Windows Vista: The Complete Reference (Complete Reference Series)

Setting Up the Windows Sidebar and Gadgets

Windows Vista includes a new feature call Windows Sidebar. It sits on your desktop and provides an area to organize and place small, specialized applications. These applications are called gadgets. Windows includes a handful of gadgets that you can display on the Sidebar, but the real power of the Sidebar and Gadget feature will be realized when you download gadgets from the Web. Other users can distribute their own custom gadgets on the Web for Vista users to download and use.

At the time of this writing, Microsoft has a web site (http://www.microsoftgadgets.com/) from which you can download gadgets to your computer and display them on the Sidebar. The following list describes some of the available gadgets with Vista and from the Gadgets web site:

Turning on the Windows Sidebar

To turn on the Windows Sidebar and display gadgets on it, choose Start All Programs Accessories Windows Sidebar. If any gadgets have been set up on the Sidebar initially, you see them displayed on the Sidebar. Figure 12-16 shows an example of the Sidebar and a few gadgets set up.

Figure 12-16: Windows Vista includes the Sidebar, which can display gadgets.

The Sidebar really doesn't do much by itself. You usually load it up with gadgets to help you work more efficiently , to add productivity applications to your desktop, or just to have fun (there are some game and puzzle gadgets). You can move the Sidebar to the left side of the desktop from its default position on the right side. Other customization options allow you to have Sidebar open when you start Windows and change the monitor (when working with dual monitors ) on which the Sidebar display. The following steps show how to modify the Sidebar:

  1. Right-click the Sidebar and choose Properties to open the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box (as shown in Figure 12-17).

    Figure 12-17: Customize the Sidebar with the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box.

  2. Choose Start Sidebar When Windows Starts to have the Sidebar automatically start when Windows starts.

  3. Choose Sidebar Is Always On Top Of Other Windows to keep the Sidebar visible even when you have other applications and windows open.

  4. Choose the side (Right or Left) you want the Sidebar to display on.

  5. Choose the monitor (1 or 2) to have the Sidebar switch to a different monitor when you are using the dual-monitor feature of Vista.

  6. Click View List Of Running Gadgets to display the View Gadgets window. Here you can see a list of gadgets on the Sidebar. Click a gadget from the View Gadgets window and click Remove to remove the gadget from the Sidebar. Click Close to return to the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box.

  7. If you have uninstalled gadgets from your system and want to reinstall them, click the Restore Gadgets Installed With Windows button. This option is grayed out if you have not uninstalled them.

  8. Click OK to close the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box.

Adding a Gadget to the Sidebar

To add a gadget to the Sidebar, click the plus sign at the top of the Sidebar or right-click the Sidebar and choose Add Gadgets. Either way, a window showing all the installed gadgets on your system appears (as shown in Figure 12-18). This window is called the Gadget Gallery.

Figure 12-18: Gadgets can be added to the Sidebar using this window, the Gadget Gallery.

To add a gadget to the Sidebar, do one of the following:

  1. Double-click the gadget in the Gadget Gallery. This adds the gadget to the top of the Sidebar. You can move the gadget to another location on the Sidebar by dragging-and-dropping the gadget from one location to another.

  2. Drag-and-drop the gadget from the Gadget Gallery window to a position on the Sidebar.

Although the few gadgets provided with Windows Vista are handy, you may want to see what's available on the Internet. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Get More Gadgets Online link in the Gadget Gallery window. This opens your web browser to the Windows Vista Gadget Gallery, shown in Figure 12-19.

    Figure 12-19: Microsoft has gadgets online that you can download and install.

  2. Choose a category on the left side of the web page to see the gadgets that are available for download.

  3. Click the Download button under the gadget you want to download.

  4. Choose OK to confirm that you agree with the terms of downloading the item.

  5. Click the Open button in the File Download dialog box.

  6. Click Install when prompted if you want to install the gadget. Vista installs the gadget, adds it to the Sidebar, and includes it in your Gadget Gallery.

Once a gadget is on the Sidebar, you can change its properties if it includes them. Some gadgets may not have customization options (called properties sometimes). For example, the CPU Meter gadget does not include options for changing how it looks or behaves. On the other hand, the Clock gadget includes options for changing the look of the clock, setting a name for the clock (handy if you have multiple clocks showing), setting the time zone, and displaying the second hand on the clock.

To change a property, right-click the gadget and click Options. If the Options item is not there, look for something similar, such as Properties. In the resulting dialog box, choose the options you want to set. Click OK when finished. You also can display the options by clicking the gadget to display the gadget's small toolbar that appears to its right. This toolbar includes controls for closing the gadget (an X), a properties icon (the shape of a small wrench), and a gripper icon (for moving the gadget). Click the wrench icon to open the options for that gadget.

One type of customization you can set on all gadgets is the Opacity setting. This tells Vista how opaque to display a gadget. A lower opacity setting provides less opacity; that is, the gadget is more transparent, allowing you to see better what's behind it. For instance, gadgets set at 100% opacity are fully visible. A setting of 20%, however, makes the gadget hardly visible, so that you can see what's onscreen behind it. To set the opacity, right-click a gadget, choose Opacity, and choose a setting: 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, or 100%. By default, gadgets display at 100% opacity.

To remove a gadget from the Sidebar, do one of the following:

Placing a Gadget on the Desktop

Gadgets do not have to be placed on the Windows Sidebar to display them. You can move gadgets to the desktop from the Sidebar or place them on the desktop initially. This is handy if you want to have a gadget running but do not want the Windows Sidebar to show. Also, when you put a gadget on the desktop, you are not limited to placing it on the left or right side. You can move the gadget to any location.

To add a gadget to the desktop with the Windows Sidebar open, drag-and-drop a gadget from the Sidebar to the desktop. You also can open the Gadget Gallery (right-click the Sidebar and choose Add Gadgets) and drag-and-drop a gadget from the Gadget Gallery to the desktop. You also can open the Gadget Gallery by right-clicking a gadget and choosing Add Gadgets.

You can close the Sidebar if all your gadgets are now placed on the desktop or if you just no longer want to see the Sidebar. Right-click the Sidebar and choose Close Sidebar.

Figure 12-20 shows a desktop with gadgets displayed without the Sidebar open. To quickly open the Sidebar (when you have a gadget on the desktop), right-click the gadget and choose Attach To Sidebar. This does two things: opens the Sidebar and moves the gadget to the Sidebar.

Figure 12-20: Gadgets can be moved to the desktop.

Note  

Gadgets are pretty cool, but remember that each one consumes memory and other system resources (CPU cycles, graphics memory, Internet time, etc.). Unless your computer has large amounts of memory and a fast CPU (2.0 GHz or higher), you may want to limit the number of gadgets you add to the Sidebar or the desktop.

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