What are gadgets and widgets and how to install them in Windows. How to install widgets on a Xiaomi smartphone

Dear readers! I know that there are a huge number of people who would like to install information widgets on the main page of their Yandex. Because we're used to it. Because working on the Internet begins with opening the main page. Because each user could, at his own discretion, add and configure widgets with the information that was of interest to him personally. Because in a minute you could evaluate the picture of the past time and draw conclusions, or simply read a new joke, or look at the weather forecast. It was convenient.

I know that now instead there are kilometer-long rows of banners, pictures, collections that are very difficult to understand...

Much to our chagrin, the widget catalog no longer exists and new widgets can no longer be installed, but we can still contemplate the previously installed widgets. You can read the official information on this page or just look at the screenshot.

Did you know, dear website and blog owners, that you now have the opportunity to add your website to the Yandex home page. Website widget on Yandex - it's easy!

For many of us, Yandex is our start page. Every time we open our browser, we see only the most interesting and necessary information. There are hardly two identical start pages - everyone customizes it to their own taste: adding widgets for weather forecasts, exchange rates, news informers, videos, jokes, etc. After all, a widget is an information block that contains the information you need. Therefore, you will choose at your own discretion.

You need to choose what you like in the widget catalog. It’s easy to navigate there, and if necessary, you can replace the widget with another, more interesting one.

A website widget on Yandex is a great way to promote!

Probably everyone knows that Yandex is the leading search engine on the Runet, and the lion's share of visitors comes to our sites from Yandex. Considering that millions of Internet users start their working day with the Yandex search engine, this chance to get on the Yandex main page should not be missed.

How to create a widget?

Creating your own widget is not difficult at all. To do this, on the Yandex main page, at the very top, click on “Personal settings”, and select “Add widget” in the menu that opens.

On the next page, under the “All Widgets” column, click the “How to make a widget” link. Next you will be offered detailed instructions on how to create widgets in various ways. Go to the “Developers Account” using the link and choose the method that you need. I chose the “RSS widget”; this method seemed easiest to me.

Once you have entered the necessary information to create a new widget, you can add the code to your site. At first I placed the widget in the sidebar, but a little later I chose an article for this purpose. Now at the end of each article, next to the social network buttons, there is a widget block with an invitation to add my widget to Yandex.

Add a widget to Yandex

The widget can be customized as you wish: to do this, click “More” in the upper right corner of the widget and adjust the settings.

It is useful for site owners to know that after moderating a widget, it can be added to the regional program and to the Yandex Widget Catalog. As Yandex itself writes, it is in the Catalog that users will be able to find out about your widget and select it. But this step requires some work: your widget needs to be visited by an average of 150 people per day. If you noticed, in my screenshot opposite the average number of users there is still a modest one: the newborn widget is only one day old.

Therefore, the usual methods that we use to promote our website or blog are suitable for promoting the widget. Invite your friends to add your widget to their Yandex home page and support your project. Tell us about the new widget in your email newsletter and provide a link to it. Please note that you can install the widget in two clicks: by clicking “Leave widget”

Of course, the site widget on the Yandex home page is another source of traffic and a spontaneous influx of visitors, if everything is done correctly. If your widget gets into the Yandex Catalog, the influx of visitors will amount to thousands. There are already such examples.

All you need to do is repeat the simple steps of those who successfully use various of their sites. It’s just important not to forget that for our widget to become popular, it must solve your client’s problems. This is the most important task.

Every Xiaomi smartphone user has to launch various applications through the home screen of their device every day. The owner of the phone knows by heart where frequently used games and programs are located. But not everyone knows how to install a widget on Xiaomi in order to receive useful information without even launching some applications.

What is a widget

Technically, a widget is a minimalistic stand-alone module that works in a specific environment and usually performs one specific function. Simply put, if you configure widgets on Xiaomi smartphones, the main screen of the device will display special modules with useful information for the user, which previously could only be obtained by logging into the application and making some manipulations. For example, from the WebMoney client you can install modules with information about the balance of one of the established electronic wallets. This way, you can find out if new funds have arrived without launching the application.

Installation instructions

Let's look at how to install widgets for Xiaomi Redmi series smartphones and others with the MIUI shell. First, launch the main screen, selecting the desired desktop.

Then, there are two ways to bring up the secondary menu through which you can add widgets:

1. Press and hold the screen with your finger until the corresponding menu appears.
2. Pinch with two fingers (bring them together by swiping across the screen).
3. Press and hold the functional touch button under the display (in the form of three parallel horizontal lines).

After one of these actions, 4 buttons will appear at the bottom of the screen, one of which will be appropriately named “Widgets”.

How to set up

Typically, such modules for various applications are divided into categories:

• to size;
• by functions performed;
• or there is only one add-on, as is the case with WebMoney.

After you have successfully installed the module, you can further configure its size. To do this, you need to hold down the element that appears, wait until the delete icon appears at the top of the screen, and release the screen. After this, an orange outline will be visible around the perimeter of the block; by pulling it, you can increase or decrease the size of the element. Resizing is limited to the set of linear proportions that is available when selecting a size in the “Widgets” menu.

Also, modules can be configured during their installation or after:

• When adding such a module, the WebMoney application allows you to select the following configurations: a wallet, the amount of money in which will be displayed on the main screen, as well as the design color;

• How to configure an installed widget can be understood using the example of the module for the AIMP audio player. After installing the widget, you can enter its settings menu by clicking on the gear and select the optimal colors for this module.

Naturally, each developer himself thinks about how exactly widgets can be configured for his application.

Where to find additional widgets

The Xiaomi user is not limited in the choice of modules for the main screen. For example, on Redmi 3s or any other device, you just need to go to the Play Market or your favorite website, where you can download a variety of mobile software, and then find the application you need. After installation according to the described scheme, you need to enter the widgets menu and check their availability for a specific application.

You can also find individual add-ons that are not specific to any application, but also serve an important role. For example, an original clock, combined with weather information, can be downloaded on the Internet on popular sites and forums.

Most popular widgets

The most popular widgets can be divided into several categories:

1. A watch is a must, as the standard interface makes it difficult to quickly check the time, which is written in small font in the upper right corner of the screen. The widget shows not only the time, but also the date, and if you click on these values, you can gain access to full control of functions such as alarm clock, timer, stopwatch and calendar. If they are combined with a weather review, then you can also configure the weather search for a specific area.
2. Also, the weather can be displayed in a separate module from popular services: Gismeteo, Sinoptik, etc.

1. Widgets for popular media players are on the same level as these categories, since modern users cannot go a day without listening to music and watching videos. Almost every application, when installed, offers the user a set of different-sized blocks with extensive functionality. We are talking about the most popular players: AIMP, Winamp, MXPlayer, etc.

1. We can’t help but mention social networks: VKontakte, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Odnoklassniki, etc. Convenient blocks will allow you to view the latest news from friends and communities, personal messages, listen to audio recordings from the built-in player, etc. without logging into your page.

1. Those who work with electronic wallets can display balance information on the main screen. The most popular services (WebMoney, Yandex.Money, QIWI) allow you to do this without problems.

This, of course, is only a small part of what can be found on the World Wide Web. For the most popular applications, you can even find unofficial widgets created by folk craftsmen who felt that the proposed functionality was not enough.

Bottom line

The article describes in detail the types of widgets, how to find and install them. You can and should experiment with these elements to make your device work optimally. Any unsuccessfully installed item can be easily removed, just like a normal application, by pinching and dragging it to the trash can at the top of the screen.

After we have installed the browser or decided to use the default one, we need to decide with the help of which search engine we will receive the information we need.

Google has become the most popular search engine site in the world, but Yandex consistently ranks first among Russian-speaking users.

I think this is exactly the case when it is worth following the majority.

Let's take a closer look at what “conveniences and goodies” Yandex offers us.

The Yandex search site begins to “communicate” with us using its main interface - . To open it, you need to type in the address bar of any browser yandex.ru :

Search for the site yandex.ru

The search engine will show us its home page. Here you can find news, stock reports, weather and much, much more.

However, not many users pay attention to the fact that the main page of the most popular search engine can be customized “to suit you.”

What are Yandex widgets.

The main page of yandex.ru consists of blocks with information, which are widgets. Some widgets are small applications - clock, calendar, etc. The rest are links to popular information and entertainment resources (sites).

All the latest information appears on the website and is displayed in the widget. Therefore, you can see many updates without leaving the main page of the search engine.

This is what the default search engine page looks like:

However, there are many widgets that are not displayed on the main page by default, and I also assume that you do not need some of the visible ones. Let's customize them to your liking.

How to install Yandex widgets.

First, let's check the functions for deleting and configuring existing blocks.

First you need to go to Settings =>Tune Yandex.

Widgets now have a gray background indicating their borders, buttons for setting (gears) and deleting a block (cross).

With deletion, I think there will be no questions: the block is not needed - click on the cross LMB, the widget is deleted.

The contents of the settings windows vary for different widgets. For example, in the application Schedule You can configure the origin and destination stations, as well as the time interval for which the schedule will be displayed.

First, let's go through the widgets that are already installed on the page. We will delete unnecessary ones and, if desired, adjust the settings of those that we left. Now you can go to the catalog and see what else Yandex offers us.

Widget catalog.

To log in, you need to find the button in the lower left corner of the browser Add a new widget.

In the catalog, widgets are grouped by topic. We select a topic or enter into the search bar a word directly related to the presumed name of the widget that we want to find.

For example:

To install, you need to hover your mouse over the icon of the widget you are interested in, and then click on the button Add.

We perform further actions on the main page. We are once again asked to make a choice - leave the selected block or delete it. If the visual interface suits us, we confirm by clicking LMB on Install.

After selecting all the interesting widgets, you need to find the best place for them on the page. This option is available immediately after logging into Yandex settings. To move an information block, you need to move the modified cursor over the widget that you are going to move, hold it down with LMB and move it in the desired direction.

And that’s all about widgets for today. Enjoy your navigation.

Of course, it is very convenient to look at your smartphone and know not only the current time, but also to be aware of what surprises the “heavenly office” may present today outside the doors of your own home. Therefore, it is understandable that users want to know how to set the weather on the main Android screen.

There are no special methods for adding a weather widget to the home screen of an Android device; it is installed like any other widget that you downloaded to your device.

What is a widget

A widget is a small application, or part of it, that is usually located on the gadget's desktop. The purpose of the widget is to display information, control the equipment of an Android device with the ability to launch another program, of which it can be a part.

Using the widget, for example, you can find out about processor load, battery status, and you can quickly turn Bluetooth, speakers, GPS, Wi-Fi, etc. on or off. And, of course, by installing a weather informer widget on your home screen, you will always know about the weather “overboard”.

How to add a widget to your home screen

Of course, first, you need to download the program to your device, since their choice is truly huge. But this is not enough, because, unlike other applications, the widget must also be placed on your desktop. Further, our actions will depend on the version of your device.

For Android 3.0 and above:

Call the main menu (in this case it is the button located at the very bottom on the left side of the display). Select the item “ Add to screen". Next we will see a display of desktops at the top of the screen, and below you can select sections “ Applications«, « Icons«, « Widgets“, click the last one. Now swipe left or right, select the desired widget, press it with your finger, and without releasing it, drag it to the main screen:

It should be taken into account that on different device models, the action of adding to the screen may differ, for example, it may simply be the “ + " located in the upper right corner of the display. Or the installed widgets themselves may be located in the “Applications” section.

For Android versions below 3.0

Press and hold with your finger an empty space on the main screen of your smartphone or tablet. In the menu that opens, select “Widgets”. From the opened widgets installed on the device, select the one you need, click on it and wait a few seconds for loading, after which the widget will appear on the main screen:

Widgets can be moved to another location. Just click on it, hold your finger for a while, and then move it.

Well, in conclusion, we suggest watching a video with a description of the excellent application “My Weather Forecast and Widgets” and information on how to configure the widget itself:

What is a gadget and widget?

gadget- These are devices that seem to complement other devices. An example of gadgets could be a USB backlight for a keyboard, a laptop stand, a mouse holder, and so on. The point is that they seem to be devices in themselves, but without the main device they usually make no sense.

Also, devices that can “exist” without the main device are now classified as gadgets. These include tablets, communicators, cameras, players and a bunch of other “small and necessary” things.

Widget- this is practically the same as a gadget, only it refers to a computer. These are special small programs and utilities that most often display some information on the Desktop. That is why they are often called “informers”.

Widgets can show a wide variety of information, ranging from a simple clock to CPU load. These programs have the extension .gadget

Nowadays, these concepts are often confused, calling widgets gadgets, less often vice versa. This is a little wrong and therefore we need to educate ourselves.

How to install a gadget/widget in Windows XP

So, the folder for gadgets is located along the path ( system drive letter) -> Program Files -> Windows Sidebar -> Gadgets

Now we turn our attention to the archive with the gadget. It contains a file with the extension .gadget. This archive must be unzipped either to any location or directly to the created folder.

Now we delete this very file that we unzipped, and leave all the necessary files and folders so that it turns out something like this:

Now go to the Desktop and in the Sidebar click on +

Our gadget should already be present in the collection (if everything was done correctly) and all that remains is to either double-click on it, or right-click and select “Add”:

On a note:
A gadget unpacked into the C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets folder may not be displayed in the menu, but if it is moved to C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets, it is displayed perfectly right away.

How to add a gadget/widget in Windows 7

There is no need to put anything additional in the “seven”. You just need to download the gadget, unpack it and run the file with the .gadget extension. In response, you may receive a message like:

Now the gadget will appear on the Desktop. Unlike XP, where gadgets are displayed only on the right in the sidebar, in seven gadgets can be freely moved throughout the Desktop.

All installed gadgets can be viewed by clicking on an empty space on the Desktop and selecting “Gadgets”:

To activate and install the gadget, simply move it to any place:

or double-click on it.

If you don’t have the “Gadgets” item when you right-click on the Desktop, then we’ll follow the path Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> Turn Windows features on or off and put a tick Windows gadget platform.