Widgipedia is aiming to be the ultimate resource for both users and developers of widgets and gadgets. We are dedicated to offering the most comprehensive catalog of Web widgets and desktop widgets (and gadgets) across all platforms - many of which you will only find here. Developers can use Widgipedia to upload their creations, to collaborate with others, to learn or teach through tutorials, code samples, libraries and more.
What can I find here?
On short: cool widgets and gadgets, tutorials, code samples, code libraries, knowledge, a community of both widget users and widget developers. If you are interested in anything about widgets, you should be able to find it here. If you don't find what you are looking for, please tell us and we'll do our best to add it as quickly as possible.
What is a widget anyway?
A widget is a small application that runs either on your desktop or in a Web page. Users typically find widgets easier to use than regular applications and developers usually find them easier to code.
Oh... and what is a gadget?
A gadget is pretty much the same thing as a widget - the name is mostly a convention that each platform provider uses. Usually, the gadgets are specifically running on Microsoft Windows Vista.
Are there more types of widgets?
There are two big classes of widgets: the desktop widgets and the Web widgets. The desktop widgets are small applications that run on your desktop and usually (but not always) need that you download and install an engine in order to run them. The web widgets are sections of code that can be inserted in any Web page such as your personal blog, a MySpace page, the page of an eBay auction or the pages of an online store. Each class at its turn has several types of widgets. See more about this in the Desktop Widgets and the Web Widgets section of this FAQ.
What is a Web (or online) widget?
A Web widget is a piece of code that can be inserted identically in any Web page (such as your personal blog, a MySpace page, an eBay auction or an online store) where it will stand as a standalone section. Most common Web widgets are Flash, JavaScript or Java applets. You can see the Web widgets by simply opening the containing page in your browser.
What is a desktop widget?
A desktop widget is a small application that runs on your desktop. In many cases, but not always, to run desktop widgets you will need to first download and install an "engine".
Do I need anything special to run widgets or gadgets?
It depends on the widget type. For Web widgets, you will typically need the Flash player plugin installed for your browser or a Java runtime engine. For desktop widgets, you will usually need an engine but there are also standalone widgets that don't require an engine installed. You should refer to each platform's documentation for details. For example, to run Yahoo! Widgets (Windows or Mac) you will need to install Yahoo! Widgets Engine. Other platforms may require installing their engines too. For Standalone Widgets, Dashboard or Sidebar gadgets, you don't need anything special besides the operating system (respectively Windows, Mac OS or Windows Vista).
What is a widget platform?
The term "widget platform" represents the technology (operating system and engine) behind a certain widget and it usually refers to desktop widgets. Desktop widgets are seldom cross-platform, so to run a certain widget you will probably need to install the engine for that platform (such as Yahoo! Widgets Engine).
What platforms do you support anyway?
We work hard to make sure the answer will soon be "You name it" :-) For now we support the following platforms of desktop widgets:
Yahoo! Widgets (Windows);
Yahoo! Widgets (Mac);
Dashboard (Mac);
Standalone Widgets (Windows);
Standalone Widgets (Mac);
Vista Sidebar Gadgets (Windows);
Opera (Windows, Mac, Linux);
Google Gadgets (Windows);
Adobe AIR (Windows, Mac);
DesktopX (Windows);
Kapsules (Windows);
Samurize (Windows);
KlipFolio (Windows);
AveDesk (Windows);
and all web widget platforms:
Flash, DHTML and Java;
We plan to add more and more platforms in the future. If you are interested in seeing a particular platform, please contact us.
Do I need to create an account?
This depends on how you want to use Widgipedia. To download widgets or to post feedback about them, you don't need an account. To upload and manage your own ones, you will need an account. This can be done during the upload process so it's extremely easy. Oh, and it's also free!
What is account validation?
Before we can publish your widgets to our site, you must validate your account. The process is simple - we will send you an email with a link, and you must simply click the link to validate your email address and activate your account.
Just enter your keywords in the search field at the top of the page and click 'Go'. Widgets tagged with a keyword, or widgets that have a keyword in the title or description will show up in the search results. If you enter an account name in the search field, we will display the developer associated with that account and all of the widgets the developer has uploaded.
What type of widgets do you host?
We host all major types of both Web widgets and desktop widgets and we are working hard to support additional types so that all are represented on Widgipedia. For Web widgets, we support Flash, HTML/JavaScript and Java Applets. For desktop widgets, here is the list:
Yahoo! Widgets (Windows and Mac OS)
Dashboard (Mac OS)
Standalone Widgets (Windows, Mac OS)
Opera (Windows, Mac OS, Linux)
Google Gadgets (Windows)
Vista Sidebar Gadgets (Windows)
Adobe AIR (Windows, Mac OS)
DesktopX (Windows)
Kapsules (Windows)
Samurize (Windows)
KlipFolio (Windows)
AveDesk (Windows)
Are widgets safe to download?
Unlike other sites, we allow developers to upload widgets without restrictions and without forcing them to wait for our approval. This means more freedom for the developers, and we trust their honesty in using it. Nevertheless, since all widgets are rated and given feedback by our users, ratings where "malicious" activity has been cited will cause us to suspend the widget(s) from the gallery until we can prove them to be harmless
Can I see what others thought about a certain widget or gadget?
Absolutely. Visitors can rate widgets and post comments about them. To view these ratings and comments, simply click on a widget's icon to go to its detail page. If you would like to leave your own comments about a widget, simply click the "Add Your Feedback Here" link in widget's detail page.
Can I post my own feedback?
Yes, and we will be glad to hear it! To give feedback about a widget, please click the "Add Your Feedback Here" link in any widget detail page. To tell us what you think about our site, please use the Contact Us form.
Does my feedback really count?
Definitely. We continuously work to improve Widgipedia, and whether it's about the site itself or about the quality of the widgets that we host, your feedback is invaluable for that. The crazy and cool features we plan to implement are very much based on your opinions and suggestions, so please click here and tell us what you think.
Do I need to create an account?
No. You only need to create an account to upload and display widgets on our site.
Just click the "Upload" button. You will also create an account on the fly if you do not already have one.
Do I need to create an account?
Yes, and you can do this on the fly while uploading your first widget.
How do I create an account?
Just type in your desired account name and choose a password and you're a Widgipedia member - it's free and respectful to your privacy! Then, when you decide to publish your widgets, all you need to do is provide a valid email address.
Do I need an approval?
No, at Widgipedia you don't need any approval. We believe that widget developers must have absolute freedom to express what they want. Use this freedom wisely and respect the others. :-)
So are there any restrictions for the widgets I upload?
No, excepting that you are not allowed to upload other content than widgets or widget related information, neither are you allowed to upload malicious, disruptive, obscene, defamatory or abusive widgets, or widgets that infringe copyright. These will be retracted as soon as they receive negative feedback or at our sole discretion - and if the widgets prove indeed to be from the categories listed they will cause your account to be permanently suspended. The widgets that you upload must comply to the Terms of Service.
My widgets don't show up in gallery! Why?!
Most probable, because you did not validate your account. To have your widgets displayed to the other users, you must validate your account by providing an email address. We'll simply send you a validation link to that address, and once that you enter that link your widgets will be visible to all users.
To begin creating your widgets, you basically need to have three things installed:
a PNG editor to create the UI (such as Adobe Photoshop, Gimp, etc)
a text editor capable of editing XML
the engine (or the OS, for Microsoft Gadgets) capable of running your widget
What do I need to know for start?
You'll need to know what XML, PNG and JavaScript are, and probably have some JavaScript knowledge. If you don't know much about these, read this tutorial or browse our code samples and learn from the examples.
Can you help me create better widgets than I've done so far?
We believe we can. First, with Widgipedia you don't have to start your widget from scratch - you can check the advanced tutorials and the code samples available on our site. Each of these can help you start directly with advanced widgets. Second, you can reuse any of the code libraries that we provide, so that you can focus on your application's specific functionality. Third, you can discuss with the community of developers that use Widgipedia and you can benefit from their knowledge.
Do I find any code samples here?
Yes! You can find them by searching for tag "sample", or by clicking here. We welcome you to help us improve the samples with your feedback or to add ones of your own. Please write us what do you think and what would you need, and we'll do our best to have this available for you as soon as possible.
Do I find any advanced tutorials here?
Not at this time. However, we'll add them in a few weeks, so please come back and help us improve the advanced tutorials with your feedback. In the meantime, please write us what would you need, and we'll do our best to have this available for you as soon as possible.
What if I didn't find what I needed?
Whether we are still in beta phase or later, please tell us what would you need, and we'll do our best to have this available for you as soon as possible.
