WidgetPublisher:Vista Sidebar
The Windows Sidebar (called Windows Desktop Gadgets in Windows 7) is a widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets. It was introduced with Windows Vista, in which it features a sidebar anchored to the side of the desktop, but this was removed in Windows 7. Its widgets, called Gadgets, can perform various tasks, such as displaying the time and date and showing the CPU usage. Several gadgets ship with Windows, and anyone can develop more gadgets (Source: Wikipedia).
Compilation
Installation method
Widgets can be downloaded to Vista Sidebar using a simple link.The URL can be built programatically as follows:
http://www.widgetavenue.com/wdg/loaders/msv.php?[Encoded list of args]
For example,using the Hello World widget built here, if your source HTML file is located at http://myserver.com/HelloWorld.html, you will be able to download your widget to Vista Sidebar using the following link:
http://www.widgetavenue.com/wdg/loaders/msv.php?root=html&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmyserver.com%2FHelloWorld.html
Specific features
Widgets (called Gadgets) can be rendered either inside the sidebar, or on the desktop. The WidgetAvenue platform supports this feature using either the _docked_ parameter, or the ldWidgetUid_isWidgetDocked function.
Issues
- A "pink effect" (magenta halo) appears when using transparent zones around widgets.
- When using the Flash format, there is no way to avoid this, so Flash widgets in Vista should be rectangular to be properly rendered
- When using the waHTML/waJS format, this can be avoided by coloring the transparent zone in magenta.