Windows Sidebar
| A component of Microsoft Windows | |
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| Details | |
| Type | Desktop widget engine |
| Included with | Windows Vista, Windows 7 |
| Replaces | Active Desktop |
| Replaced by | Start screen in Windows 8 |
| Related components | |
| Microsoft Gadgets, Windows shell | |
The Windows Desktop Gadgets (called Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista) was a widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets, with program name sidebar.exe. It was introduced with Windows Vista, in which it features a sidebar anchored to the side of the desktop. Its widgets, called Gadgets, can perform various tasks, such as displaying the time and date and showing the CPU usage.
Microsoft retired Windows Live Gallery in late 2011 when developing Windows 8. In subsequent months when vulnerabilities were publicized concerning exploitative Gadgets, Microsoft recommends to current users to disable the Sidebar and discontinue using Gadgets. The Windows 8 Live Tiles run in a more restrictive security environment, making them less risky, but also less useful for some purposes, like system monitoring.
Windows Desktop Gadgets contains mini-applications or Gadgets which are based on a combination of Script and HTML. They may be used to display information such as the system time and Internet-powered features such as RSS feeds, and to control external applications such as Windows Media Player. Gadgets can run "docked" in the sidebar or they can "float" anywhere on the desktop. It is also possible to run multiple instances of a gadget simultaneously.
Windows Vista ships with eleven gadgets: Calendar, Clock, Contacts, CPU Meter, Currency Conversion, Feed Headlines, Notes, Picture Puzzle, Slide Show, Stocks, and Weather. Several other gadgets available during the Vista beta such as App Launcher, Feed Viewer, Number Puzzle, Recycle Bin and Egg Timer were removed. Windows 7 adds a Media Center gadget and removes the Contacts, Notes and Stocks gadgets. Desktop Gadgets were included in Windows 8 up to the Release Preview but removed from the RTM version. Windows Sidebar is not available on Microsoft Windows Server 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, or 2016.
Originally, Microsoft provided a link to a web site called Windows Live Gallery where additional Sidebar gadgets that have been created by third party clients could be downloaded. The site was officially retired on October 1, 2011. Citing security, Microsoft has released a Fixit tool to disable Desktop Gadgets on all operating systems. There are also tools from third party websites that can install Desktop Gadgets on Windows 8 and Windows 10.
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