Sidebar is a plugin-based windows application which displays widget-like apps at the rightmost of the screen. There are 8 built-in plugins and you can easily develop your own.

No need to install, just download and run Sidebar.exe: https://github.com/omeryanar/Sidebar/releases/download/1.3/Sidebar.zip

Plugins can be of 3 different sizes:

• Small: 150x150
• Large: 310x150
• Extra Large: 310x310

These sizes are similar to windows tiles. You can rearrange them with drag and drop.

Sidebar is a multilingual application, English and Turkish are included. You can easily add other languages by translating resource files.

Simple calculator with history.

Displays current date.

Displays current date and time.

Translates selected text in any application and sends a toast notification. It supports 6 languages: English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

You can activate "Track Text Selections" feature from Settings and determine which applications (i.e web browsers and PDF readers) to be tracked.

Displays exchange rates of 4 currencies: USD, GBP, EURO and TL.

Creates shortcuts for common applications such as Microsoft Office. You can also create a shortcut for any file or application by dragging and dropping it to Sidebar.

Creates sticky notes with 4 different background colors.

Displays 3 days weather forecast.

• Create a class library project targeting .NET Framework 4.5.2 or higher.
• Add a reference to Sidebar.Common.dll assembly.
• Implement IModule interface

public interface IModule
{
    // Module Name
    string DisplayName { get; }

    // Module Icon
    ImageSource Icon { get; }

    // Module Size: Small (150x150), Large (310x150), ExtraLarge (310x310)
    ModuleSize Size { get; }

    // Create an instance
    IModule Create();
}

That's it! After building the project, move the assembly to Modules folder and restart Sidebar.exe. Or, simply download Sidebar Module Project Template:

https://github.com/omeryanar/Resources/blob/master/Sidebar/Sidebar.Module.Sample.zip?raw=true

• Sidebar plugins are developed by using MVVM framework. ViewModels implements IModule interface and their names ends with ViewNameModel. For example: SampleView and SampleViewModel

• ViewModels are serializable and marked with [DataContract] attribute. Properties marked with [DataMember] attribute are saved automatically.

• Assembly names starts with Sidebar.Module.PluginName. For example: Sidebar.Module.Sample.dll

• ResourceProvider class helps you develop a multilingual plugin. It updates resources if language is changed at runtime.

• Mediator class helps you interact with the main application and other plugins. For example, you can send a NotificationMessage to show a toast notification.

• It is recommended to use Material Design for a compatible look and feel. https://github.com/MaterialDesignInXAML/MaterialDesignInXamlToolkit

• It is recommended to use DevExpress MVVM Framework for easy development.
  https://github.com/DevExpress/DevExpress.Mvvm.Free

SampleView.xaml

<UserControl x:Class="Sidebar.Module.Sample.SampleView"
             xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             Background="{DynamicResource MaterialDesignPaper}" Padding="10">
    <Grid>
        <TextBlock Text="{Binding ResourceProvider.Data.Sample}" />
    </Grid>
</UserControl>

Note that Text property of TextBlock element is bound to ResourceProvider.Data. If language is changed at runtime, it is updated automatically.

SampleViewModel.cs

[DataContract]
public class SampleViewModel : IModule
{
    #region IModule

    public ImageSource Icon { get; private set; }

    public string DisplayName
    {
        get { return Properties.Resources.Sample; }
    }

    public ModuleSize Size
    {
        get { return ModuleSize.Small; }
    }

    public IModule Create()
    {
        return ViewModelSource.Create<SampleViewModel>();
    }

    #endregion

    public virtual ResourceProvider ResourceProvider { get; set; }

    public SampleViewModel()
    {
        Icon = new BitmapImage(new Uri("pack://application:,,,/Sidebar.Module.Sample;component/Assets/Sample.png"));
        ResourceProvider = new ResourceProvider(new Properties.Resources());
    }
}

Note that ViewModel class name equals to ViewName+Model and implements IModule interface. It is also marked with [DataContract] attribute. The value of any property marked with [DataMember] attribute is saved when application closes.