Can the Gadgets be on a Sidebar on Windows 7 like on Vista? And where did the Note Gadget go?

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How can you make Windows 7 sidebar work like Vista's

Can the Gadgets be on a Sidebar on Windows 7 like on Vista (and letting the Sidebar occupy part of the desktop instead of "floating on top" of other content)? And where did the Notes Gadget go?

I use a KVM switch to switch between my Core 2 Duo and Quad core computer, so I used to run the Notes Gadget and put down "Quad" and "Core 2 Duo" on the Note to let myself know which computer I am using. But now the Notes Gadget seems to be gone.

nonopolarity

Posted 2009-10-24T21:09:37.330

Reputation: 7 932

Answers

You can try to use this hack for getting the sidebar back. However, instead of using the sidebar, you could just go over to the lower right side of the screen, and use Aero Peek to display the desktop and all the gadgets on it; it seems easier in my opinion.

Also, although the Notes gadget is gone, there's a Sticky Notes app you can use (overall, I think it's better). You can read more about it here.

alex

Posted 2009-10-24T21:09:37.330

Reputation: 16 172

I see... I like to look at the Time and the CPU Meter all the time, so having the sidebar visible all the time is somewhat important... – nonopolarity – 2009-10-24T21:22:22.920

I can set the Clock and the CPU Meter to show up on top all the time, except they always tend to cover up some content, so they need to be moved around all the time. – nonopolarity – 2009-10-24T21:23:45.647

Have you tried to use Aero Peek? There's a little rectangle next to the clock. Just hover your mouse over it and the desktop and all the gadgets on it will appear. – alex – 2009-10-24T21:28:17.167

The Gadget Bar is named the "Sidebar". There is a "hack" to reinstall the Vista sidebar on Windows 7 but this means replacing files from Windows 7 with the ones from Vista.

If you're still OK with this, MyDigitalLife has the instructions on how to do it : "Workaround to Run Windows Vista Bar Style Sidebar in Windows 7"

For the Note gadget, you can find several similar gadgets at the Windows Live gallery. This one for instance.

Edit: there is something new! This gadget, 7 Sidebar Gadget, creates a sidebar like Vista's and stores the other gadgets inside. No need to hack any files.

It also has a window-manager mode with thumbnails of running applications.

Snark

Posted 2009-10-24T21:09:37.330

Reputation: 30 147

As other people have said, the notes gadget is replaced by sticky notes application. If (like me) you prefer the notes gadget, you can download a package for it here and install it on windows 7. It will work just like it did on vista.

Malabarba

Posted 2009-10-24T21:09:37.330

Reputation: 7 588