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Windows-Sidebar
Windows Sidebar for Rainmeter
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README
Windows Sidebar for Rainmeter
Free and Open Source, works on Windows 7, 10 and 11 In-part a museum / preservation effort of the wonderful design work from a bygone era...
Also check out the Longhorn Sidebar!
Been in the works for a couple of years but I've been putting it off... Now I had some motivation and help to finish it, however!
This is a massive update to the Vista Rainbar, originally by legace/Gavatx, later updated by me and then later by poiru, and now by me again A modernized, yet nostalgic Vista Sidebar with lots of great features and skins...
It also uses like 40MB of RAM and 0-1% CPU on my Core i5 Laptop, can't say the same about most Sidebars.
HOW TO INSTALL?
- Download https://www.rainmeter.net/
- Install Rainmeter
- Download Windows-Sidebar.rmskin from Releases and double click it
Enjoy
FEATURES IN 5.0:
Gadgets
You'll find almost every Gadget you may want:
| Preview | Name | Features | Alternatives | Settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Battery | Displays current battery level and status | Yes | No |
 |
Calendar | Shows current date, month view, and upcoming days | Yes | Yes |
 |
Clock | Displays current local time with configurable styles | No | Yes |
 |
Contacts | Shows contact list with quick interaction options | No | Yes |
| CPU Meter | Monitors CPU load and performance in real time | No | No | |
 |
Currency | Displays up-to-date currency exchange rates | No | Yes |
 |
Date | Shows the current date with customizable format | No | No |
| Digital Clock | Displays digital time with day/night theme options | No | Yes | |
 |
Drive | Monitors disk usage and available space | No | Yes |
| Feed Headlines | Displays live RSS or news feed updates | Yes | Yes | |
 |
Launcher | Customizable shortcut panel for launching apps or websites | No | Yes |
| Media Player | Controls playback for supported media players | Yes | Yes | |
| Multi-Meter | Combines CPU, RAM, and disk usage monitoring in one | No | No | |
| Network | Displays network IP, upload/download speeds | No | No | |
| Notes | Simple sticky notes gadget for quick text memos | No | Yes | |
| Picture Puzzle | Interactive sliding puzzle game using selected images | No | Yes | |
| Recycle Bin | Shows Recycle Bin status and allows quick cleanup | No | Yes | |
| Red Button | Customizable button for system actions or shortcuts | No | Yes | |
| RED Clock | Stylish clock with alarm and customizable appearance | No | No | |
| Slideshow | Displays photos from a selected folder as a slideshow | Yes | Yes | |
| Sunset | Shows sunrise/sunset times and weather info | No | Yes | |
| Uptime | Displays system uptime since last boot | No | No | |
| Weather | Shows current weather conditions and forecast | No | Yes | |
| Wireless | Displays Wi-Fi signal strength and connection info | No | No | |
| World Clock | Displays current time for multiple locations | No | Yes | |
| Feedback | Shows a configurable link | No | No | |
| Windows Media Center | Shows a configurable link (to ehshell.exe) | No | No | |
| Windows Media Center | Shows a configurable link (to ehshell.exe) | No | No |
Skins / Styles
Included Skins from the Classics:
The Sidebar is also colorizable through the Settings Window. There is a Windows 7 option, where the sidebar is invisible and just a small + icon in the corner :)
Galleries
There are 4 Gallery Styles respective to Vista RTM, Vista Beta 2 5384, Vista Beta 2 5219, Vista Beta 2 5212
Settings
Sidebar and Gadgets have dedicated Config tools
Capabilities
- Ability to position on the Right or on the Left with one click
- Option to stay on top of other Windows (Reserve screen space)
- Easy Snapping
- Blur Effect on Win10 / Win11
- Super easy Customization
- Lots of Variants in every Gadget
- Possible future Translations
- Create your own Gadgets using included Gadgets\Template
Extras
Some more included Extras for real Windows fans:
| Preview | Name | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve Screen Space | Included Utility lets you realistically reserve screen space for the Sidebar, does not run in Memory | |
| Build Tag | Put a configurable Build tag on your Desktop | |
| Configuration | The sidebar has lots of configuration options |
Vista Beta 2 Gadgets
For historical integrity, there are also Vista Beta 2 Gadgets in the Project They can be enabled either through a Sidebar Theme or by enabling "Show All Gadgets"
| Preview | Name | Features | Alternatives | Settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build 5384 | - | - | - | - |
| Calculator | You can do math on it | No | Yes | |
| Clock | Displays current local time with configurable styles | No | Yes | |
| CPU Meter | Monitors CPU load and performance in real time | No | No | |
| Currency | Displays up-to-date currency exchange rates | No | Yes | |
| Feed Viewer | Displays live RSS or news feed updates | Yes | Yes | |
| Feed Watcher | Displays live RSS or news feed updates | Yes | Yes | |
| Number Puzzle | Interactive sliding puzzle game using selected images | No | No | |
| Picture Puzzle | Interactive sliding puzzle game using selected images | No | No | |
| Recycle Bin | Shows Recycle Bin status and allows quick cleanup | No | Yes | |
| Timer | Kitchen Timer for just about anything | No | Yes | |
| Build 5219 | - | - | - | |
| Analog Clock | Displays current local time with configurable styles | No | Yes | |
| Clock | Displays current local time, day and night mode | No | Yes | |
| Shows a fake number, currently not possible to make it real | No | Yes | ||
| Internet Search | Lets you Search from the Gadget | No | Yes | |
| Launcher | Customizable shortcut panel for launching apps or websites | No | Yes | |
| RSS | Displays live RSS or news feed updates | Yes | Yes | |
| RSS in HTML | Displays live RSS or news feed updates | Yes | Yes | |
| Slideshow | Displays photos from a selected folder as a slideshow | Yes | Yes | |
| WM Player | Controls playback for supported media players | No | Yes | |
| Build 5212 | - | - | - | |
| Internet Search | Lets you Search from the Gadget | No | Yes | |
| Slideshow | Displays photos from a selected folder as a slideshow | Yes | Yes |
BUGS & TRANSLATIONS
If you find any bugs just let me know in a comment or something. Technically this thing supports multiple languages, you need to edit English.inc and replace it with your values. I started a few languages already but then I got lazy.
LICENSE
Software and Components
Images and Media https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
CREDITS
Big thanks to MrLapinou, AtheneRa, poiru, Gavatx and balazslaci (Currency gadget)
Credits to guinness for coming up with the reserve screen space AutoIt Script