Windows Vista Sidebar

Dave Konopka is a Web developer and writer living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has experience building Web and desktop applications using Microsoft's .NET Framework. Most recently, ColdFusion has become his tool of choice as he develops dynamic Web tools for the academic environment. Dave enjoys using all forms of technology to help extend the reach of non-profit organizations. Most of all, he likes spending time outdoors with his wife. He keeps track of his random assortment of interests on hisblog: www.lifelikeweeds.com.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK. 1 GETTING STARTED WITH SIDEBAR GADGETS. An Introduction to Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets. Download a Gadget. Install a Gadget. Add a Gadget to the Sidebar. Open a Gadget's Settings. Change a Gadget's Settings. Open a Gadget Flyout Panel. Drag a Gadget to the Desktop. Return a Gadget to the Sidebar. Change a Gadget's Opacity. Remove a Gadget from Sidebar. Uninstall a Gadget. 2 CREATING A SIDEBAR GADGET. Create a Containing Folder for a Gadget. Create a Gadget HTML Interface. Open the Gadget Interface in a Web Browser. Add a Header. Add Text. Add an Image. Add a List. Create the Gadget Manifest File. Package the Gadget Components. 3 STYLING A GADGET. Set Gadget Width and Height. Add a Border to a Gadget. Add Internal Padding. Set Background and Foreground Colors. Add a Background Image. Set Text Font and Size. Change Text Alignment. Add a Border to an Image. Absolutely Position HTML Elements. Position HTML Elements with Float. Provide Scroll Bars for Content. Set Styles for HTML Elements. Assign Style Classes to HTML Elements. Create an External Style Sheet. 4 USING GRAPHICS OBJECT TAGS. An Introduction to Graphics Objects. Soften Image Edges. Blur an Image. Rotate an Image. Add a Shadow Behind an Image. Add a Glow Behind an Image. Add a Graphics Object Background. Adjust Background Image Transparency. Add Images and Text over a Background. Apply Visual Effects to Text. Position Text Graphics Objects. 5 USING JAVASCRIPT IN A GADGET. Understanding JavaScript Basics. Add JavaScript to a Gadget. Store Data in Variables. Create a JavaScript Function. Pass Values to a Function. Return a Value from a Function. Assign a Function to an Event. An Introduction to Operators. Create an If Statement. Create a Loop. Store Multiple Values in an Array. Add Content to a Gadget Display. Hide Content in a Gadget Display. Create an External JavaScript File. 6 ADDING A GADGET FLYOUT PANEL. Create a Flyout Panel Interface. Create a Flyout Open Function. Create a Flyout Close Function. Add Content to a Flyout Panel. Change Style Attributes of a Flyout. 7 DOCKING AND UNDOCKING A GADGET. Change Gadget Display in Scripting. Detect a Gadget's Dock State. Create an onUndock Handler. Create an onDock Handler. Create a Combined Docking Handler. 8 MANAGING GADGET SETTINGS. Create a Gadget Settings Variable. Assign a Value to a Settings Variable. Using a Settings Variable in a Gadget Interface. Create a Gadget Settings Panel. Add Form Elements to a Settings Panel. Define Default Settings for a Gadget. Create a Settings Panel Open Function. Create a Settings Panel Close Handler. View the Gadget Settings.ini File. 9 ADDING AJAX TO A GADGET. Understanding Ajax. Work with the Elements of Ajax. Create an XMLHttpRequest Object in JavaScript. Using XMLHttpRequest to Download Data. Create an Asynchronous Request. Output Raw Data to a Gadget Interface. Create a Dynamic HTML List in JavaScript. Remove Items from a List in JavaScript. Add an Image to a Gadget Interface. Remove an Image from a Gadget Interface. Change Gadget Background Image. Debug Scripting Code. Send Data to a Remote Server with GET. Send Data to a Remote Server with POST. Handle Mouse Events. 10 WORKING WITH XML IN A GADGET. Review an RSS Feed. Load an XML Document in JavaScript. Handle XML Document Loading Errors. Load an XML Document Asynchronously. Download an RSS Feed. Access XML Data Nodes. Access XML Data Attribute Values. List RSS Item Titles. Show Images from an Atom Feed. Poll a Feed. Tie Polling Frequency to a Setting. 11 ADVANCED AJAX INTERACTION. Using Multiple XMLHttpRequest Objects. Create a SOAP Web Service Request. Parse a SOAP Web Service Response. Create a PHP Script. Send Data to a PHP Script. Download Data from a PHP Script. Display Data from a PHP Script. Install the ASP.NET AJAX Framework. Download Data with the ASP.NET AJAX Framework. Download JSON Data. Include the Prototype Framework. Download Data with the Prototype Framework. Access the DOM with the Prototype Framework. 12 INTERACTING WITH THE OPERATING SYSTEM. Display Computer Battery Information. Display Performance Statistics. Display Wireless Networking Information. Display Hard Disk Information. Interact with the Recycle Bin. Play a Sound. Access Windows Contacts. Access Windows Mail Messages. Execute a Shell Command. Open a Web Page. 13 INCLUDING EXTERNAL COMPONENTS. Access an ActiveX Control. Create a File with an ActiveX Control. Embed Windows Media Player. Embed a Flash Movie. Embed an Image Map. Add an IFrame. Embed a Silverlight Control. 14 DEPLOYING A GADGET. Prepare the Gadget Manifest File. Create a Gadget Icon. Package a Gadget for Deployment. Publish a Gadget. Create an Update Source. Add Update Notifications. 15 CREATING A WINDOWS LIVE GADGET. Create a Live Web Gadget Manifest File. Create a Live Web Gadget JavaScript File. Create a Live Web Gadget JavaScript Object. Create a Live Web Gadget Initialize Function. Create a Live Web Gadget Dispose Function. Output Content to a Live Web Gadget. Create DOM Elements in a Web Gadget. Apply CSS Styles to a Live Web Gadget. Embed a Web Page in a Live Web Gadget. Request Remote Data in a Live Web Gadget. Parse RSS Feed Data in a Live Web Gadget. Store User Preferences in a Live Web Gadget. Avoid Memory Leaks in a Live Web Gadget. Package a Live Web Gadget. Publish a Live Web Gadget. INDEX.