In order to make it easy for users to find new gadgets that will run on both the Windows Sidebar and desktop, Microsoft has created a few Web communities. The first is called, appropriately enough, Microsoft Gadgets (http://microsoftgadgets.com/). The second, which is available from the link Get more gadgets online in the Sidebar’s Add Gadgets window, is called Gadgets for Windows Vista (http://gallery.microsoft.com/Results.aspx?vista=landing&rdm=113828&l=1&ti=2)

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Windows Sidebar should launch automatically when you boot into Windows Vista. If you disable the Windows Sidebar’s autorun functionality, you’ll have to go digging for it in the Start menu. It’s somewhat hidden in Start->All Programs->Accessories. This is made all the more confusing because Microsoft has changed the way the Start menu expands; instead of the submenu system employed in previous versions, the submenu expands and contracts in place right within the Start menu now. When Windows Sidebar starts, you’ll see a subtle black shadow appear on the right side of the screen.. Additionally, a blue Sidebar icon appears in the tray notification area next to the system clock. Depending on how your system is configured, you should also see one or more gadgets, or mini-applications, displaying in the Sidebar itself.

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In previous Internet Explorer versions, it was difficult to delete various data related to Web browsing, such as temporary Internet files, cookies, web history, saved form data, or saved passwords. In Internet Explorer 7, this information can all be deleted from a single dialog, either individually or all at once.

Although a Restore computer option appears in Backup and Restore Center, you can’t actually trigger an entire PC restoration from within Windows. Instead, you will need to reboot your system and utilize the Windows Recovery Environment, which should be installed on your system, or the Windows Vista installation DVD. The reason for this is that the recovery process literally overwrites all of the data on your hard drives. Obviously, you will want to be sure you’ve backed up any crucial data before attempting this process.

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You can apply folder templates and custom images to folders.

To customize a folder:

1.  In Windows Explorer, open the folder that you want to customize.

2.  Right-click an empty area of the file list and choose Customize This Folder.

or

Choose View > Customize This Folder (press Alt if the View menu isn’t visible).

3.  Choose a folder template from the drop-down list (Figure 5.33), and specifywhether you want the template applied to all subfolders as well. The All Items template is for generic folders. Other templates are designed for

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Vista enables you to customize any gadget on the Sidebar by completely detaching it from the Sidebar. This makes it possible for you to then drag the gadget to any position you want on the entire desktop (to move a detached gadget, you just drag its icon around the desktop like you would any other desktop icon or title bar of any open window).

To detach a gadget, position the mouse pointer in the upper-right corner of the gadget and then drag the gadget off of the Sidebar to a new position on the desktop by using the handle that appears beneath the wrench. (This handle looks like eight tiny white dots in two columns.)

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In addition to customizing what information appears in the gadget (as in the RSS feed headlines shown in the Feed Headlines gadget), you can also customize the overall opacity of the gadget. Any gadget you add to the Sidebar is automatically displayed at 100% opacity (making it as opaque and non-see-through as possible). You can, however, lighten up any of your gadgets, thereby making them
more see-through by changing the gadget’s opacity.

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To display the Sidebar on the left side of your computer’s desktop or to make sure that it always appears on the top of other windows you have open on the desktop, you need to open the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box. The easiest way to do this is by right-clicking somewhere in the Sidebar area on the right side of the screen (but outside any of the gadgets) and then clicking Properties
on the Sidebar’s shortcut menu.

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