How do I create and share widgets?

When you first open the My Widgets sidebar panel, and if there are no widgets in the panel, introductory text appears in the My Widgets sidebar panel to guide you through the process of creating your first widget. Otherwise, you can begin creating widgets by clicking either the Getting Started with Widgets or Configure a Widget from Current Context toolbar buttons.

You can configure a widget from any of the following contexts as listed in the user interface:

  • Notes view, form, XPage, or document
  • Feed
  • Web page
  • Google Gadgets
  • Features and Plugins
  • Composite application

If you have the widget context open, click the Configure a Widget from Current Context toolbar button to start the wizard from within the context of the open IBM® Notes® view, form, XPage, or document or open Web page, gadget, or feed. Otherwise, click the Getting Started with Widgets toolbar button or select either Get Started or Configure a Widget from on the My Widgets options menu.

The general process for configuring a new widget is as follows:

  1. Click the Getting Started with Widgets toolbar button.

    After reading the explanatory text, choose one of the options to configure a new widget and do as instructed by the wizard text. Alternatively, click Configuring a Widget from on the My Widgets options menu. The widget configuration wizard steps you through the process.

  2. Use the wizard prompts and fields to configure the new widget.

    Based on the context of the widget that you are creating, you can choose an existing content type or create a new one. You can wire specific content type properties and widget properties together to create an action. You can create a new recognizer using a Java™ regular expression to define a recognizable pattern as Live Text. For example, you might configure a widget to look up a person's name in a corporate directory or look up the status of a flight number. If your context is a Google Gadget™, you might create a wire to display a zip code region in a map gadget or to search on a package tracking number for a given carrier to query delivery status. Recognizers will highlight specific text in an active document so that users can automatically act on that text using the wired action.

  3. Test the new widget.

    Test the widget, as prompted by the wizard, to ensure that it is correct and that you are ready to share it with others. For example, publish it to the catalog and then drag it to your My Widgets sidebar panel.

  4. Share the widget

    You can make widgets available to others in several ways. Users may not have the authority to create or edit widgets but they can use the widget actions that you make available to them. Based on policy or preference, they may also be restricted as to which types of widgets they can install.

    To share the widget with others, you can publish the widget to the catalog and/or email the widget to others.