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Questions tagged [windows-desktop-gadgets]

Windows Desktop Gadgets is the official name for the default widget interface on Windows 7. Windows Vista referred to them as Windows Sidebar Gadgets, but it was decided the sidebar that they would dock to should be removed in later versions of windows.

Windows Desktop Gadgets is the official name for the default widget interface on Windows 7. Windows Vista referred to them as Windows Sidebar Gadgets, but it was decided the sidebar that they would dock to should be removed in later versions of windows. They are written using standard web technologies (JavaScript, HTML, CSS) but have access to specific System APIs. They can also run unsigned ActiveX components without prompting the user for authorisation.

A basic Windows Desktop Gadget consists of 3 files;

  • a manifest file, gadget.xml, containing meta data such as title, description, author, etc;
  • a HTML file for the main gadget window; and
  • an image for the gadget background.

A gadget is packaged up for installation by compressing the files to a zip or a cab format and then renaming the extension to .gadget.

Example gadgets

a clock, a calendar and a weather application. http://i.msdn.microsoft.com/dynimg/IC295047.png

Windows Desktop Gadgets on Stack Overflow

The following is a list of useful questions tagged [windows-desktop-gadgets]:

Other references

230 questions
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Executing commands from C# problem

I've made a little C# tool for monitoring sidebar.exe (as some know there's a strange memory leak in it, so this monitor restarts the sidebar.exe process when it reaches a limit...). Before this I had a .bat file doing it and I was running it…
Eugene Marin
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Can't install Windows 7 gadget

I'm developing a very simple gadget for Windows 7. I have created an index.html file and a gadget.xml file, compressed them as a zip, changed the extension to gadget. When I double click on the .gadget file I get a window telling me if I'm sure I…
brafales
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Differences between gadget programming in Vista and Windows 7?

Besides the obvious fact that there's no sidebar in Windows 7, are there any differences in the way gadgets are put together? Anything I should look out for / resources I should read through? Thanks!
Andy Mikula
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Determining CPU and RAM usage in a Silverlight 4 WIndows Sidebar Gadget

I'm trying to write a Silverlight 4 Windows Sidebar Gadget that, among other things, can monitor the usage of each CPU core (as a percentage) and the usage of RAM (in bytes) of the host computer. I've tried using System.Management, but Visual…
Ethan
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Simple JavaScript works in Chrome only (need Internet Explorer)

I am facing an issue: I need to do html meta refresh (because I do windows gadget, this is only thing what works in Internet Viewer (not Internet Explorer), there is no location.href or anything similar (it always opens in new windows instead of…
Jiri Zaloudek
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How to enable scrollbars in Windows Sidebar Gadgets?

I would like to make the entire gadgetContent div of my Sidebar Gadget scrollable if its content overflows its height. I can get a scrollbar to show up. Unfortunately, any time I click+drag this bar, I move the entire gadget. Here's my…
AndreiM
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Examples of quering the msn weather api using ajax or jquery

I am having trouble finding a simple example that demonstrates how to query the msn or yahoo weather api using ajax or jquery. I want to understand how I can pass a query to these api's and then retrieve string information back which I can then…
user462220
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How to delete a file using Windows Sidebar Gadget API?

I know that Windows Sidebar Gadget API provides functionality beyond normal Javascript capabilities. Does it manipulate files? How? I didn't find how to do it in the API Reference
Jader Dias
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How can I sign a Gadget for Windows Sidebar?

Does anyone know how to sign a gadget for Windows Sidebar (*.gadget)? I tried with signtool, but without any result. Thanks
THAL Nicolas
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Developing Windows (Vista/7) Gadgets

Apart from seeming a few, I don't know much about how gadgets work. Are they special applications, or regular apps with special styled windows? I can't think of any app I use which has asked me if I want to install a gadget... I'd have thought any…
Mr. Boy
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MSBuild "Debug" configuration not working in VS 2010 Beta 2

I'm trying to set up my environment for developing, debugging and deploying Windows Desktop Gadgets. I've hit a bit of a roadblock in my project, where I can't run a build on my gadget when the configuration is set to "Debug". If the configuration…
Andy E
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Error when calling a .net dll from Com Visible dll using javascript

I am developing a windows 7 gadget.I am creating an activex object and loading the assembly.I am following the methodlogy mentioned here at codeproject (GadgetInterop). One of the tasks of the gadget is to interface with Facebook. This is how I am…
rAm
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Windows 7 Gadgets - Programming language for development

Which is the preferred development language for Windows 7 gadgets? I know that a gadget uses Xml, Html, CSS and Script(Java/VB) but I need some advanced features such as: Writing/Reading a file Getting list of running processes Sending keys to an…
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Windows 7 Gadgets - Windows 7 Logo Program Certification

One of the requirements for the "Windows 7 Logo Program" is that the application must be a standalone application. Does a Windows 7 gadget qualify as a standalone application? To my knowledge, a gadget runs under the Sidebar.exe process (also in…
A9S6
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Javascript code Substring

I'm trying to create a gadget for win 7, that retrieves the RSS feed from a site. So far so good, everything works fine, just that I want to add something extra. The gadget so far extracts the link from the feed and stores it in a variable named…
Splash
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