Windows Sidebar

From WinCustomize Wiki

Windows Sidebar

Windows Sidebar shows "gadgets" on your desktop Developer: Microsoft Corporation Latest release: 6.1.7600 / October 22, 2009 OS: Microsoft Windows Vista and 7 Genre: OS Customization License: Website: Windows 7 Features Page: Gadgets

Windows Sidebar is an application that is included with Windows Vista and Windows 7 that shows widgets, or as they are called in Sidebar, "gadgets," on your desktop. They can be docked onto a bar on the left or right side of your desktop (in Windows Vista), or they can be dragged off the bar and put anywhere on your desktop. The gadgets can do anything from showing the time to showing unread e-mails. Windows Sidebar is only legally available in Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Many people are creating gadgets for the sidebar. Gadgets are written using DHTML and are distributed using ZIP files with the ".gadget" file extension.

Contents 1 User Experience 1.1 What the Windows Sidebar Does 1.2 How to Use the Windows Sidebar 1.2.1 The Basics 1.2.2 Advanced Options 2 Features 3 History 3.1 Current Version 3.2 Previous Versions 4 Links 4.1 Product Information 4.2 Downloads 4.3 Documentation & Help 4.4 Tutorials 5 Notes & References

User Experience

What the Windows Sidebar Does

Windows Sidebar is an application that is included with Windows Vista and Windows 7 that shows widgets, or as they are called in Sidebar, "gadgets," on your desktop.

How to Use the Windows Sidebar

The Basics

It is very easy to use the Windows Sidebar. It actually starts by default with your computer. If it isn't open, click the Start orb, choose All Programs, click on Accessories, and then choose Windows Sidebar (Windows Vista) or simply right-click on the desktop and choose Gadgets (Windows 7). There should already be a few gadgets on your sidebar. To add more, just click the + (plus) sign at the top of the sidebar (Windows Vista) or right-click on the desktop and choose Gadgets (Windows 7) to open the gadget selection window. You can drag gadgets in that window onto the sidebar or onto your desktop. There is also a link to download more gadgets from an online gadget gallery. To close a gadget, just put your mouse over it. A close button should appear to the right of the gadget which you can click to close it.

Advanced Options

• Some gadgets have settings that can be set, such as your ZIP or Country code or how the gadget looks. To set the options for a gadget, just put your mouse over the gadget and click the wrench icon that appears to the right.
• Sidebar on top of all windows
• Changing the position of the sidebar to the opposite side of the screen
• Changing the screen that the sidebar appears on
• Changing the opacity of gadgets

Features

• Show gadgets that can provide all kinds of content like the news, your email, the weather, a calendar, and how much RAM is free.
• Ability to dock the gadgets onto a sidebar or have them loose on the desktop.
• Option to have the sidebar on top of windows
• Settings to change where the sidebar is, such as on the left or right of the screen, or on a different screen.

History

Current Version

6.1.7600, as part of Windows 7 on October 22, 2009

Previous Versions

6.0.6001.18000, January 19, 2008 6.0.6000, released to public January 30, 2007

Links

Product Information

• Windows Sidebar Info Page at Microsoft

Downloads

• Download more gadgets for your sidebar
• WinCustomize Sidebar Gadgets gallery
• Update your version of Windows to include the latest version of the Sidebar.

Documentation & Help

• Windows Sidebar help documents on Microsoft's web site

Tutorials

There are currently no tutorials available for the Windows Sidebar.

Notes & References