DesktopX 3.5 was released recently, and one of the biggest feature updates is the ability to export your DX creations as a Vista sidebar gadget. Creating a gadget for the Vista sidebar isn’t the easiest thing to do, and it has limitations that DesktopX can easily overcome. DesktopX is a very powerful application which can create a wide variety of mini-applications for your desktop. These can range from simple weather gadgets, on up to very complex applications with multiple functions all that can be wrapped in custom graphics.
The gadgets that can be created with DesktopX can be scripted with many languages including C++, which allows an almost endless amount of possibilities. Now if you aren’t big on scripting, don’t be too intimidated, as you can still create some great gadgets with the included plugins, or by going through the huge amount of documentation/tutorials provided by Stardock. You can also find more tutorials written by experienced community members which can be found at the WinCustomize Wiki.
I have created quite a few DesktopX widgets over the last few years, and although I am not a coder, I was able to create some really cool and useful widgets. I’m going to take you on a walkthrough on how to create a desktop widget, and turn it into a Vista sidebar gadget using DesktopX Pro 3.5. I’m going to break apart the Election Countdown gadget I made, which will make a perfect example for today’s guide.
Since I am somewhat of a political junkie, I wanted a simple countdown gadget that would tell me how many days left until the 2008 election. Remember, this is just the example I’m using today, the process for creating the sidebar gadget will work the same for whatever type of gadget you create.
First step is creating the basic graphic resources for my project. This of course will vary depending on what type of gadget you are creating, but since mine is a simple countdown, I really just needed a single image which will have space for the countdown numbering.
Once my graphics are complete I fire up the DesktopX Builder and click the button to create a new desktop object. This will serve as the base of my countdown gadget.
From the properties window I can set my graphic resources, and create a new script which will control the actual countdown.
Once my countdown script is set and applied, I can move on to tweaking the font that will be used to display the number of days remaining according to my countdown. You can also adjust colors, add shadows, and many more options in this area.
I check to make sure all my graphics are looking good, and I can then right-click and group all my objects so that they will behave like one object, but keep the functionality of the different layers I have applied. Now would be a good time to give your gadget a test. If all is working correctly, right-click again and select Export.
From here you will begin the process of exporting your desktop object into a Vista sidebar gadget. If you are using DesktopX Pro you can check the setting to export as a stand-alone gadget, so that users won’t have to have DesktopX installed to use it. You will also be given the options to enter information like author information, description, etc.
After all that, just set your output, click finish, and your gadget should be created.
Just double-click to install the gadget file, and you should now have your gadget occupying the Vista sidebar.
For more information about DesktopX, visit www.desktopx.net.
