iGoogle Gadgets @ Your Library

iGoogle Gadgets @ Your Library Presenter: Ed Metz Systems Librarian, USACGSC [email_address] 913-758-3027

Intro – What is iGoogle
What is iGoogle?
Personal information portal and virtual workspace
iGoogle offers more than 25000 modules or “gadgets” to choose from.

Intro – What are Gadgets
What are these gadget things?
A gadget is a mini web application
XML document residing on any public webserver
At most basic level it is simply your HTML (and/or JavaScript, Flash) content nested inside an XML wrapper.
A gadget…. … and it’s underlying XMLdocument

Intro – Library Gadgets
What have some libraries done with gadgets?
Hennepin County Library Catalog
WorldCat Open Search
Washington State Library
CARL HIP, CARL DigLib , CARL RSS Feeds
BYU Idaho Library Search

Intro – Library Gadgets

So how do you make one?
Step 1 . Do your homework. Some essential reads:
Google Gadget API Developer’s Toolkit
Getting started
Writing your own gadgets
Development Fundamentals
Creating a user interface
Publishing your gadget

So how do you make one?
Step 2 . Login to or create your free Google account
Step 3 . Find a gadget that has a similar aim to what you want to do.
Step 4 Open it in the Google Gadget Editor (GGE), study the source code and adapt it to your own needs.
Step 5 Edit, preview, save, test and publish your gadget in the Google Gadget Editor (GGE)

Google Gadget Editor (GGE)
Google Gadget Editor . (GGE) Use it for:
Creating, editing, previewing, saving, publishing your gadget.
Edit/create your gadget Open any gadget Preview your gadget

Getting started
Go to the GGE
Select File - Open by url - my catalog template
http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/116444596163220004073/catalog1.xml
Next, select File – Save as and give it a new name
Begin editing

Getting started – Log-in
Log-in to your Google account.
If you don’t already have your iGoogle page as your default display click on the iGoogle link here as shown.

Getting started Find some source code
Now go to the content directory by selecting the Add stuff link

Getting started Find some source code
Now you can search or browse the Homepage (iGoogle) content directory

Getting started Find some source code select View source

Opening a Gadget in the GGE
At the next page copy the url from the browser address bar

Now return to the GGE
Select File – Open from url

At next window paste the URL you copied for our XML document

This populates your GGE with the XML source code
Before you begin editing, select File –Save as - give the document a new name
Note: you MUST be logged into your Google account to take advantage of all the GGE features

Creating your gadget Defining the document
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<Module>

Creating your gadget Module Settings <ModulePrefs>
<ModulePrefs
attribute
attribute
attribute
attribute
height=“220” >
</ModulePrefs>

title : required.
Title of the gadget. Displays in the gadget title bar on iGoogle.
title_url:
make my gadget title a hyperlink to your library or institution
directory_title : optional.
Don’t really need this here since I don’t have any user preferences.
author : required.
author_email : required.

author_affiliation (suggested)
Who’s to blame? Your library or college
author_location (suggested)
author_link (suggested)
description - required.
Provide 1-2 sentences that tell something about your gadget.

screenshot (suggested)
url address of image
png, gif, jpeg
width = 280 pixels
Thumbnail – (required)
url address of image
120 x 60 pixels
Width – Required in GGE
Normally the default is 320.
Height – optional
Default is 200.
Creating your gadget Module Settings <ModulePrefs> Screenshot image Thumbnail image

Creating your gadget Content <Content type=“html”>
<Content type="html"> <![CDATA[
Place your content in this section. Can include HTML, JavaScript, Flash.
In the following example I’ve created a simple table <table> containing two rows <tr> with a total of four cells <td>. The html search form, related hyperlinks, some JavaScript and an image are nested inside their respective cells. </td>

<table style="WIDTH: 99%" borderColorDark="#333333" borderColorLight="#666666" border="2" FONT color="#2B1500"><center><b> Search the CARL Catalog </b></font></center><tbody>
Creating your gadget Content : HIP Search Form <table>

The HIP Search Form
Creating your gadget Content : HIP Search <form> <tr><td> <form id="catalog_form" action="http://comarms.ipac.dynixasp.com/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=carlcgsc" method="get" target="_blank" reloadxsl=" true #focus"> <font color="#2B1500"><b> for </b></font> <input name="term"> <font color="#2B1500"><b> in </b></font> <select name="index"> <option value=".GW" selected> Keyword anywhere </option> <option value=".TW"> Title keyword </option> <option value=".AW"> Author keyword </option> <option value=".SK"> Fulltext items </option> </select> <input type="image" src="http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/images/b-go-red-full.jpg" value="Submit Query"> </form></td> Note: Option values come from the word_index table in Horizon HIP url

Library Thing bookcovers widget
<td>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://www.librarything.com/jswidget.php?reporton=metzejr&show=random&header=&num=1&covers=small&text=none&onlycovers=1&tag=alltags&css=1&style=1&version=1"> </script>
</td></tr>
Creating your gadget <Content> : Adding dynamic content Library Thing Widget

Other links of interest.
<tr><td>
<center><a href="http://comarms.ipac.dynixasp.com/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=carlcgsc&menu=account" target="_blank"> <font size="3">
<b> My Account </b></a></center>
<center><a href="http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/new_titles.asp" target="_blank">
<b> New Titles </b></a></center>
<center><a href="http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/CARL/c_ya.asp" target="_blank" >
<b> New Youth Titles </b></a></center>
</font>
</td>
Creating your gadget <Content> : Adding links

Add your logo and close the table
<td>
<center>
<img src="http://pages.google.com/edit/edmetz1/cgsc2.jpg/cgsc2-full.jpg">
</center>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Creating your gadget <Content> : Add your branding

Now we close our
Content section </Content> and our XML wrapper </Module>
Creating your gadget Let’s wrap it up

Testing, testing 1,2,3
Test your gadget in different browsers
Firefox, Internet Explorer, (Safari, and Opera).
This can be easily done via the GGE . Open a web browser of your choice, Select File – Publish – Add to a web page.
Creator page opens and gives you a preview.

Publishing your gadget
http://www.google.com/apis/gadgets/publish.html#Submitting
iGoogle
Content Directory
Syndication Example: CARL Blog

Publishing to the Content Directory
On the GGE select File – Publish
At the next screen you’ll see this prompt. Click on the Publish to iGoogle Directory link.

Publish to the Content Directory Make sure you’ve dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s, read the fine print, and then click the Send button.

Syndicate your gadget
On the GGE select File – Publish
At the next screen you’ll see this prompt. Click on the Add to a webpage link.

Customize your gadget
Click on the Get Code button

Now simply copy the code generated in the box below and paste it as appropriate into your website.

Syndicated gadget
Here’s how our gadget appears on our library’s blog.

Review
Do your background reading (Google Gadget Developer Toolkit)
Open a gadget in the GGE
Edit, Preview, and Test in the GGE
Publish to the Content Directory and/or syndicate it for third party website(s).
Publicize it (newsletters, brownbags, blog, RSS)

iGoogle Gadgets @ Your Library
Questions?
Contact Info: Ed Metz Systems Librarian, USACGSC [email_address] 913-758-3027

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iGoogle Gadgets @ Your Library

by Edward Metz

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