In: Categories » Computers and technology » Windows Vista » Windows Vista Sidebar and Gadgets
| Gadgets perform automated tasks and display information; they live in the Windows Sidebar on the Desktop. To open Double-click the Windows Sidebar icon in the notification area. Control Panel -> [Appearance and Personalization] -> Windows Sidebar Properties -> Start Sidebar when Windows starts Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Sidebar Description One of Windows Vista's most useful new features is the Windows Sidebar and the Gadgets that live there. Gadgets are mini-applications that automatically perform a variety of useful tasks or display helpful information; many of them are designed to connect to the Internet in order to grab information for you. For example, they can fetch and display current stock information, news, and traffic reports. They can also play live slideshows of pictures on your PC and display information about how your system is currently performing. And they can integrate with your applications to give you a quick way to interact with them, for example, by displaying Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds from Internet Explorer, or displaying recent emails. Gadgets live in the Windows Sidebar on the right side of the screen, although you can move the Sidebar to the left. Make the Sidebar and Gadgets appear by double-clicking the Windows Sidebar icon in the notification area or by right-clicking the icon and choosing Bring Gadgets to Front. (Make them disappear by double-clicking the icon again.) Choose new Gadgets by clicking the + sign at the top of the Sidebar, and a gallery of available Gadgets appears. Drag a Gadget to the place on the Sidebar where you want it to appear. The Gadgets that ship with Windows Vista are only a few of the Gadgets that are ultimately expected to be available. Click "Get more gadgets online" at the bottom of the Gadget gallery, and you'll be sent to a web page with a list of more Gadgets you can download and use.Two types of Gadgets are available from Microsoft's web site, but only one of them is designed to work with Windows Vista and the Windows Sidebar. One type of Gadget lives on the Microsoft Windows Live site, and you can use this type only when visiting the site in your browser. You won't be able to put these Gadgets on the Windows Sidebar. The other type is designed to work on the Windows Sidebar. To remove a Gadget from the sidebar, hover your mouse over it and click the X that appears just above it. To customize how the Gadget works, click the checkmark, and a dialog box appears. This box will vary from Gadget to Gadget, depending on each Gadget's function Via the Windows Sidebar Control Panel applet, you have some basic control over how the Windows Sidebar works. Choose Control Panel -> Windows Sidebar, or right-click the Windows Sidebar icon, and choose Properties. The applet will let you control whether the Windows Sidebar should automatically display every time you start Windows, whether to always keep the Windows Sidebar on top of other windows, whether to display the Windows Sidebar on the right side of the screen (the default) or the left, and, if you use more than one monitor, it will let you determine on which monitor the Windows Sidebar should be displayed. There's also a View list of running Gadgets button that will show you a list of all the Gadgets currently on the Windows Sidebar, and let you remove any. (Removing one removes it only from the Windows Sidebar, not from your PC.)Notes
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