Make best use of Google Sidebar
Setting up the Google Desktop Sidebar
The Google Desktop Sidebar is a mix of tools: it’s a browser, it’s a toolbar, it’s a jumping-off point for various applications on the web or on your computer.
Now, admittedly, if you’re not a fan of something crunching up a bit of your screen real estate, then you won’t appreciate the Sidebar. But if you’re willing to expand your horizons a bit, I think you’ll agree with me that it’s one of the more useful deskbar utilities out there. For someone who’s not used to a sidebar, it can take some getting used to; however, the Google Desktop Sidebar comes with extra squishability so you can kick it all the way to the curb, er, the side of your browser window, or change it to a floating Taskbar when you don’t want to look at it.
In order to access the Sidebar view, all you need to do is right-click on the Google Desktop icon in your taskbar and select "Sidebar". It comes with standard default features - email, news, photos, weather, etc. - which can all be customized to your own unique preferences:
- Email: Gmail is integrated into the Sidebar by default, but if you would rather have Outlook in there, simply install the Outlook Express plugin.
- Web Clips: The Web Clips panel is basically a history of your time on the Web for the last 24 hours or so. You can manually put more sites in here in order to get (almost) instant updates, and there’s a nifty slider button that whooshes out a more detailed summary of recently updated items. One thing that is a glaring omission here: there should be a bulk RSS/Atom import functionality in order to make this feature even more useful.
- Scratch Pad: Arguably one of the most useful Google Desktop Sidebar functions. Scratch Pad allows you to use a Notepad-like function in order to write quick jots or entire missives, and then save it to a file. I write almost everything in a .txt format first, so this panel was definitely a plus for me.
The Sidebar basically globs all your most practical applications into one handy place, making them easier to access. Again, it takes some getting used to (I found the Photos feature especially distracting!), but you can remove modules you don’t like and add the ones you do.
To add even more functionality to the Sidebar, there’s also a whole ream of Google Desktop plugins and Gadgets you can easily plop into the Sidebar or your desktop to make your computing time even more productive.
Google Desktop Gadgets and Plug-ins
So, what’s the difference between a Google Desktop Gadget and a plug-in?
- Google Desktop Plug-ins: extend the useability of the Google Desktop search program.
- Google Desktop Gadgets: can be viewed in the Sidebar or dropped onto your desktop; serve a variety of uses, including both fun and functional.
Now, it’s up to you what plugins and Gadgets you want in your Google Desktop Sidebar; and they’re easy enough to install (and get rid of) that you can experiment with what works for you best. Here are the ones that I’ve currently got running on my Google Desktop Sidebar:
- Top Digg Stories: Get the ten most recent Digg home page stories. Updated about every five minutes.
- MS Outlook Tasks plug-in: integrate your Outlook to-do list right into the sidebar. I find this incredibly useful; it’s a whole new way of being reminded constantly that I’m way, way behind.
- Timer: give yourself a specific amount of time to accomplish tasks and you’ll be surprised at how much you get done.
- Games: All work and no PacMan make Wendy something, something. Play PacMan? Why, yes, I believe I will!
Google Desktop Sidebar shortcuts
A few tweaks you can do with the Sidebar.
- Got Gadgets you’re not using? Hit the shift key twice to bring them front and center.
- Use Google Search instantly pressing the ctrl key twice; conversely, you can hit CTRL+ALT+G shortcut to place your cursor in whatever view of Google Desktop you’re using (Sidebar, deskbar, or floating deskbar).
- If you see an interesting news item pop up in your Sidebar and feel like sharing, right-click and hit "send to." If you have your Google Talk list up and running, you can also just drag and drop this news item to their name to deliver it. Works for the default news, email, weather, and stocks panels in the Google Desktop Sidebar.
- Play with your Sidebar preferences by right-clicking on the very top of the panel. You can change the font size, add or configure gadgets, pause indexing, change where you want it docked (right or left), and more.
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