Computer users who have switched from Windows 7 to Windows 10 or bought a personal computer with a dozen preinstalled often wonder - where did the widgets go... The answer to this question is not difficult at all. Since Windows 8, the company is bigger does not use widgets on their operating systems.
For many users who are used to widgets, this is pretty bad news. But don't be upset. In this article we will describe the process return of gadgets in the operating system Windows 10 into place. For an example of restoring widgets, we will use free programs Gadgets revived and 8GadgetPack, the installation and operation of which we will consider in the new operating system Windows 10 Pro.
Returning widgets using the Gadgets Revived utility
Program Gadgets revived is completely free. You can download the utility from its official website http://gadgetsrevived.com. After downloading the installer, you can proceed with the direct installation. Having launched the installer, a window will appear in front of us, where we will be asked to select the installation language.
Choose a language and continue, after which we get to the start window of the installer. In the start window, click the Next\u003e button and move to the language selection window.
By default, we already have Russian, so we continue with the installation.
In the window that appears, we need to click the Install button, after which the installation of the program will begin. After completing the installation, the installer will display the last window in which we will click the Finish button.
Now you can start installing widgets... To do this, go to the Desktop and right-click on it. In the context menu that appears, select " Gadgets».
A window should appear with widgets that were preinstalled in the seven.
To add gadgets to your Desktop, simply drag needed on it. For example, this is what the dragged widget looks like “ Clock»On the Desktop.
From the utility overview Gadgets revived it can be seen that it almost completely copies the appearance and functionality of the built-in widgets in the seven. For example, the clock gadget has similar settings to Windows 7 gadgets.
If the pre-installed gadgets are not enough for you, you can find hundreds of new gadgets on the home page http://gadgetsrevived.com.
To install a gadget you like, just download it from the official website. After that, open the downloaded file and click the Install button in the window that appears.
For example, this is how a beautiful clock looks like Ferrari clock on the desktop.
You can download this clock widget at http://gadgetsrevived.com/1279.
Returning widgets using the 8GadgetPack program
Another interesting utility is 8GadgetPack... The utility is also free and you can download it from the official site http://8gadgetpack.net. After starting the installation file, we will be taken to the start window of the installer.
Press the Install button, after which the installation will begin 8GadgetPack in Windows 10. At the final stage of the installation, the last window will appear, in which you must click the Finish button.
By setting 8GadgetPack, you can start using gadgets. To do this, also go to the Desktop and right-click on it. In the context menu that appears, select the same item “ Gadgets».
The utility should open 8GadgetPack with a set of gadgets that resembles the previous utility in appearance, but slightly different.
The main difference 8GadgetPack from Gadgets revived is that all gadgets have already been added to the first one, and they do not need to be downloaded separately. IN 8GadgetPack more than fifty applications are included and with each new version this list expands. To install gadgets, they are the same as in Gadgets revived, you need to drag it to the Desktop. For example, the image below shows the dragged gadget “ Digital watch».
If you press the key combination Win + Q to bring up the search for applications in Windows 10 and type in it " 8GadgetPack Tools", Then we can open the advanced settings menu.
The only unpleasant moment will be that the menu will be in English. To make it easier for our readers to understand this menu, we have signed each item in Russian in the image below.
Summing up
It is not known why the developers have removed widgets from new Windows operating systems. Perhaps this decision was made due to their low popularity. But whatever their solution, nevertheless widgets are popular with many users, since they help to find out various information directly from the desktop screen.
Thanks to utilities like 8GadgetPack and Gadgets revived, users of the Windows 10 operating system will be able to use the widgets they are used to in the seven. And we, in turn, hope that a detailed overview of the programs 8GadgetPack and Gadgets revived will help our readers install widgets on Windows 10. I would also like to note that in 2016 Microsoft promises to release two major updates, perhaps they will add support for gadgets or find an alternative to them.
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The decisions of large corporations are far from always the only correct and correct ones. Several years ago, Microsoft, without any consultation with users, completely removed such a function as gadgets from its system. Today we'll talk about how to get them back, and at the same time show, in our opinion, the best gadgets for Windows 10.
Content:What is a Windows gadget
Gadget for Windows is a special gadget that is as easy to use as possible and designed to perform simple, highly specialized tasks. The gadget platform debuted about 10 years ago in the Windows Vista operating system and was then part of another mechanism - the Sidebar.
Initially, the system offered only a small group of unpretentious gadgets, including a clock, calendar, viewing the weather, news feeds and currency rates, as well as monitoring the processor and RAM. The user could install the rest of the gadgets from the official catalog site or from third-party sources.
For example, the first two gadgets in the screenshot above are not included in the initial kit and were installed by the author of the article separately.
Since Windows 7, Microsoft has allowed gadgets to "live their own lives" by allowing the user to place them anywhere on the desktop. In turn, it was decided to abandon the sidebar, although all gadgets for Windows remained in the system memory united by a common sidebar.exe process.
The disappearance of gadgets happened shortly before the release of the final version of Windows 8. Literally at the very last stage of its testing, Microsoft cut gadgets from the system. The formal reason was security problems that suddenly appeared in gadgets, however, what prevented the corporation from fixing them and returning this functionality to the system is a mystery.
How to open gadget file
Unfortunately, since the gadgets were removed from the subsequent versions of Microsoft OS after Windows 7, users lost not only the set of gadgets that were built into the system, but also the ability to install third-party files with the .gadget extension. Once they were native to Windows, but now the system absolutely does not recognize them:
However, there is a way out of this situation. You will be able to open gadget files again if install the 8GadgetPack app.
Moreover, the author does not stop updating 8GadgetPack, adding and improving the gadgets included in the kit every few months. At the time of this writing, version 19 of 8GadgetPack is current. Clicking on the "Download" button on the official website will immediately start downloading the application, the distribution kit of which weighs less than 20 MB.
After downloading 8GadgetPack, find it in your downloads folder:
And start the installation:
Remember to click "yes" in the User Account Control window:
Immediately after installing 8GadgetPack, the OS will "remember" the gadget files, and you can open them just like you did in Windows 7.
However, do not rush to search all your gadgets again, because 8GadgetPack already contains several dozen of these gadgets, among which there are classic ones (by the way, you can still return to Windows 10.)
Some of the gadgets will immediately appear on your desktop:
However, this is only a small part of what comes with the 8GadgetPack. Please note that in the context menu of the desktop you will again, as it was in the "seven", the item "gadgets" will become available:
By clicking on it, you will see the entire collection that is now available to you on. Any gadget can be added to the desktop with a simple drag and drop:
Familiar classic gadgets are located on the third page of this updated gallery:
Clipboarder gadget for Windows 10
Let's start our review of the best gadgets for Windows 10 with the one with which the author of this material has been inseparable for many years. This gadget is called Clipboarder and takes one of the most poorly thought-out subsystems in Windows to the next level - the clipboard. The bottom line is that the elements no longer disappear there without a trace, but line up in a visual ribbon on your desktop.
Clicking on an element instantly adds it to memory, individual elements can be pinned, drag-and-drop is supported. The gadget has a rich selection of themes, in addition, like any gadget, Clipboarder supports transparency adjustment. In the settings, you can specify the maximum length of the tape (maximum 100 elements), the style of the tape, hotkeys, and more.
Unit Conventer
Confused about the units of information, energy or area, but often you need the associated calculations for work / study? In this case, take a look at the Unit Conventer - the best gadget for converting different values. Apart from the named ones, Unit Conventer also works with temperature, mass, length, time, pressure and a number of other parameters.
Multi Meter
A very simple gadget that will allow you not to disturb the task manager again. The load of the processor cores is displayed here, as well as the amount of memory used, both in percentage and in specific numbers:
In the settings, you can set the update interval, as well as the appearance of the gadget:
Hud time
From numerous gadgets in the form of clocks and calendars, as a rule, there is not much sense, as the same information is displayed next to the system tray. However, there is one exception: if you are far from the screen, you may not be able to make out what is written in the lower right corner. If you have exactly this scenario, then pay attention to HUD Time - a huge clock with display of the month and day of the week. They can be placed anywhere on the desktop, adjust the degree of transparency, font and text color.
Launch Control
Not everyone likes to clutter their desktop and taskbar with a large number of shortcuts, in which you then involuntarily begin to get confused. Perhaps that is why a small Launch Control gadget may be useful to someone, in which links to various applications, applets and actions with the system are arranged in groups:
Such a miniature, at first glance, gadget has a lot of settings. In the main section, you can add, remove and edit groups with shortcuts:
And in the additional detail customize the appearance:
DriveInfo
Another gadget that the author has been using for a long time himself is called DriveInfo. It provides links to the logical partitions of your disk or disks if you have more than one. In addition, DriveInfo clearly displays the percentage of free space that is left on a particular partition.
In the gadget's settings, you can set which sections should be displayed, as well as experiment with its design.
My weather
This gadget for Windows 10 is responsible for the weather and differs from others in that it can show a number of additional data, including pressure, humidity, wind speed, as well as sunrise and sunset times. The weather is displayed several days in advance. In the settings, you can adjust the appearance and units of measurement.
7 Sidebar - sidebar for Windows 10
Unlike gadgets, which survived at least until Windows 7, the sidebar with them lasted only in Vista. Probably, one of the reasons for such a quick rejection was the small spread of widescreen monitors at that time. On the more common screens with an aspect ratio of 5: 4 then, the sidebar took up an indecent amount of work space.
The unusual gadget 7 Sidebar is just trying to rethink the sidebar from Vista, returning it to Windows 10 and along the way supplementing it with significantly more settings than the original had. That is, before us is a new, more functional sidebar Windows 10:
There are about three dozen themes alone, and in addition, you can adjust the width of the sidebar.
The meaning of this panel is that it will help to keep gadgets always in sight, but not interfere with the work in the system. Without it, they will overlap with windows, and if you configure them to be displayed over windows, then, on the contrary, they will start to obstruct the content you need.
In addition, 7 Sidebar is equipped with the ability to act as a window manager. In this case, window thumbnails will be displayed in the sidebar. They can be shown separately:
and mixed with gadgets:
The previews support the Peek function, thanks to which the contents of the window can be seen only by hovering over it.
Other gadgets for Windows 10
Alas, since the gadget platform has long been thrown out of Windows and abandoned by Microsoft, many third-party developments have also ceased their development. As a result, a number of good gadgets from the times of Vista and Windows 7 have failed to work today.
As part of 8GadgetPack, in addition to several very trivial gadgets like all kinds of calendars, clocks and notes, there are also a number of interesting finds that are kept up to date by the authors of this kit. We do not see any point in describing them in detail, but we will still say a few words.
In particular, we note Remove Drive Safely Glassy, \u200b\u200bwhich allows you to quickly and safely remove flash drives, as well as CPU Network Monitor and Glassy Network Monitor, which, without accessing the task manager, will clearly show you the load of the CPU and network.
In turn, MiniRadio will allow you to listen to some Western radio stations, Recycle Bin will allow you to control the basket without going to it, Top Five will display the five most burdening the system processes, and Volume Control will help you adjust the volume without a targeted click on the tiny icon on the taskbar.
The Clock widget is a simple technical gadget for the Windows operating system that allows you to keep track of the local time. However, ordinary users do not always have an unambiguous opinion about such tools. For some, this is a necessary addition to the desktop, for others, a useless trinket that takes up free space. This article is dedicated to those who are used to always keeping track of time.
Clock widget on the desktop for Windows 10
One of the popular functionalities of Windows 7 was the presence of desktop gadgets (or widgets). In addition to several already built-in extensions, the system supported the function of installing additional widgets from the Internet, which made it possible to rationally set up the workspace.
Windows 10 from Microsoft, just like the previous Windows 8, again upset users by the lack of such a widget panel. According to the OS developers themselves, the decision to completely abandon the familiar gadget system was influenced by several global reasons, namely:
- unnecessary function. One of the main ways of development of the new OS was design rebranding, where such extensions were simply not included conceptually;
- security of personal data of users. However, this point is controversial. It is even difficult to imagine that such a minor extension of the operating system as a widget can harm the user's security.
In the new Windows operating systems (8/10 versions), desktop widgets were replaced by dynamic tiles, which in some way were supposed to replace them. For example, the tile for the "Alarms and Clocks" application carries even more functionality than the "Clock" gadget in Windows 7. The situation is similar with the rest of the dynamic tiles. However, the problem with all the available tiles is that none of them can be placed on the desktop, unlike the same widgets. To find out the necessary information, you constantly need to go to the Start menu.
If you did not have a dynamic tile "Alarms and Clock" in place, then the gadget can be found in "Start" in the general list of all installed applications
Not all users are satisfied with this situation. For their sake, third-party software developers tried to return the desktop widget function to modern OS. Consider the most popular programs that can complement Windows 10 with the necessary Clock widget.
Popular Clock Widget Programs for Windows 10
There are enough programs on the Internet to install Clock widgets for the Windows 10 operating system. The most popular of them are the following three.
Gadgets revived
The second name of the program is Windows Desktop Gadgets. Its main task is to return popular widgets to the new system from Microsoft. The only minor difference will be a slightly modified tool interface (for Windows 10 style). The program installation algorithm is as follows:
In addition to the "Clock" widget, there are also available:
Gadgets Revived will not only add the Gadgets menu, but also put the widget management access to Personalization (right mouse button on the desktop), and also add a corresponding sub-item to the View menu.
Video: How to Add a Widget to the Desktop Using Gadgets Revived
MFI10
Missed Features Installer 10 (MFI10) is a popular plug-in to bring the familiar gadget system back to Windows 10.
MFI10 is an ISO disk image (to open it you need a CD / DVD emulator program, for example, Daemon Tools), about 1.5 gigabytes in size. Since the program cannot currently be downloaded from the developer's official website, you will have to use any available search engine.
After downloading the ISO image, you need to open it and mount it on your computer. To do this, you need a CD / DVD drive emulator, for example, Daemon Tools.
A list of all files of the virtual disk will be presented in the window that opens:
- Run MFI10.exe.
If the autorun of the image did not work, then it can be found in the "This computer" tab
- After accepting the license agreement (the program is distributed free of charge), a menu of application components available for installation will appear. The Gadgets item is responsible for installing all desktop widgets for Windows 10.
Despite the English language of the program installation interface, the desktop widgets themselves will be in Russian
- After selecting the Gadgets installation in the "Control Panel", the necessary section "Desktop Gadgets" will be added.
If the required item still does not appear, you should reinstall the MFI10 program
8GadgetPack
A relative drawback of 8GadgetPack is incomplete translation of the program into Russian. You can download the utility from the developer's official website.
The developer site is in English, but using the corresponding images, the installation process of the program is shown in detail
The undoubted advantage of the program, in comparison with the previous ones, is its more advanced functionality. As a result of installing 8GadgetsPack, not only several types of clocks, weather, calendars will be available, but also widgets for tracking the necessary information about the state of the PC (resource consumption, active processes, temperature, etc.). You can also open the full list of widgets using the context menu by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting "Gadgets".
A distinctive feature of the program is the variety of widgets
Another distinctive feature of the program is a significant variety of possible settings for customizing widgets. A special panel opens either through the interface of the application itself, or through the "Start" menu.
The menu is completely in English, which can bring some difficulties in use
Since the configuration menu does not support Russian, we will briefly consider its items:
- Add gadget - install new widgets on the desktop and remove them;
- Disable Autorun - disable autorun of widgets at Windows startup;
- Make gadgets larger - scaling desktop widgets. This is most relevant for monitors with high screen resolutions;
- Disable Win + G for gadgets - deactivation of the call to the widget panel by pressing the Win + G key combination. Sometimes this combination is simultaneously responsible for the process of recording video from the monitor screen;
- Visit Website - visiting the developer's site to check for program updates;
- Reset all gadgets - reset the settings of all available widgets (returns everything to default);
- Uninstall - uninstalls the 8GadgetPack program and all related widgets.
Video: How to Add a Widget to the Homescreen Using 8GadgetPack
Other programs
The list of programs for adding a clock widget and others is not limited to those listed above. Therefore, we will give a couple of examples of less popular programs.
Digital clock
It is an electronic clock widget. A feature of the program is that it has a wide range of settings, so that Digital Clock can be easily customized for yourself. To do this, after installation, you must go to the program section "Digital Clock Settings".
A wide range of program settings will allow you not only to change its appearance, but also to choose the optimal functionality
In addition to general settings, the program also has a "Plugins" tab, where you can select the following components:
- scheduler;
- alarm clock and reminder;
- transparent variable;
- setting the date;
- system shutdown;
- setting an alarm every hour;
- quick note;
- moving clock on the monitor screen.
Desktop Clock Plus-7
If you are a supporter of the classics, then this program is what you need. It adds an analog clock widget to the desktop. The program is available in two versions. Its free version contains all the basic clock settings (widget size, moving around the desktop, enabling / disabling the second hand, pinning the clock on top of all windows, autorun with the operating system).
All basic widget settings are available in the free version of the program
The paid version of the program has a number of additional options: you can enable the display of the current date, change the design of the clock, etc. In general, the free version will be sufficient.
Where can I find clock widgets with different designs?
On the Internet there are a large number of thematic sites for adding various kinds of widgets, including "Clock", on Window 10. Some users like to change their appearance every day or from time to time. Therefore, here is a small list of sites from which you can download dozens of different designs.
Wingad.ru
In the corresponding section of the site, you can find more than a hundred varieties of the clock widget design. Having chosen the one you like, you just need to click on the "Download gadget" button and save the .gadget file to any folder on your computer.
Each widget design option has detailed information about it
After downloading, you need to run the instant installation file, and then find and pin the new "Clock" widget on Windows 10 of any of the popular programs (Gadgets Revived, MFI10, 8GadgetPack) by simply selecting it from the list of available ones.
Winzoro.net
Similarly to the previous site, in a special section you can choose from more than two hundred design options for the "Clock" widget.
Wingdt.com
Despite the small number of different designs for the Clock widget, the site has a convenient navigation system. All files are downloaded in .gadget format and added to the desktop thanks to third-party programs like Gadgets Revived.
Thanks to special third-party programs, ordinary users are able to return to the tenth version of Windows the missing gadget system, including a simple clock widget. Moreover, the most picky users of the program Gadgets Revived or MFI10 provide not only the ability to install standard widgets, but also add those downloaded from the Internet.
8GadgetPack is a free program that allows you to use Windows 7 desktop gadgets in Windows 10, 8.1, 8. It is especially worth noting that to return gadgets (restore the ability to use them), the 8GadgetPack program uses only the corresponding, original files from Microsoft, and this, in turn, guarantees stable operation of the operating system and the computer as a whole.
New operating systems released by Microsoft, earlier Windows 8 (8.1), and then Windows 10, which replaced Windows 7, which many users loved, were perceived quite ambiguously. Many innovations of the above operating systems were not to the liking of many. So, in addition to a completely new way of launching applications in the form of a tiled Metro interface, which replaced the "Start" button, from Windows 8, some functions, useful to varying degrees, that users in the seven have got used to have been removed. In particular, the developers of Microsoft Corporation decided to abolish the "Minimize all windows" button (later, with the release of Windows 10, this feature was returned), etc., they also decided to abandon desktop gadgets due to possible vulnerabilities in the OS.
Earlier, in one of the articles, we have already answered the question:. Now, let's focus on solving such a problem as the return of the ability to use desktop gadgets in Windows 10, 8.1, 8. Most likely, many of those who switched to the latest operating system from Microsoft from Windows 7 were somewhat discouraged from the very beginning. only all the convenient innovations, coupled with an unusual way of shutting down a computer under Windows 8, but they could also detect the absence of desktop gadgets, and there are quite a few people who are accustomed to using these "little assistants".
To help all those who feel uncomfortable without decorations, contemplating their desktop without their favorite gadgets, we suggest using an excellent free program - 8GadgetPack, which will help return gadgets to Windows 8 (Windows 10).
All you need is to download 8GadgetPack and install the program on your computer. Immediately after installation, you will be able to access your gadgets in exactly the same way as in Windows 7.
8GadgetPack already includes a set of popular desktop gadgets (both from Microsoft and third-party developers): clocks, various system utilities and monitors, informers, weather widgets and much more.
Download 8GadgetPack for free, no registration.
8GadgetPack is a small program that allows you to use Windows 7 desktop gadgets on Windows 10, 8.1, 8 operating systems
Version: 8GadgetPack 28.0
Size: 21.8 MB
Operating system: Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8
Russian language
Program status: Free
Developer: Helmut Buhler
Official site:
Gadgets (Widgets) are one of the most controversial features in a windowing OS. Some users install them and do not even know how to fully use a PC without their help. Others do not even know what it is, and quite successfully cope. Are there gadgets for Windows 10, what are they and how to install them - we will analyze the answer to these questions in detail later in the article.
Why did widgets disappear from Windows 10?
With the arrival of first version 8, and then the tenth version, this issue was resolved, because Microsoft decided to completely remove the function from the system for some reason:
- As unnecessary. A lot of the emphasis in the new systems has been on live tiles, which, in a way, work the same way as widgets. They display useful information, update in real time, and look more relevant;
- For security reasons. Here the developers, rather, said without much reason. Since it is hard to assume that such a small part of the system as a widget can greatly affect security, and parts of its code can be used by intruders. Although it may have had an impact on performance. You can check this by returning functionality and.
Now gadgets for Windows 10 cannot be found on the official website.
However, there are no more widgets and the reasons are given. Most of the users simply agreed and started using tiles, but there are also those who do not want to deprive themselves of such a convenient opportunity and wondered how to install gadgets on Windows 10. For them, third-party developers tried to create software that copies the functionality of widgets as closely as possible and tells you how to install gadgets on the desktop in Windows 10.
How to install gadgets on the Windows 10 desktop using programs
8GadgetPack
- Media center;
- Movie Maker;
- .NetFramework;
- DirectX 9 version and more.
It is likely that, having rummaged on the Internet, you can find other lesser-known solutions, but is it necessary to do this, given that the ones described above allow you to return functionality that was in 7 and even more. 
If you are looking for ways to remove gadgets on Windows 10 - then this is done by adding them to the OS.