Run Windows Sidebar Gadgets Without the Sidebar
Did you know that you can drag sidebar gadgets to the desktop, and then Close the sidebar? This tip might be obvious to many of you, but judging from all the emails I get on the subject, I felt that I should write an article about it anyway.
All you have to do is just drag the gadgets off the sidebar onto the desktop, and put them anywhere you want.
Now right-click anywhere on the clear part of the sidebar, and choose Close Sidebar.
You'll notice that the gadgets continue to run on the desktop. You can even customize them via the options and set the transparency to blend in better with the desktop.
Remember that you can use Win+Space to bring them to the foreground if you want.
The Geek is the founder of How-To Geek and a geek enthusiast. When he's not coming up with great how-to articles, he's probably writing at his personal blog. This article was written on 07/6/07 and tagged with: Windows Vista, Desktop Customization
I tried this tip, if you open the task manager and look up process the sidebar is still running and consuming 15,268k.
John
You are correct, the process is still running in the background, which is to be expected.
The main thing is that it isn't wasting space on the screen anymore. =)
hmmm, i'd rather quit the sidebar altogether to free up the already 60-70% constantly occupied RAM. Google desktop is more handy for me - but i use it on my XP desktop rather than my Vista Basic notebook which'd slow it down and contribute to more rapid battery loss.