Windows SideShow Control Panel 

Windows SideShow in Control Panel is the central configuration point for the Windows SideShow platform. Users can choose which gadgets appear on which devices, as well as configure device-specific settings, gadget settings, and related features such as Automatic Wake. The following screen shot shows Windows SideShow in Control Panel, which shows the gadgets and devices that are installed.

To start Windows SideShow in Control Panel, follow these steps.

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. If you currently have any installed Windows SideShow-compatible devices, a link to Control Panel appears under Hardware and Sound. If there are no installed devices, click Hardware and Sound.
3. Click Windows SideShow to launch Control Panel.

When Control Panel loads, a table appears with a vertical list of installed gadgets and a horizontal list of installed devices. The user can enable a gadget for a particular device by selecting the check box that is located at the intersection of the gadget row and the device column.

To configure a device the user clicks the device name or icon. If a gadget provides additional settings, the user can click the gadget name or icon to access the settings.

Automatic Wake is a feature of Windows Vista that enables the computer to automatically wake at a specified interval so gadgets can update connected Windows SideShow-compatible devices. This feature may not be available on all computers, and is turned off by default.

For more information, see "Know the external factors that can affect device updates" in Sending Data.