Release Notes (5.0)

This page describes changes that affect developers of JavaScript desktop gadgets. Google Desktop still has COM APIs, but we strongly encourage you to use JavaScript and the Gadget Designer instead. For information about changes in other releases, see Release Notes. For more information about the Desktop Gadget API, see Creating a Gadget and the Gadget API Reference.

Summary of Changes

• The version number has been updated to 5.0. Publicly, the release is known as 4.5.
• PNG images are now supported.
• The small icon — the image displayed in the gadget frame — should now be 24x24 instead of 12x12.
• Changes to the API:
  • New Feature: Audio Support
  • Networking Enhancements
    • More Wifi information
    • Network online/offline status and connection type properties
  • More System Information
    • Machine information: manufacturer, BIOS serial number, processes, file icons
    • Internationalization: language code, date conversion
  • Deprecated Usage: Collections
  • Miscellaneous
    • New plugin Methods
    • New view Events
    • More Content Item Flags
    • New edit Properties

New Feature: Audio Support

JavaScript gadgets can now play audio clips. To support this, a property named audio has been added to the framework namespace. For more information on audio support, see the documentation for the following new objects and enumerations:

• framework.audio
• audioclip
• Sound Playback State
• Sound Error Codes

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Networking Enhancements

The framework.system.network and framework.system.network.wireless objects now provide more information.

• framework.system.network
  • New properties: online, connectionType, physicalMediaType.
• framework.system.network.wireless
  • New properties: enumerateAvailableAccessPoints, enumerationSupported.
  • New methods: connect(), disconnect().
• framework.system.network.wirelessaccesspoint (all new)
• Network Connection Types (all new)
• Network Connection Physical Media Types (all new)

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More System Information

The framework.system object now gives information about the system's BIOS, make, model, and currently running processes.

• system
  • New properties: bios, machine, process.
  • New methods: getFileIcon(), languageCode(), localTimeToUniversalTime()
• system.bios (all new)
• system.machine (all new)
• system.process (all new)
• processInfo (all new)

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Deprecated Usage: Collections

Some uses of collections are now deprecated. In particular, you used to be able to write code like options("foo") = "bar", but now we strongly encourage using an accessor method such as putValue:

options.putValue("foo", "bar")

Similarly, you should no longer use code like foo = options("foo"). Instead use a method such as getValue:

foo = options.getValue("foo")

Also, instead of reading or writing the default value of an item using options.defaultValue("foo"), you should use the new options getDefaultValue and putDefaultValue methods.

New options Methods

The following methods have been added to the options object: getDefaultValue() and putDefaultValue().

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Miscellaneous

• New plugin Methods
• New view Events
• More Content Item Flags

New plugin Methods

We added three new methods to the plugin object that's exposed to scripts: plugin.ShowDetailsView(), plugin.CloseDetailsView(), plugin.ShowOptionsDialog().

New view Events

We added two new events to the view object: oncancel and onok.

More Content Item Flags

The following flags were added to the Content Item Flags: gddContentItemFlagDisplayAsIs, gddContentItemFlagHtml, gddContentItemFlagHidden.

New edit Properties

Three properties were added to the edit element: multiline, passwordChar, and wordWrap.

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