Web gadgets
Windows Live Toolbar custom buttons
Windows Live Messenger agents
Windows Live Messenger activities
Windows Live search macros
Windows Vista sidebar gadgets
Windows Search technologies
Windows SideShow
Windows Live Writer extensions

Create personalizations for Spaces, Live.com and Events users. See the developer resources and review the following check list before uploading your Web gadgets to the Windows Live Gallery site:

1) The manifest must be named gadget.xml.
2) All URLs in the manifest and JavaScript files that refer to local files need to be relative links. They should be set relative to the root directory the manifest resides in, and not have the full path. If not, the gadget will fail from the Gallery site.
3) All necessary files need to be zipped up into one package.
4) For submission, you can add metadata and an optional image for hosting on Gallery.
5) The manifest file should be in the root folder for the zipped package.
6) Your gadget must work on both Live.com and Spaces. Tips for making gadgets work on Spaces.

Have an idea for a Web gadget? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.

Check out another way to easily build and share mashups, gadgets, Web pages, and applications, regardless of whether you've had any programming experience, with Popfly. Popfly consists of two parts: Popfly Creator, a set of online visual tools, and Popfly Space, an online community to host, share, rate, comment, and even remix creations from other Popfly users. Here's a quick overview.

The Windows Live Toolbar can easily be customized by adding and creating buttons for your favorite Web sites.

Create a button to search within any Web site, provide convenient shortcuts and links, or keep your users informed through an RSS feed or a mini-browser window that displays your own Web content.

Custom buttons are easy to make and can be shared through Windows Live Gallery. Each custom button is a simple, declarative XML file. That XML file is packaged with button icons into a single .cab file. Get more information about how to make custom buttons for the Windows Live Toolbar.

Have an idea for a toolbar button? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.

Windows Live Agents are conversation agents or bots that run on MSN Messenger 7.0 and Windows Live Messenger. If you add an Agent to your contact list, it can chat, give you customer service support, perform searches, make suggestions, play games and more.

Get more information on the SDK to create standalone IM application or agents to extend your services and business applications.

Have an idea for a Messenger agent? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.

Windows Live Messenger allows users to invite a friend to participate in an activity together, like a game of checkers or online shopping, while continuing their IM conversations. For more on how to develop a Messenger activity, engage with other developers, and discuss your development issues, review the Messenger Activity API.

Have an idea for a Messenger activity? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.

Use the search macro wizard to easily tailor Live Search's results to a specific topic. Just specify a name, description and definition. Once you have created your macro, go to the manage macros link and choose to share it on Windows Live Gallery.

First review the Sidebar Gadget Development Overview and the Sidebar Gadget Object Model. Once you've built your gadget, submit it to Gallery so the world can enjoy it. If you have questions while you're creating your item, go to forums to ask other developers for help.

Want to make your gadget more secure? Be sure to follow the best practices in the gadget development overview, including checks for malicious inputs. Please also sign your gadget with a certificate so that users will know who created it.

Have an idea for a sidebar gadget? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.

Check out another way to easily build and share mashups, gadgets, Web pages, and applications, regardless of whether you've had any programming experience, with Popfly. Popfly consists of two parts: Popfly Creator, a set of online visual tools, and Popfly Space, an online community to host, share, rate, comment, and even remix creations from other Popfly users. Here's a quick overview.

Windows Search can be extended to index the contents of new types of files and data sources. You can also associate icons and context-menu handlers with those items. Get more information on creating a Windows Search add-in.

Have an idea for a search extension? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.

Windows SideShow is a new platform in Windows Vista that enables developers to write gadgets that send data to secondary displays, such as embedded laptop lid displays, mobile phones, remote controls, keyboards, and digital picture frames. To create gadgets for Windows SideShow, use the Windows SideShow API. You can also develop gadgets that work with both Windows Sidebar and Windows SideShow-compatible devices. After you develop a gadget for Windows SideShow, consider sharing it on the Windows Live Gallery so others can enjoy it too.

Have an idea for a SideShow gadget? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.

Extensions give people the ability to insert, edit, and publish new types of content.
Before uploading extensions, read the Windows Live Writer Software Development Kit (SDK) and review the following checklist:

For Content Plugin Extensions
1) Content Plugins must be built using either the .NET 1.1 or .NET 2.0 frameworks.
2) Content Plugins must be packaged and submitted as a Microsoft Installer (*.msi).
3) If you use the .NET 2.0 framework, the installer must link to the .NET 2.0 download site or use the Visual Studio 2005 Bootstrapper. The Bootstrapper detects and downloads the correct .NET 2.0 framework.
4) Your installer must copy the assembly to the "Plug -ins" sub-directory of the Windows Live Writer installation directory.

For "Blog This" extensions
1) "Blog This" extension must be packaged and submitted as a Microsoft Installer (*.msi).
2) When you submit your "Blog this" extension to the Windows Live Gallery, use the "Blog this" category on the submission form.

Each extension you submit can have metadata and an image, if you'd like.

Have an idea for a writer extension? Want to see other people's ideas and requests? Check out Gallery forums for some creative ideas.