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New Improved Desktop Gadget Designer

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 03 May 2007 18:27:00 +0000

Posted by Andrew Scherkus, Software Engineering Intern

If you're starting to create desktop gadgets, be sure to try out the new and improved Google Desktop Gadget Designer, included with the latest Google Desktop SDK. It makes creating that great gadget idea of yours a breeze, with drag & drop elements, property editors, and built-in script editing. I spent my internship here working with the amazing people on the Desktop team and adding some of the most requested features to the designer.

Here are some of the new features and fixes in the latest version:

Additions to the API, such as listbox and progressbar, are supported.

The designer UI is more configurable, with variable-size panes and retained window position/size.

You can find and replace text and go to a specific line.

The properties list is sorted in alphabetical order.

The designer tabs have tool tips and can be closed with a middle-click.

You can choose whether to see a web page at startup; the new default home page lets you search Google Desktop documentation or all Google Desktop websites (including this blog).

New project files are UTF-8 encoded.

You can specify preferences, such as whether to load the most recent project at startup.

For your learning enjoyment, this version of the Google Desktop SDK also includes new samples demonstrating scrolling elements and the XML details view. And if you have requests for the designer or questions about desktop gadget development, check out the Google Desktop Developer Group and the Developer Knowledge Base -- and don't forget to read our online gadget documentation for tutorials, guidelines, and the API reference doc.

Desktop 5 Goes Global

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 19:02:00 +0000

Posted by Xiyuan Xia, Software Engineer

International versions of Google Desktop 5 are ready to go, including a brand new language--Hindi! We want Google Desktop to be your personal information assistant, helping you find the information you want, when you want it, in any language, and in any OS (check out the recently released Mac version). Now it's easier than ever to find local content, news headlines, emails and more.

Exciting features in Google Desktop 5 include a completely new look and feel for the sidebar and gadgets. The sidebar samples the color of your desktop background and fades the color into the sidebar, fitting into any environment. Many of our most popular gadgets were also redesigned to improve their usability and visual appeal.

Other improvements:

Previews of desktop search results. Have you ever opened multiple files to find the right one? Now you can find the file without opening each result. Previews are displayed inside our search results page.

Security. We have also added warnings for web sites that may be trying to steal your personal information or install malicious software on your computer, helping to make the Internet a safer place in 29 languages.

Enjoy! Amusez-vous! Buon divertimento! Viel Spaß! Disfrútalo! Veel plezier! 好好享受吧！ご活用ください。! Aproveite! Используйте все возможности! 즐기십시오

What’s in the updated SDK

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 19:25:00 +0000

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer, and James Yum, Support Engineer

When we published our updated developer doc, we also released a new version of the SDK. Here's why you should download the latest SDK:

New samples!: The SDK has lots more sample gadgets, some of which use new features and APIs such as audio, PNG images, new options methods, and new view methods. You'll also see examples of how to use the Query API and Event API. We've even released several production-worthy samples from which more experienced developers can benefit:; Themeable, LCD-Style Clock

Classic Memory Game

Wi-Fi Network Selector

Fireworks
Rebuilt Gadget Designer: The old Gadget Designer is incompatible with the new API. Get the new Gadget Designer so you can use new features and APIs.

Better organization: We've simplified the directory structure, added a readme file to help you find what you need, and removed some files that were either obsolete or could be easily obtained from the web.

We periodically update the SDK to add samples, improve the documentation, or fix bugs. To see whether you have the latest SDK, look at the date at the top of your SDK's api/readme.html file. (If your SDK has no api/readme.html file or the file has no date, then you definitely have an old copy!) As we write this, the latest SDK date is 24 January 2007. In the future, we'll put the latest SDK date in the News box at the upper right of the Google Desktop developer home page.

Introducing the Developer Knowledge Base

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:00:00 +0000

Posted by James Yum, Support Engineer

The good folks over at code.google.com have launched a Developer Knowledge Base, where most of the Google developer products are represented, including Google Desktop Gadgets. There's a series of Getting Started articles, which combined with the improved documentation and new tutorial makes it easier than ever to learn how to create gadgets. And there's a growing collection of How To's and Gadget Best Practices that can help elevate your skills.

This is just the beginning, so please post any suggestions, feedback or article ideas to our Developer Forum.

New Tutorial: Modifying Hello World

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:00:00 +0000

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

If you're at all interested in writing desktop gadgets, take a look at Modifying Hello World. It's the first of several tutorials we plan to offer. Even if you don't know XML or JavaScript, you can complete this tutorial — it gives you all the code you need. Of course, we hope that you'll go on to write your own code. To encourage that, the tutorial lists a bunch of ideas for what to do next.

Even if you're an experienced developer, you might learn something here. (OK, maybe you won't, but you'll almost certainly have ideas for improving this tutorial or writing new ones, and we'd love to hear from you.)

This tutorial covers everything you need to create your first gadget, from downloading the SDK to editing a gadget's code and packaging the gadget so other users can run it. Along the way, you'll add a bit of pizazz to the SDK's Hello World sample, in the form of animated text.


The original Hello World gadget	The improved Hello World gadget (with rotating text!)

And make sure to check out our Developer Forum to share your thoughts about creating desktop gadgets.

Developer doc updated (more to come!)

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 08:08:00 +0000

Posted by Kathy Walrath, Technical Writer

Take a look at our updated developer documentation — pages aimed at anyone who uses the Google Desktop SDK. Of course, the new doc describes the API changes in our latest release, but we've made other changes, too. The top-level and gadget doc has been reorganized, looks more like other Google API doc, and has some new navigational aids such as simplified side links and hierarchical links at the top.

We're still working on the doc. One of our short-term plans is to post code examples, so you won't have to download the SDK to see some source code. Another is to post a tutorial that leads you through writing your first gadget.

If you miss the old doc — maybe we removed a mostly obsolete or confusing page that you still find useful — you can download an archived version. See Using the Gadget API for details.

What else should we do? Please post your suggestions to the Developer Forum.

Helpful resources

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:15:00 +0000

Posted by Bryan Woodward, User Support Coordinator

With new versions of Google Desktop frequently being released, we've really been adding to the feature set. To help you navigate this maze of features and improve your experience with Desktop, here are two help resources you may want to check out.

U2U Groups

U2U (User to User) groups are official Google Groups that enable users to post feature requests, suggestions, bugs or problem reports, and general questions about Google products and services. What's unique about a U2U group is that not only do experienced users weigh in on your feedback, but an official Google presence, our very own Google Desktop Guide, regularly participates in the discussion. Expert feedback combined with the ability to search over all group posts provides a powerful resource. In addition to the Google Desktop Help and Enterprise U2U groups, groups are also available for other products like Toolbar, Picasa, Maps, Calendar, and more.

Help Center

We maintain a Google Desktop Help Center in 12 languages to help you use Google Desktop. You can browse the content or search the Knowledge Base to find an answer to your inquiry. If you're unable to find your answer on the Help Center or the U2U group, or you would like to leave us feedback or suggestions privately, you can, through the Help Center.

And if you have questions about other Google products and services, bookmark the general Google Help portal: http://www.google.com/support

Results of the Google Desktop Gadget Contest!

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:48:00 +0000

Posted by Stephen Drennan, User Support Coordinator

We received a number of creative submissions for the Google Desktop Gadget Contest. In fact, because there were so many great gadgets to choose from, we’ve decided to recognize a few additional standouts.

Honorable Mention:

10x10 News by Turhan Aydin - Keep an eye on snapshots of world events from tenbyten.org.

Carrier by Petar Petrov - Try and sink your opponent's fleet! Since this gadget uses our Google Talk API, you can play against friends as well.

Gate2Home Virtual Keyboard by Ilan Bar-Magen - This keyboard emulator allows you to easily type in characters from multiple languages. As a universal gadget, it works with both the Google homepage and Google Desktop. To add this to your desktop, simply select "Add gadgets..." from the options menu, then search for [ virtual keyboard ].

Hot or Not by Ron Huang - You can easily submit your ratings for photos of users from hotornot.com, or simply view a slideshow. This gadget also allows you to set your preferences for both age and gender.

Weather forecasts of Japan by IT Design BitWiz - This handy gadget displays weather forecasts (complete with pictures) for various areas of Japan.

Memory Smiley by Bijoy Thangaraj & Nirmal Jose - See your memory usage represented by a Smiley. As your memory usage fluctuates, your Smiley reacts accordingly.

RSS to Speech by Alexey Polkovnikov - Add your favorite feeds, then hear your feeds read aloud by your computer's default text-to-speech voice.

Shortcut Gadget by Teodor Mihai Filimon - Frequently used programs are always a click away with this gadget. You can even assign your own icons to each shortcut.

And without further ado, the Google Desktop Gadget Contest winners are...

3rd place – Day/Night World Clock by Beatrix Gottanka – We couldn't have designed a better world clock. Not only does this clock show you the local time, but there's also a map that indicates where it's night or day at any given hour. And if you want options, this gadget has them.

2nd place – Multiplayer Reversi Game by Turhan Aydin – Immerse yourself in the fun game Reversi with this visually rich gadget. Not only can you play against the computer, but this gadget takes advantage of our Google Talk API so you can also play with your friends.

1st place – diGGGadget by Marius and Yannick Stucki – Stay on top of the latest stories from digg.com. Click on a few buttons and you'll know why we think it's so great. It also takes advantage of our advanced APIs to enable sharing news with friends plus personalization based on your interests.

These gadgets are wonderful examples of what can be done with the Google Desktop SDK. We truly enjoyed reviewing all of the contest submissions, and look forward to seeing more of your creations in the future!

Google Calendar Gadget Reloaded

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 21:52:00 +0000

Posted by Bryan Woodward, User Support Coordinator

It's time to update your official Google Calendar gadget. Due to popular demand, it now supports multiple calendars from your Google Calendar service. It will also color-code your scheduled events using the same colors you've set in your main Calendar preferences. And this update also fixes the mysterious "Invalid parameter value..." bug some people have experienced.

Finally, if you haven't already, download Google Desktop 4 in order to try out new gadgets like this one. You won't want to miss out on all the new and improved gadgets we're cooking up.

Go boldly!

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 18:00:00 +0000

Posted by Larry Gadea, Software Engineer

Calling all developers and Star Trek fans: Google will demo Desktop, among other products, at the 40th annual Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas from Thursday to Sunday. We'll have Google Desktop engineers on hand to show you how to write gadgets both using the gadget designer -- or not. And we'll be unveiling a brand new gadget especially created for this mind-melding event.

So be sure to come by our booth next to the Star Trek merchandise store for the live demos. And of course, we'll be giving away tons of free Google schwag, too. So be bold - be brave - come on down! (And if you can't appear live, just travel here.)

More gadgets, more choices

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

We're pleased to let you know that the Google Gadget gallery now holds more than 400 gadgets! Which means you have even more choices on what you want to add to your desktop.

We're quite excited about some of our latest additions. To find the newest gadgets, just pick "New" from the "Add gadgets" dialog or check them out online.

Sharing Gadgets

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 04:35:00 +0000

Posted by Catalin Patulea, Software Engineer

Some gadgets are simply better when you share them, and if you're thinking of creating such a gadget, you're in luck. By means of the Communication API, Google Desktop allows a gadget to exchange data with another instance of the same gadget on a friend's computer. Through Google Talk, you can send and receive short strings (up to 2 kilobytes) of anything you want -- text snippets, chess moves, whatever.

You start by setting a handler for incoming data. Then you can list the user's Google Talk friends and even determine if that friend is idle or busy. By knowing this, you can then send data to this friend and be certain that it will be received by your gadget. On top of that, you can ask Google Talk to open a conversation window with that same pal for those times when you just have to gossip.

There's already TicTacToe, a sample in the SDK that uses the Communication API. We've just added a new sample, TalkTester, which shows you how easy it is to use this seemingly limitless API.

Hybrid scripting

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 22:30:00 +0000

Posted by Larry Gadea, Software Engineer

So you're writing a gadget for the contest and you've come on something simply impossible to do using the existing Script API. Say, for example, you need a more advanced message box that has "Yes", "No," and "Cancel" buttons, while our API only gives you a message box with just an "OK" button. Instead of redesigning your application to avoid this, you can write a hybrid script gadget to add the desired functionality. A hybrid script gadget has an tag in its gmanifest file that specifies a COM component which implements features we never imagined you'd want to do.

I've written up a simple example (HybridYesNoCancel) for those of you wondering how to do this. Included with the sample is a readme file which describes, step-by-step, exactly how to do it. You can get everything in the Google Desktop SDK.

And now that the deadline has been extended, it's not too late to create something new and exciting for the contest!

More time and tips for creating gadgets

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 19:00:00 +0000

Posted by E.K. Chung, User Experience Designer

Due to user feedback, we've decided to extend the deadline for the Google Desktop Gadget Contest by two weeks. You now have until Monday, August 14, to submit your gadget. Winners will be announced on September 5. For more details, check out the contest homepage.

And for those of you thinking about the look and feel of your gadget, here are some general tips:

1. Buttons, checkboxes, and tabs should look clickable. Mouseover, mousedown, and disabled states are needed to inform users that the button is active or inactive, and also to confirm interactions.

	normal state	mouseover	mousedown
Checkbox (To-do checkbox)
Button (Remove button)
Tab (Playlist tab)

2. Create selected and unselected states for your tabs. The usual UI design that defines a selected tab are 1) removal of any lines that separate the tab and its content area (a la the Windows tab UI), and 2) matching the color of the selected tab to its content area.

My Music tab is selected Playlist tab is selected

Live tab is selected Matches tab is selected

3. Use a gentle, light color for backgrounds. When selecting backgrounds, avoid intensely bright colors that can cause eyestrain. (These kinds of colors should be used very sparingly in general.)

The left image shows good color usage, while the one on the right is harder to read.

4. Take advantage of a "details" or "expanded" view. If the gadget is info-centric and primarily text-driven, try to offer "details" or "expanded" views, like news and web clips. These views allow you to display a lot of information in an efficient way.

5. Group similar items together. When there are many buttons or links, try to group relevant buttons and links together. This not only makes it easier for people to find the functions they're looking for, but it also helps them remember where things are.

6. Follow conventions. If a button is commonly used in a UI--like the close, remove, and OK buttons in Windows or Google Desktop--try to follow the conventions associated with those buttons and place them accordingly.

For example, a close button is always on the upper right corner.

Details view Options window

Personalize your gadget

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 19:00:00 +0000

Posted by Omar Khan, Software Engineer

Now that the Google Desktop Gadget Contest is running, I have a tip for how to personalize your gadget: make it react to what the user's doing. For example, I buy books on Amazon a lot, and I realized that I was doing a very similar query over and over -- looking up reviews for the books I found interesting. I realized that I could create a Google Desktop Gadget that watched for when I was visiting Amazon, and then performed a query on the title of the book I was looking at. Voila, the gadget then displays those Google search results in the Sidebar.

The source code for this gadget (named I'm Feeling Lucky) can be found in the samples section of the Google Desktop SDK.

Here are some other ideas for personalizing that might inspire you:

When someone is reading blogs, show the top posts from Technorati or Digg or another popular aggregator.

Silly pictures! When someone is reading an email message, find a picture online, or on their computer, to associate with the sender -- and whenever the gadget sees that person's name, show the picture. Add some utility by making the picture respond to clicks.

You get the idea! Make the experience more personal. And have fun doing it!

Google Gadgets galore!

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Posted by Kamal Singh, Software QA Engineer

Gadget lovers alert: we've added 200+ more of your favorite Google Gadgets for Google Desktop. In the past, some of these useful bits were trapped in a browser; now you can set them free anywhere on your desktop or in your Sidebar. To find the new ones, just choose "Add gadgets" from the Sidebar or check them out online. And if you want to make your own cool gadgets for the Google homepage, here's the developer guide.

Let’s get it started

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 18:00:00 +0000

Posted by Satish Sampath, Software Engineer

We're post-beta! Google Desktop 4 is available in English. Plus there are now beta versions of Google Desktop in 27 languages (up from 16). So now just about everyone will be able to use the latest and greatest Google Gadgets.

And if you're a developer, more power to you. Check out the Google Desktop Gadget Designer, a new developer tool for creating, maintaining and debugging gadgets faster than before. You can now easily manage your projects and files, visually design your gadget UI (no need to handcode the xml), edit your script code and preview changes instantly (no more restarts), view debug messages with the built-in debug console, automatically generate the gadget package and manifest and much more in an integrated development environment. The designer is available for download as part of the latest Google Desktop SDK.

But wait, there's more! We're announcing a Google Desktop Gadget Contest for developers, with $8,000 in cash prizes. The contest is only open for the next month, so put on your coding hat and start churning out those cool gadgets you've always wanted. Good luck and have fun!

Say hello to Google Gadgets

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 10 May 2006 18:15:00 +0000

Posted by John Abd-El-Malek, Software Engineer

Today we released the latest version of Google Desktop in 7 languages (the rest are coming soon). The biggest news is that we're introducing Google Gadgets - visually appealing mini-applications like clocks, weather globes, media players, etc., that support rich markup language (XML, Flash) and enable a wide array of visual effects and animation. We've also made it really easy for developers to create their own gadgets - almost as easily as you’d create a web page. One of my favorites is the weather globe.

You can also add some of your Google Homepage modules to your Sidebar or use a new gadget to check out what's popular on Google Videos. To add any of these great new gadgets, just click on the + button on the top of the Sidebar and you'll see all the available gadgets. You can add them with just one click.

What else is new? Well, do you like setting up all your applications when you get a new computer? I don’t either. Last week my hard drive died, but setting up my computer was a lot easier because my Sidebar remembered all its original settings as soon as I installed it. Your stock symbols, weather locations, To Do items, etc. can now be synchronized across multiple machines – or even just one machine, if it happens to quit, like mine did.

There are lots of other improvements under the Desktop hood as well; you can check them out in more detail on our features page. We hope you enjoy using the new Google Desktop as much as we do.

Beta believe it

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 17:00:00 +0000

Posted by Greg Coladonato, Product Manager

If you've been hesitant to use Google Desktop 3 in your native language because of its "Beta" status, your wait is over. This evening we're launching non-Beta versions of Desktop in (you might want to make yourself comfortable) French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian.

We'd like to thank all the users who've given us feedback on the Beta version of Google Desktop; your ideas and comments have helped tremendously as we've worked to improve this product.

Take ‘ctrl’ of your Desktop

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 02:00:00 +0000

Posted by Kan Liu, Product Manager

In the new version of Google Desktop 3 (which is coming out of beta today), we’ve fixed a few things from the beta, and we’re also introducing a new element that makes it more convenient to find what you're looking for by enabling you to search the web as well as your local computer, or email, as you type. We call it the Quick Search Box.

It appears in the middle of your screen when you press the Ctrl button twice. When you don't need it, the Quick Search Box automatically hides or sits on your desktop, whichever you prefer. Try it out and send us your suggestions and comments.

Google Desktop 3 for Enterprise

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:30:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

We've recently released a new Enterprise version of Google Desktop 3 giving adminstrators full control over what features to restrict and how documents are retained. To learn more visit the blog entry from our friends on the Enterprise team.

It’s Raining Plug-ins

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Yesterday we released 10 new Google Desktop plug-ins. Kudos to all the
developers.

Magnifier by Catalin Patulea - Magnifies the active area of your screen

WorldTimes by Neil Selkirk - Displays the current homepage details from WhatsTimeWorth.com and World Times for 457 different locations

CurrencyQuotes by Joe Force - Displays currency quotes with directional indicators

AuctionWatch by Ty Kroll - Tracks multiple eBay auctions

SessionControl by Joel Costa - Control your Windows Session tasks

MM-Memo by Tennetiss - Shows your MM/Memo social bookmarks

VerseOfTheDay by Adam Faulkner - Displays a daily Bible verse

IntegrateIE by Bas Rokers - Integrates Google Desktop into IE 7

3DTicTacToe by Catalin-Alexandru Avram - What is says

NBA Scoreboard by Google - Shows live scores and stats for NBA games

New version, new plug-ins, new samples

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 07:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

With the release of Google Desktop 3 Beta, our plug-in collection grew a little larger:

MSN Messenger Sidebar Plug-in by Otron - Get quick access to your Messenger contacts.

eBay Watcher by Google - Never miss an eBay auction.

Tic Tac Toe by Google - Play a game of Tic Tac Toe against the computer or a friend.

GoogleVideo Indexer by Google - Index and search Google Video .GVI files

ResearchAccelerator by Michael S. Scherotter - Integrate Google Desktop results into Mind Manager.

Tarchiver by Jonathan Speiser - Index the file names contained within TAR files.

IPS Website Counter by Michel Blanc - Monitor the traffic of multiple websites.

Additionally the SDK contains new and updated sample code to assist plug-in developers in using the latest APIs:

GoogleVideo indexing sample

Query API sample

ImFeelingLucky Event API sample

TicTacToe Communication API sample

Desktop Reloaded

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Today we're very pleased to announce the launch of Google Desktop 3 Beta. The new version comes loaded with features that make finding and sharing information even easier and more fun than before.

As a Sidebar user, you can now customize and view personalized information anywhere on the the desktop by clicking and dragging your favorite panels wherever you like. Furthermore, you can now easily share information from your Sidebar panels with your contacts by sending it to them through email, chat or directly to their Sidebar. As an added bonus you and your contacts can also play online games through the Sidebar.

We also provided the means to access your data no matter where it resides. The Search Across Computers feature makes it seamless to search the content of your documents and web history from any of your computers.

For developers we have packed the Google Desktop SDK with new APIs and tools to enable the development of applications that leverage the product's new indexing, display and communication capabilities. These include a Query API, a Communication API, improved Script API support, plug-in logging support, and new code samples.

Other new features include the addition of a Search Lock, an advanced search form, spelling suggestions, zip file indexing, and an improved preferences page.

As always we would love to hear your comments, suggestions, opinions, and testimonials.

New Plug-ins on the Block

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 18:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Our developers have been coming up with some innovative ideas to use the Sidebar to simplify familiar tasks. Below are some new plug-ins we found very useful:

Task Tracker by Matthew Cowgur - Track time spent for tasks that you are working on.

NetStat by Catalin Patulea - Monitor your computer's network connections in real time.

QuickLaunch by Benjamin Schirmer - Get quick and easy access to your files and folders (updated version).

IeCalendar by Peter Sitterly - Stay up-to-date with information stored in your online IeCalendar account.

PrintButler by Jon Speiser - Display installed printers and easily change the default printer.

gdShutdown by Yannick Stucki - Easily control your computer sign-off options.

The developers of these plug-ins are welcoming any feedback or improvement suggestions. Good places to discuss the plug-in are the Google Desktop Developer group or the individual plug-in groups.

Plug-in of the Week: Airfare Tracker

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 19:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Planning a vacation or getaway anytime soon? The Sidebar Airfare Tracker panel can help you keep an eye on the best airfare deals for your favorite destinations. The panel automatically checks for the lowest fares and enables you to watch multiple itineraries and specify your preferred airlines. Check it out!

Happy New Year!

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 21:32:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

The Google Desktop Team would like to wish all our users and developers a very happy and prosperous New Year. See you in 2006!

Handy plug-ins for everyday use

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 23:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Having fun with plug-ins lately? Our developers sure do!

Several of the Google Desktop plug-ins we have received combine a
geeky sense of humor with helpful information. Here are some of our
favorites:

Laundry Timer - Helps you remember when your laundry is done.

Global Surfari Notifier - Beach wave & wind information for surf trips.

Lottery Results - Lottery results for your state.

Blood Pressure Tracker - Displays blood pressure measurements.

Today's Deity - Displays "Today's Deity" from the Encyclopedia Mythica.

Hard Disk Life - Displays a disk health indicator and alerts you about
problems before they happen.

If you have a cool idea for a plugin, have some fun implementing it yourself or discuss it on the Google Desktop Developer group.

Desktop goes international

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 03:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

About a month ago we released the English out-of-beta version of Google Desktop. Since then we have been working on providing the latest features and enhancements to our non-English language users as well.

Today we're pleased to announce the out-of-beta release of Google Desktop in 16 languages, including Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese/Brazilian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.

In addition to stability and performance improvements, this release introduces exciting new features such as an international Weather panel, a Google Maps panel and support for script plug-ins.

More plug-ins…

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 18:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Thanks to our dedicated developers, new Google desktop plugins are available for download:

Del.icio.us Bookmarks plug-in - View your del.icio.us bookmarks in the Google Sidebar.

JobSearch plug-in - Search jobs on thousands of job sites, newspapers and company websites. Receive new jobs as they are added.

Horoscope plug-in (updated version) - Read your daily horoscope.

Logitechio2 plug-in - Index and find all handwritten notes taken with the Logitech io2 Personal Digital Pen.

Google Earth plug-in (updated version) - Index and find Google Earth files on your computer.

Plug-in Checkup

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 04:00:00 +0000

Posted by Niranjan Tulpule, QA Engineer

You had a great idea for a plugin which you have already developed. But if you're wondering how to test it before you submit it to us, wonder no more. Here are some tips:

Your plugin should do what it says it does.

Make sure that it doesn't crash Google Desktop -- or another plug-in.

Make sure that it's easy to uninstall.

If your target audience is global, test to see if your plugin works well in languages other than English.

Make sure it doesn't hog resources like the processor, memory and network. We recommend that you use asynchronous calls to receive data so that your network activity does not block the sidebar and other plugins.

If it connects to the Internet, test it without a valid connection to make sure it works well in offline mode.

Have good online documentation about its installation and use (it will help us test it before publishing).

In addition to submitting the plugin, plan to post it in the Google Desktop and Google Desktop Developer groups so that a variety of users will try it out and point out potential issues.

We are always eager to hear from you and see lots of cool plugins for Google Desktop.

Plug-in of the Week: Movies

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 01:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Fridays are for movies...

Now the Sidebar Movies plug-in makes it easier for you to find out which movies are playing in your neighborhood. Showtimes, reviews, and movie theater information are now just one click away. Give it a try!

The Movies plug-in group or the Google Desktop Developer group are good places to submit feedback and suggest further plug-in improvements.

Trick of the Day: Plug-in Fine-Tuning

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 17:38:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

For our developers here's a neat trick to help you easily develop, test and fine-tune a Sidebar script plug-in without the need to repeatedly install the plug-in after each modification.

1. Create the installer for your plug-in and install it once. The plug-in is installed in the Program Files directory under Google Desktop Search\Plugins\YourPluginName. Once installed you can modify the plug-in script sources directly.

2. To test changes after modifying the script sources use the "Add/Remove Panels" menu option to unload the old plug-in and load in the new version.

3. Once you are satisfied with the results transfer the modified files back to your original code base and use the plug-in installer to create the final plug-in package.

Tip of the Day: Email Filtering

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 03:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

To prevent specific incoming email messages to appear in your Sidebar Email panel, you can create an email filter.

For example, let's say you are using Google Desktop to index both your personal and business email accounts, but do not want your personal email displayed in the Sidebar. Adding a filter with the "To:" field set to your personal email address will instruct the Email panel to skip showing any email messages sent to your personal email account.

Thank You!

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 03:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

In the US, we're preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving. It's the perfect time to say thanks to our users and developers from all over the world. Your continued feedback, support and contributions have helped us grow and improve considerably.

Thanks for being part of the Google Desktop family!

Life of a Plug-in

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 01:08:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

A big thanks to everyone who submitted Sidebar plug-ins. Now to answer some of the most frequently asked questions regarding what we think are best practices in plug-in development.

There are several stages involved in designing a Sidebar plug-in, submitting it to Google and getting it listed on the Plug-ins page. So once you've got a great idea for a cool plug-in and you've decided to try your programming talents, we recommend these steps:

Read the Script Plug-ins documentation and the Plug-in Installer guide.

Download the Google Desktop SDK and experiment with the provided script plug-in samples.

Follow the recommendations in the Plug-in UI Guidelines and Plug-in Development & Testing Guidelines.

Design and implement your plug-in in JavaScript or VBScript.

Package your plug-in using the Plug-in Installer.

Test and debug your plug-in.

Repeat from step 4 until everything works as expected.

Now your plug-in is ready for prime-time.

The next big event in the life of your plug-in is submitting it. After we make sure the plug-in follows the required guidelines we will list it on the Google Desktop Plug-ins page.

When your plug-in has reached a wide audience, don't forget to respond to user reports and requests by fixing any bugs and improving the plug-in's usefulness. And let us know of any major updates you make, of course.

Hello Sidebar!

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 20:18:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

A "hello world" program is used in many introductory programming tutorials, so we thought we would follow the tradition and show everyone how easy it is to write a "hello world" plug-in for Google Desktop.

So let's get started:

  pluginHelper.title = "Hello World!";

We're done! We just created the simplest Sidebar panel welcoming you to the world of programming for Google Desktop.

Of course we can make the plug-in more interesting. Let's add "Hello World!" greetings in various languages. It is very easy to add items to a panel and provide descriptions for each item.

  var item = new ContentItem();
  item.heading = "Bonjour Monde!";
  item.snippet = "Hello World! translated in French...";
  pluginHelper.AddContentItem(item, gddItemDisplayInSidebar);

You can find more detailed examples and documentation online or by downloading the Google Desktop SDK. The Google Desktop Developer group is also a good source of information.

Once your program is ready, use the plug-in installer tool provided in the SDK to generate a plug-in package ready for deployment.

More than just search

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 01:00:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

Today's the day that Google Desktop 2 comes out of beta, and that means you'll see some significant improvements -- like new sidebar panels, more plug-in development options, and better support for enterprise installations.

If you like maps on Google Local, we think you'll like the new Personalized Maps panel. As you browse the web, this panel will display maps information related to the pages you're visiting, it can show you interesting places around the world, or you can directly navigate to your favorite spots. Our sidebar panels collection is growing all the time. Try the most popular panels and watch this space for even more additions.

Meanwhile, if you're a sidebar plug-in developer, good news: we've heard you. And we've added support for script plug-ins. We even provided you with an automatic plug-in installer. Just use your favorite scripting language (such as JavaScript or VBScript) and start implementing and deploying cool plug-ins faster than ever. Check out the plug-in samples, the Developer Guide and other exciting sidebar plug-ins that our developer community has published.

Finally, it's now easier to use Google Desktop at home and at work: we've tested the Enterprise version in a number of medium and large businesses to verify the administration, integration and security features that are important within business environments.

As always we value your feedback and would love to get your suggestions for improvement.

Desktop starts blogging

Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 00:15:00 +0000

Posted by Mihai Ionescu, Software Engineer

We're proud to announce the launch of Inside Google Desktop Blog here at googledesktop.blogspot.com.

We'll be using this blog as an easy way to make announcements and share all kinds of information - including developer tips, in-depth feature descriptions, user feedback, and ideas on how to get more out of Google Desktop. We hope you'll find it useful and entertaining.

The latest version of Google Desktop is always available at desktop.google.com. Developers can find more information about the Google Desktop SDK at desktop.google.com/developer.html.

If you have any comments and suggestions, please contact us.