAlpha, speed, "SolidColor", solidColor, "SolidColor2", solidColor2, "FontColor", fontColor, "FontEffectColor", effectColor)
    end

    if endAlpha == 0 then   --Hide the meter if the Alpha value is 0
        SKIN:Bang("!HideMeter "..meter:GetName().." "..config)
    end
end

function stripAlpha(option, defaultValue)
    local defaultValue = defaultValue or "255,255,255,"
    if option == "" or option == nil then
        if string.sub(defaultValue, -1) ~= "," then defaultValue = defaultValue.."," end    --add a comma at the end of the string if none is provided
        option = defaultValue
    elseif string.find(option, ",") then
        option = string.join(string.split(option, ",", 3), ",")..","
    else
        local temp = { }
        local j = 1
        for i=1, 6, 2 do
            temp[j] = tonumber(string.sub(option, i, i+1), 16)
            j = j + 1
        end
        option = string.join(temp, ",")..","
    end
    return option
end

function setAlpha(meterName, config, startAlpha, endAlpha, speed, ...)
    SKIN:Bang("!ShowMeter "..meterName.." "..config)
    local i, j
    for i=startAlpha, endAlpha, speed do
        if ((speed > 0) and ((i + speed) > endAlpha)) or ((speed < 0) and ((i + speed) < endAlpha)) then
            i = endAlpha    --close enough to the endAlpha value
        end
        for j=1, arg['n'], 2 do
            if string.find(arg[j], "Alpha") then
                SKIN:Bang("!SetOption "..meterName.." "..arg[j].." "..i.." "..config)   --if the option is a single number (ie. ImageAlpha)
            elseif arg[j+1] ~= nil then
                SKIN:Bang("!SetOption "..meterName.." "..arg[j].." "..arg[j+1]..i.." "..config) --if option is a comma separated value (ie. FontColor)
            end
        end
        SKIN:Bang("!UpdateMeter "..meterName.." "..config)
        SKIN:Bang("!Redraw "..config)
    end
end

string.join = function(myTable, deliminator)
    if deliminator == nil then return table.concat(myTable)
    else return table.concat(myTable, deliminator) end
end

string.split = function(myString, deliminator, maxIndex)
    if string.find(myString, deliminator) == nil then return {myString} end --return the string (as a table) if no deliminator is found
    if maxIndex == nil or maxIndex < 1 then maxIndex = 0 end    --maxIndex is the number of index's to return (0 for unlimited)
    local result = {}
    local pattern = "(.-)"..deliminator.."()"
    local index = 0
    local lastPosition
    for match, position in string.gmatch(myString, pattern) do
        index = index + 1
        result[index] = match
        lastPosition = position
        if index == maxIndex then break end
    end
    if index ~= maxIndex then result[index + 1] = string.sub(myString, lastPosition) end
    return result
end