Windows Sidebar is a long, vertical bar that is displayed on the side of your desktop. It contains mini-programs called gadgets, which offer information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used tools. For example, you can use gadgets to display a picture slide show, view continuously updated headlines, or look up contacts.
Sidebar and gadgetsWHY USE SIDEBAR?
Sidebar can keep information and tools readily available for you to use. For example, you can display news headlines right next to your open programs. This way, if you want to keep track of what's happening in the news while you work, you don't have to stop what you're doing to switch to a news website.
With Sidebar, you can use the Feed Headlines gadget to show the latest news headlines from sources you choose. You don't have to stop working on your document, because the headlines are always visible. If you peripherally see a headline that interests you, you can click that headline, and your web browser will open directly to the story.
To open Sidebar
- Open Windows Sidebar by clicking the Start button
, clicking All Programs, clickingAccessories, and then clicking Windows Sidebar.
To keep Sidebar visible at all times, you must set it so that other windows won't cover it. The Sidebar width is a fixed size.
To keep windows from covering Sidebar
Because of the space Sidebar requires, this option works best if you're using a large or wide-screen monitor or multiple monitors.
- Open Windows Sidebar properties by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking WindowsSidebar Properties.
- Select the Sidebar is always on top of other windows check box.
- Click OK.
GETTING STARTED WITH GADGETS
Windows comes with a small collection of gadgets, but only some of them appear on Sidebar by default. To understand how to use gadgets, let's explore three gadgets that you'll see on Sidebar when you first start Windows: the Clock, Slide Show, and Feed Headlines.
How does the Clock work?
When you point to the Clock gadget, two buttons will appear near its upper-right corner: the Close button—which is the top button—and the Options button.
The ClockClicking the Close button removes the Clock from Sidebar. The button below the close button displays options for naming the clock, changing its time zone, and showing its second hand.
Note
Not all gadgets have an Options button. Gadgets without an Options button don't have settings that can be changed.
How does Slide Show work?
Next try resting the pointer on the Slide Show gadget, which displays a continuous slide show of pictures on your computer.
Slide ShowWhen you point to Slide Show, the Close and Options buttons will appear near the upper-right corner of the gadget.
Clicking the Options button allows you to choose which pictures appear in your slide show, control the speed at which your slide show plays, and change the transition effect between pictures.
How does Feed Headlines work?
Feed Headlines can display frequently updated headlines from a website that suppliesfeeds, also known as RSS feeds, XML feeds, syndicated content, or web feeds. Websites often use feeds to distribute news and blogs. To receive feeds, you need an Internet connection. By default, Feed Headlines won't display any headlines. To start displaying a small set of preselected headlines, click View headlines.
Feed HeadlinesWhen you point to Feed Headlines, the Close and Options buttons will appear near the upper-right corner of the gadget. Clicking the Options button allows you to choose from a list of available feeds. You can add to the list by choosing your own feeds from the web.
WHICH GADGETS DO I HAVE?
Before a gadget can be added to Sidebar, it must be installed on your computer. To see which gadgets are installed on your computer:
- At the top of Sidebar, click the plus sign (+) to open the Gadget Gallery.
Add Gadget button - Click the scroll buttons to see all the gadgets.
- Click a gadget, and then click Show details to see information about it at the bottom of the dialog box.
The Gadget GalleryYou can download additional gadgets from the web. To find gadgets online, go to theMicrosoft Gadgets website.
Adding and removing gadgets
You can add any installed gadget to Sidebar. If you want, you can add multiple instances of a gadget. For example, if you are keeping track of time in two time zones, you can add two instances of the Clock gadget and set the time of each accordingly.
ORGANIZING GADGETS
You can organize your gadgets in any of several ways:
- You can keep all of the gadgets attached to Sidebar.
- You can change the display order of gadgets in Sidebar. To do this, drag a gadget to a new position.
- You can keep some gadgets attached to Sidebar and place some on the desktop.
- You can detach all of the gadgets from Sidebar and place them on the desktop. If you organize your gadgets this way, you might want to close Sidebar.
