Intranet - used to use active desktop top. How to do it now?

[TheFopp]

We are looking to move to Windows 7 in the summer, but desperately want to find a simple way of replacing Active Desktop as we use it on XP to give students/staff direct access to various areas of the intranet.

 

Here is a piccy of how it looks for staff

http://www.chethams.com/activedesktop.jpg

 

The students see a slightly different version with access to their areas.

 

I know we could set the intranet as a homepage in IE, but it means one extra click to get to the options and it isn't in sight all the time like our current way of doing it.

 

I wouldn't know where to start with coding a desktop gadget that could do this, and could I get it to load automatically via group policies anyway? And I'd need to make 2 gadgets, 1 for staff, 1 for students.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

How do you direct staff/students to areas of your intranet?

[Guest Guest]

Rocketdock. Its just like the OSX dock, with poppy out folders etc. Just pop all your links in one folder, all your common apps in another, common locations....

 

About RocketDock - RocketDock.com

[p858snake]

Create a custom javascript gadget for the sidebar thingy maybe?

[TheFopp]

Create a custom javascript gadget for the sidebar thingy maybe?

 

I've been trying to find out how to create gadgets - one that just displays the webpage of my choice, but can't find info on how to create them. The only coding I can do is VBScript/ASP but I bet it needs to be done in something different.

 

Does anyone know if you can, via GPO, get the system to always display a specific gadget ?

[Guest Guest]

There isnt such thing as "gadgets" in XP. They are just applications, and like any other app they can be started with a script, startup folder, registry...

[p858snake]

There isnt such thing as "gadgets" in XP. They are just applications, and like any other app they can be started with a script, startup folder, registry...

They are moving away from XP to Seven, hence the suggestion of the gadgets.

[TronXP]

This article may help

 

Create a Win7 Gadget - tutorial, sample, Windows 7, gadget.xml, sidebar, Hello World, localappdata, debugging, ZIP file, Dan Rollins

[Guest Guest]

They are moving away from XP to Seven, hence the suggestion of the gadgets.

 

Sorry, i just looked at your screeny. Saw it straight away today

[LosOjos]

Would something like this be any use to you?

 

Download Desktop Web Browser - Shareware Software - Tucows

 

BTW, very jealous you work at Chethams, I'd loved to have gone to college there!

[Quackers]

On another note, you have the BEST Joomla theme i have ever seen! Care to sell the theme ?

[TheFopp]

On another note, you have the BEST Joomla theme i have ever seen! Care to sell the theme ?

 

Sorry Quackers, not for sale. Took a lot of time and money to get our website working how we wanted it and the design and brand is very much ours.

 

... but very please you like it so much.

 

If you are interested it was built by Musgrave Design with a lot of input from them and me. Great guys to work with and very helpful.

[TheFopp]

Would something like this be any use to you?

 

Download Desktop Web Browser - Shareware Software - Tucows

 

BTW, very jealous you work at Chethams, I'd loved to have gone to college there!

 

 

That sort of thing might work (if it wasn't an OS X app), but I'd need to be able to ensure that it automatically opened, and ran the correct intranet page depending on if a student or a member of staff was logged in.

[TheFopp]

This article may help

 

Create a Win7 Gadget - tutorial, sample, Windows 7, gadget.xml, sidebar, Hello World, localappdata, debugging, ZIP file, Dan Rollins

 

Will take a look at this, cheers.

[TheFopp]

This article may help

 

Create a Win7 Gadget - tutorial, sample, Windows 7, gadget.xml, sidebar, Hello World, localappdata, debugging, ZIP file, Dan Rollins

 

This looks very useful, thanks. Hadn't realised that the gadgets were html based, in which case I can probably create something fairly similar to what we currently have.

[LosOjos]

That sort of thing might work (if it wasn't an OS X app), but I'd need to be able to ensure that it automatically opened, and ran the correct intranet page depending on if a student or a member of staff was logged in.

 

D'oh! I hadn't even noticed it was OS X! Sorry