Most users know widgets probably from their operating system. In Windows they are called gadgets. They are small applications that serve many different purposes, from displaying information (e.g. your IP address) to playing games or searching the Internet.

Widgets have been part of Opera for a long time, but the Opera developers have changed the widget core in 2010 (Opera 10.50) to make them separate from the web browser. Before, you had to run Opera to run widgets, now you can run the widgets even if the web browser is not running.

Lets address widgets and extensions for a short moment. We have already established that widgets are applications that are independent from the browser. Another difference is that widgets use their own interface, and that they are not integrated in the browser UI.

Widgets act more like standalone programs than extensions, they are for instance added to the start menu upon installation from where they can be started directly and fully independently of the browser.

Opera Widgets Installation

Widget installation and configuration in Opera is like installation extensions in the browser, with one difference.

First the prerequisites. Widgets are supported in all available versions of the Opera web browser. It is however best to download and install the latest available version, which is Opera 11.10 at the time of writing to ensure maximum compatibility, stability and performance. You can download the latest version of Opera from the official website. Widgets work on all supported operating systems.

Visit the Opera Widgets gallery for an overview of all widgets that are currently available for installation.

I suggest you start with the popular listing first, but you can sort widgets by date, rating or category as well.

Widgets are displayed with a thumbnail, name and short description. You can hit install right away if you have already made a decision to install a widget, or click on the thumbnail or name to open the widget’s profile page on the Opera website.

The Install button is available there as well, as is a listing of compatible devices (desktop, TV and mobile).

A click on install starts the download of the selected widget. The installation window is triggered automatically after the download has been finished.

You can start the installation right away, or click on customize first to change the widget’s name, installation folder or shortcut locations (available are start menu, destop and quick launch bar).

It is possible to launch the widget right after its installation has finished. Some widgets, like the weather widget, need to be configured before they can be used, while other’s work right away.

Weather widget in action.

You can close Opera and keep the widget open if you want. You can also start it right from the start menu if a shortcut was placed there during installation.

Widgets can be moved freely on the computer desktop, and it is usually possible to change the widget’s position (e.g. always on top, always below or standard) and zoom level with a right-click on the widget’s interface.

Highest Rated Widgets

The following widgets are the highest rated on Opera at the time of writing.

• Sim Aquarium – Aquarium simulation game.
• Artist’s Sketchbook – Advanced painting widget with tools
• Stay Secure – This widget shows the security status of the latest versions of IE, Firefox, Opera and Safari
• Torus – Circular tetris, complete a ring to clear the row.
• Google Translator – translator widget.

Widgets Uninstallation

Widgets are installed like normal applications, which means that they appear under Uninstall a Program in Windows and the uninstallation managers of Mac OS and Linux.

Windows users click on Start > Control Panel > Uninstall a Program to open the uninstaller. There they need to locate the widget and proceed with the removal from the system.

It is on the other hand possible to uninstall them directly from within the Opera web browser, which is the comfortable option. A click on Menu > Widgets > Manage Widgets opens a small sidebar on the left that lists all installed widgets. A right-click on a widget displays options to open or uninstall it.

Verdict

Widgets can be really handy, especially if you have Opera already installed on your system. About 2000 different widgets are currently available, enough that most users will find useful widgets.

The biggest step in the right direction was the improvement of the widget’s engine starting with Opera 10.50 which made widgets independent of the browser. Even if you do not use Opera, you could still install the browser, forget all about it and install the widgets that you like.

Widgets seem to have taken bit of a back seat ever since extensions where introduced in Opera. There is however still enough development going on and new widgets are almost uploaded on a daily basis to the widget’s repository.

The main feature of this release will be the new widget behavior. Here is a short explanation if you are not familiar with Opera Widgets. Widgets to Opera are what add-ons are to Firefox. The main difference so far was the fact that widgets had to run in their own web browser window while add-ons did not. The other prerequisite was that Opera had to be open at all times for the widgets to show up.

This behavior changes with this new release of Opera. It is now possible to run widgets without Opera being open, pretty much the same way that widgets are used in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Opera calls this Opera widgets for desktop.

Concentration on this new feature becomes apparent on the first start of Opera 10.20 alpha. The welcome page displays a Twitter and Google Translate gadget which will redirect the user to the Opera widget repository. Launching a widget will now install it on the computer system. An icon will be placed in the start menu of the computer and it is now possible to run the widget without Opera running.

Opera needs to be installed on the computer system but it is theoretically possible to install and use the widgets without running Opera afterwards at all. This is however just a first implementation of the widget for desktop feature. Widgets can be installed to every location of the computer system. The announcement over at the Opera desktop team blog contains all the changes and known issues of this Opera 10.20 alpha release. The comments are worth reading as well. The blog post does contain download links for all supported operating systems as well.

The Opera web browser still needs to be installed on the computer system but that is the only requirement. Widgets will work even if it is closed (and never opened again).

Opera users who want to test the new functionality need to download the latest Opera labs build (which is the latest Opera 10.10 build) to do so. The download links are provided in the post announcing the new feature over at the Opera website.

Opera Widgets and the SDK to create widgets are available at the Opera Widgets website. Widgets are available for many web services and uses.

Already installed widgets need to be imported to a location on the local hard drive. Opera will open the Widget Import Wizard automatically if it finds installed Opera Widgets. The wizard is later available under File > Import > Import Widgets if the necessity arrives.

New widgets are installed from the Opera Widgets website. The Opera web browser needs to be used to do that. A click on the launch button next to each widget will display the widget installation dialog. Here it is possible to customize the installation by selecting an installation folder and the shortcuts that should be created.

The widgets can then be started by double-clicking their shortcuts or from the installation directory where an .exe should be available that can be started.

The new Opera 9.5 beta 2 is currently available for Windows Mobile and Symbian UIQ. A release for Symbian S60 phones is planned for 2009. The biggest new feature in this version is the mobile widgets support. Users should not confuse mobile widgets with widgets in desktop versions of Opera because they work and act different which is mainly caused by the limited screen space of mobile phones.

Widgets for Opera mobile are basically one click services that either open a function or website directly. Only a few widgets are currently available including a clock, Twitter or weather information.

Other additions are a new Zoom slider and some user interface and usability improvements in addition to many under-the-hood fixes in the browser core. It is a good time now to test the new Opera mobile browser if you have a mobile device running Windows Mobile or Symbian UIQ.

If you run Opera you can use the Widgets menu to Add Widgets which will load the Opera Widgets website as well. The main difference between Firefox add-ons and Opera widgets is the fact that Opera widgets run outside of the browser as separate windows which is sometimes a blessing and sometimes an annoyance. Take the Google Toolbar widget for Opera for instance. It runs independently of Opera which means that you can use it even if Opera is minimized. But, if you position it and make it stay on top and change the window size of Opera it will be in front of other elements on your desktop that you might need.

It’s great for all kinds of things but not that great if you want to integrate an element in Opera directly. Say you want to check the Google Pagerank of a website. Firefox simply adds the information in the status bar, in Opera you have your own window floating around that is either always on top – which does mean that it will still be on top if you minimize Opera, or hidden behind new windows that get opened.

I’m not an Opera expert and it would be great if someone else could tell me if there was a way to integrate widgets directly into Opera. Or if there were some sort of add-ons that could be integrated into Opera.