Jump to content

My Vista Sidebar Gadgets


jaws75

Recommended Posts

Blank space between gadgets.

I made this gadget to allow you to move a gadget down on the sidebar. Normally it returns up if dragged down.

There is a settings window where you can adjust the height of the blank space. You can load it as many times as you wish to the sidebar.

I actually had to use a background with a 3% fill as using a totally transparent background prevents the settings window from being available and the size can not be changed then. As you can see in the screen shots it is virtually invisible.

If you set the opacity below 100% the gadget becomes totally invisible. Good once you set it to the height you want. The drawback is that it cannot be changed in any way once invisible. To close an invisible gadget open the sidebar properties and list all running gadgets. It can be closed there.

Screen shots

space1.jpg

space2.jpg

enjoy!

I originally posted the idea and a working example on another forum without the resize capability. All future creations will go here.

blank.zip

Edited by jaws75
Link to comment
Share on other sites


Doppler Radar Gadget

I originally created this gadget for my own use and then realized it wouldn't be too hard to include all radar zones.

It retrieves high quality Doppler radar images from radar.weather.gov. The image gets updated every 5 to 10 minutes or so. weather.gov is a USA weather service so the only radar images available are in the USA. However. I live in Vancouver, Canada and the radar covers this area very well. Because of that fact I included the options for other Canadian border cities as well as Havana, Cuba and Tijuana, Mexico.

Although this is a sidebar gadget it is not intended to be used on the sidebar as the images are too large to be viewed that small. It is intended to be used directly on the desktop.

The images from radar.weather.gov are 600x550 pixels in size. There is a size button to view the full image however the default size is 300x250 which is centered and cropped. You can change which cropped area is viewed in the settings. I could have shrunk the images but didn't like the look. This way you can isolate your city and view that area only.

The view is made up of the layering of 7 images. You have the choice of different layers to view or not view. Highways is off by default but you can click it and view it. Only two of these images get updated regularly... the radar image itself and the legend which has the time of the radar image.

Because of the size of the images this may not work well on dial up. It is intended for broadband but may work OK.

Screen shots

seattleCropped.jpg

Click for Full 600 x 550 view

settings.jpg

Settings showing drop down list

known issues...

1) when closed and reopened it goes back to the default (Seattle). This may be as intended by MS.

2) dragging it on an off the sidebar changes the view. minor as it should stay on the desktop anyway. The radar location stays but the crops change. Not sure why yet.

:EDIT: fixed two little oopses in the code.

Let me know what you think. Feedback will help in the improvement.

radar.zip

Edited by jaws75
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad you like them and glad to see it works in XP VAIO as I only tested them in VISTA FINAL.

I'm not sure what to do next.

I'm thinking of an IP gadget to display my PC IP as well as my router external IP. I'm not sure how to determine my external router IP short of loading a php page from my server. I don't like that way.

Any ideas????????

One question for everyone.... On the radar gadget I put the city names on top of the radar image. Should it go under it like the other layers?

Edited by jaws75
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd like an IP notifier if you can do it. Gateway IP Monitor works well for XP - dunno if they'll redo it for XP. It keeps you aware of your external IP, and it emails you when it changes.

FWIW - The radar gadget will make me re-enable my Sidebar. Thanks for it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure what to do next.
How about a Task Manager Gadget...

Ive seen manny Run Command Gadgets that can Run Programs but how about one that can both Run and Kill them :P (also Log off and the other cool stuff taskmgr does)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure what to do next.
How about a Task Manager Gadget...

Ive seen manny Run Command Gadgets that can Run Programs but how about one that can both Run and Kill them :P (also Log off and the other cool stuff taskmgr does)

So Vista doesn't come with its own taskmanager and you have to make one yourself? :wacko:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vista comes with a task manager. Is he asking for a gadget to access the task manager from the sidebar? I just do a desktop shortcut myself.

I'm not sure what to do next.
How about a Task Manager Gadget...

Ive seen manny Run Command Gadgets that can Run Programs but how about one that can both Run and Kill them :P (also Log off and the other cool stuff taskmgr does)

So Vista doesn't come with its own taskmanager and you have to make one yourself? :wacko:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice job on the gadgets :)

BTW, there is an IP gadget thing on the MS site (or at least there was towards the end of the beta, haven't looked in a while) that does this without the PHP script.

Edited by Spooky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The one on the MS site only shows your NIC IP which is OK if you are directly connected to the internet. For me it just shows 192.168.0.101. The only way to show your external IP on a router is to check from the outside world.

The one on MS is also a very ugly gadget that needs to be rewritten.

I did borrow one line of code from it though. :whistle:

Edited by jaws75
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...