Thursday, May 3, 2007

Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget)

Some of you have probably seen the experiment on google.com that brings Google apps closer to the home page. But if you find that they still aren't close enough for you, then I have a new gadget for iGoogle (which is a much better name than Google Personalized Homepage) that might help you out. My gadget is called Your Page Here because it lets you use any page you like as the content for one of your iGoogle tabs:

Your Page Here screenshot


Note that if you add this gadget to a tab, it eclipses all of the other gadgets on the page, so you probably want to create a new tab for Your Page Here before installing it. Once you have it on your page, the settings are pretty simple:

Your Page Here settings screenshot


All you have to do is enter a URL and you're ready to go. Come on! Try it for yourself: Add to Google

And if Calendar isn't your thing, then I recommend trying out Google Reader (http://reader.google.com/) with Your Page Here.

Thanks to Chris McAndrew for suggesting this hack to iGoogle.
Posted by Michael at 12:58 PM

61 comments:

  1. [...] To start, I just wanted to put my own IFRAME inside Facebook. (As you may have noticed, I like sticking IFRAMEs where they don’t belong.) I didn’t feel like watching any of the videos to learn about the platform because I preferred to do textual searches. Unfortunately, the search box on http://www.facebook.com/developers/ searches Facebook profiles, not developer docs, so I’m not sure whether this is possible on Facebook. (Using site:developers.facebook.com on Google seems to work, though.) [...]
    ReplyDelete
  2. [...] In the Official Google Reader Blog today there was an interesting post that mentioned that Michael Bolin had created ‘Your Page Here’, a gadget for iGoogle that allows you to embed the Google Reader, Calendar or just about any web page on its own tab in iGoogle. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  3. Is there any way to get GMail into Your Page Here? So far I've tried http://www.gmail.com http://mail.google.com, http://mail.google.com/mail and whatever the url is when I'm logged into GMail. Any other ideas on what I could try or how to get this to work?

    This is an awesome hack, I've been wanting something like this for iGoogle ever since I started using it when Google Personalized Homepage came out. Thank you so much.
    ReplyDelete
  4. If a web site uses "frame busting" (http://www.quirksmode.org/js/framebust.html) then putting it in an IFRAME won't work, I'm afraid :(
    ReplyDelete
  5. That's too bad. Thanks for the answer though. And once again, thanks for the awesome gadget, I'm loving it.
    ReplyDelete
  6. You can add GMail in Basic HTML mode. Go into your GMail, and at the bottom, click the link for Basic HTML. Copy that URL and use it in Your Page Here.

    Granted, this isn't as nice as the standard Gmail, but it works nonetheless.
    ReplyDelete
  8. [...] Bolinfest Changeblog » Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget) - A nifty and easy-to-use way to incorporate other content as tabs into iGoogle. I’m experimenting with using this for Google Reader, Facebook, and Meebo. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  9. Cool Idea.
    I will try it on mine
    ReplyDelete
  11. [...] Bolinfest Changeblog » Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget) (tags: google igoogle web gadget hacks) [...]
    ReplyDelete
  12. Is there a way of having multiple gadgets in a tab? Presently when I add the second, it goes underneath the first one that I have. I can delete the first and see the second, but there is no way to have it move down.

    Thanks,
    JJ
    ReplyDelete
  13. I don't get any box to add a URL to. I 'add to google' at the bottom of this article, get a little box that says do I trust the author, click okay, and there's the calendar. Fine, only I want to put in Google Reader instead. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong and how to do it right? Thanks. Excentric
    ReplyDelete
  14. I saw yourpagehere on lifehacker's Show Us Your iGoogle feature, and it was one of those didn'tknowIneededthisbuthowdidIeverlivewithoutit moments. But I can't seem to get it to install anything but calendar. This post about it on glosses over the details of adding different pages. I can't figure out how to get to that field where you enter in the url for the page you want to add. Basically, I'm having the same problem as excentric describes - please advise, because I want to use this for everything.
    ReplyDelete
  15. Wait, disregard that. The answer is just to hit the little down arrow next to the minimize button in the upper right corner of the reader frame. That allows you to get to the url field.
    ReplyDelete
  16. Most, Most excellent.
    All my losing my most used pages during the day because they're in a FF tab but I clicked on something else and now That's int he tab days are gone.
    My new best browser friend.
    Thanks!
    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you, Evan. That was easy once you told me how to do it. :-) I now have Reader on it's own lovely page. Excentric
    ReplyDelete
  18. [...] Bolinfest Changeblog » Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget) (tags: internet) [...]
    ReplyDelete
  19. I love the tool, and have it installed across my iGoogle homepage. But on July 4, it suddenly broke in each case I used it, saying, "Information is temporarily unavailable." When I checked the settings, I got this error: "Sorry, http://bolinfest.com/ig/your_page_here.xml is unavailable. Please try another result."

    Advice?
    ReplyDelete
  20. [...] I used Your Page Here from Bolinfest.com to make the content of the blog tab. Getting the Flickr widget to work took some searching around (I found it in my RSS feed on my Flickr page). There’s small fun games and useful things like stickies, to-do list, and expense record. I hope they never commercialize this! [...]
    ReplyDelete
  21. [...] Many folks like our gadget, but sometimes wish even more of Reader's features could be accessed from within iGoogle. With Michael Bolin's Your Page Here gadget, you can embed all of Reader (or any other page, for that matter) as its own tab within your iGoogle page. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  22. [...] If you don’t find appropriate iGoogle gadgets for your favorite web sites, there’s a way to create tabs that include these sites in iframes. Michael Bolin, from Google, created a gadget that loads almost any web page. Before adding the gadget, it’s recommended to create a new iGoogle tab, but don’t forget to uncheck the “I’m feeling lucky” option that populates the tab with gadgets. If you add the gadget to an existing tab, all the current gadgets will be hidden and they’ll be visible again after you delete it. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  23. [...] Truco y no del almendruco, sino de un empleado de Google, Michael Bolin, el cual ha creado un gadget para iGoogle, como comenta en su blog, que nos permite a los usuarios insertar un iframe de la página que queramos dentro de una pestaña de iGoogle. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  24. [...] Truco y no del almendruco, sino de un empleado de Google, Michael Bolin, el cual ha creado un gadget para iGoogle, como comenta en su blog, que nos permite a los usuarios insertar un iframe de la página que queramos dentro de una pestaña de iGoogle. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  25. [...] Truco y no del almendruco, sino de un empleado de Google, Michael Bolin, el cual ha creado un gadget para iGoogle, como comenta en su blog, que nos permite a los usuarios insertar un iframe de la página que queramos dentro de una pestaña de iGoogle. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  26. That is really cool! Now all we need is to have Google create a browser and we can do away with Microsoft altogether!
    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I just don't get it. Same as evan above, I'm not finding the interface for changing the URL, but unlike evan I'm also not seeing "the little down arrow next to the minimize button in the upper right corner of the reader frame". I can only add a Calendar tab . . . over and over and over. Can someone explain it at an absurd level of detail? Thanks!
    ReplyDelete
  28. OK OK, I get it. The missing bit of info is that you are ONLY EVER adding Calendar. You DO add Calendar to as many new tabs as you want, and then you go into those tabs and edit the information for the tab itself. You change the URL of Google Calendar into the URL of whatever you want to have on that tab, save and you're done. Yes, I know most everyone else already got that, but it's much more clear to me that way so I figured I'd put the words down here . . .
    ReplyDelete
  29. [...] The Google Operating System points out an overlooked but seriously worthy iGoogle gadget that can display entire up-to-date web pages inside a tab on Google’s start page service. You might have seen this trick deep inside our Show Us Your iGoogle gallery, but it deserves its own spotlight here. You’ll want to create a new tab for each web page you want to embed, and make sure that tab is selected before clicking the “Add to Google” link on creator Michael Bolin’s page. Best of all, dynamic web apps seem to work fine inside the tabs, giving you access to Gmail, Google Reader, Remember the Milk, or any other of your favorites, right from your point of browser entry. Got your own embedded page timesavers on your start page, Google or otherwise? Share you sites in the comments. Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget) [via Google Operating System] [...]
    ReplyDelete
  30. [...] heres’s a sweet igoogle gadget implementation: http://www.bolinfest.com/changeblog/2007/05/03/your-page-here-an-igoogle-gadget/ [...]
    ReplyDelete
  31. Thanks for the great gadget. I mistakenly added boingboing.com instead of boingboing.net, and now my browser gets grabbed by a sticky page before I can even delete the tab. Any ideas?
    ReplyDelete
  32. When you add certain pages it forces the iGoogle tab to open as the new page instead of staying in the iGoogle tab. I successfully added notebook.google.com but when I tried to add docs.google.com it took over the page leaving iGoogle inaccessible. The same thing happened with Hotmail. For the pages it worked with it's great. Any suggestions on making it work for all pages?

    Curtis
    ReplyDelete
  33. [...] Pour les utilisateurs de iGoogle qui souhaiteraient pouvoir ajouter une page internet complète dans un onglet iGoogle, sachez que Michael Bollins vient de créer un “iGoogle gadget” à cette fin. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  34. Trouble! I made a new tab on my iGoogle page, put your gadget on it, and entered the url of my gMail inbox. It works, but instead of showing the inbox in the tab frame, it simply leaves iGoogle and goes to gMail. Since the iGoogle default is to open the most recently used tab, I have effectively lost my iGoogle page because everytime I try to go there (even after I sign out and sign in again) your gadget is activated and the browser goes from iGoogle to gMail. Even if I do get a brief look at the tabs on my iGoogle page, there is no way to click on the downarrow and the troublesome tab so as to delete it or edit it because your gadget gets in ahead of any click I make and moves the browser to gMail.
    I guess I need to reset my iGoogle page to zero somehow (i.e. delete all the tabs), but I have no idea how to do that. Can you help. Thanks.
    ReplyDelete
  35. OK, forget it. I finally managed to click fast enough to delete the troublesome tab.
    ReplyDelete
  36. Got the same as @jaschulz but with Google Docs, leaves iGoogle and goes straight to Docs.

    Also unable to add another tab/webpage with this

    Basically, I was wanting Reader, Gmail, Docs, Analytics all as full pages within iGoogle and it doesn't seem to be possible.

    Thanks though.
    ReplyDelete
  37. I tried putting gmail on an igoogle tab. What a nightmare. You gotta click fast. I finally gave up with this gadget.

    I can't decide between netvibes and igoogle, so I used the standard gadget "add web page" in netvibes to load igoogle in a tab of it's own on netvibes. It worked great. Now I can have my netvibes and eat some igoogle too!
    ReplyDelete
  38. [...] The Google Operating System points out an overlooked but seriously worthy iGoogle gadget that can display entire up-to-date web pages inside a tab on Google’s start page service. You might have seen this trick deep inside our Show Us Your iGoogle gallery, but it deserves its own spotlight here. You’ll want to create a new tab for each web page you want to embed, and make sure that tab is selected before clicking the “Add to Google” link on creator Michael Bolin’s page. Best of all, dynamic web apps seem to work fine inside the tabs, giving you access to Gmail, Google Reader, Remember the Milk, or any other of your favorites, right from your point of browser entry. Got your own embedded page timesavers on your start page, Google or otherwise? Share your sites in the comments. Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget) [via Google Operating System] [...]
    ReplyDelete
  39. [...] The Google Operating System points out an overlooked but seriously worthy iGoogle gadget that can display entire up-to-date web pages inside a tab on Google’s start page service. You might have seen this trick deep inside our Show Us Your iGoogle gallery, but it deserves its own spotlight here. You’ll want to create a new tab for each web page you want to embed, and make sure that tab is selected before clicking the “Add to Google” link on creator Michael Bolin’s page. Best of all, dynamic web apps seem to work fine inside the tabs, giving you access to Gmail, Google Reader, Remember the Milk, or any other of your favorites, right from your point of browser entry. Got your own embedded page timesavers on your start page, Google or otherwise? Share your sites in the comments. Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget) [via Google Operating System] [...]
    ReplyDelete
  40. [...] Bolinfest Changeblog : Your page here (an iGoogle gadget)  : This gadget allows users to embed almost any website in their iGoogle homepages [...]
    ReplyDelete
  41. Somewhat after the fact, I know...but I only discovered your-page-here gadget today.

    One word: Bravo!

    THIS gadget makes a Google Start Page into what it should be - and one might say - what it always should have been (IMO).

    Well done - and now here's one user who has GMail, Calendar, Weather (wunderground personalized page) traffic, and Digg as tabs in the Start Page.

    Hmm, is 15 tabs actually enough, or should I add some more I wonder? (You may ask why, and if you do, the answer is - thanks to this fella - "because I can") WOO HOO. :)

    Once again, many thanks for this. It is - REALLY - appreciated. I've already pointed about five others at your blog, certainly two of 'em will grab the gadget.....
    ReplyDelete
  42. Hi Michael,
    I'm a big fan of iGoogle and have used it for quite some time. Your gadget has got to be one of the very best. It's really just what I've been looking for on my homepage.
    However, I have a small problem with one of my tabs that perhaps you or somebody else can advise me on.
    I tried to set up a Gmail tab using your "your page here" gadget and I put the url of the Gmail login page in the settings.
    Now if I click that tab, Gmail opens but OUTSIDE of iGoogle. In other words it goes straight to the Gmail inbox page.
    What's more, all this happens within just a few seconds which means there is just no time to get to the "delete this tab" button.
    Also, if I leave the Gmail tab highlighted, the next time I open iGoogle, I end up in Gmail -- but outside of iGoogle.
    Can somebody please help me to get rid of this tab?
    Thanks
    Paul
    ReplyDelete
  43. [...] The Google Operating System points out an overlooked but seriously worthy iGoogle gadget that can display entire up-to-date web pages inside a tab on Google’s start page service. You might have seen this trick deep inside our Show Us Your iGoogle gallery, but it deserves its own spotlight here. You’ll want to create a new tab for each web page you want to embed, and make sure that tab is selected before clicking the “Add to Google” link on creator Michael Bolin’s page. Best of all, dynamic web apps seem to work fine inside the tabs, giving you access to Gmail, Google Reader, Remember the Milk, or any other of your favorites, right from your point of browser entry. Got your own embedded page timesavers on your start page, Google or otherwise? Share your sites in the comments. Your Page Here (an iGoogle gadget) [via Google Operating System] [...]
    ReplyDelete
  44. If you are really quick, hit your "Home" button on the IE toolbar and it will take you back to iGoogle Homepage where you can "quickly" click another tab. But, there does not seem to be a way of deleting the misbehaving tabs without going into them, and by then it is too late as they open in a full page. You can get back from Google docs easy enough as it load slower than other pages.
    ReplyDelete
  45. OK, I've solved it! If you load a page that takes over control of iGoogle, then click that tab, then reload the Calendar from the above button on this page, right over the misbehaving page, then restart iGoogle and you will have Calendar loaded right over the top of the page. Delete the tab!
    ReplyDelete
  46. [...] Many folks like our gadget, but sometimes wish even more of Reader’s features could be accessed from within iGoogle. With Michael Bolin’s Your Page Here gadget, you can embed all of Reader (or any other page, for that matter) as its own tab within your iGoogle page. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  47. Seems to be a problem now on the iGoogle page. I tried to adda new page and it worked. Then I went to change the URL and it didn't work - under the drop-down arrow is "Edit this tab" whuch used to let you change the URL of the tab, but NOW, it takes you to your own personalized iGoogle "Preferences page" - now way to change the URL on a tab now.
    ReplyDelete
  48. [...] Many folks like our gadget, but sometimes wish even more of Reader’s features could be accessed from within iGoogle. With Michael Bolin’s Your Page Here gadget, you can embed all of Reader (or any other page, for that matter) as its own tab within your iGoogle page. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  49. Thanks, this is a very useful gadget. I made a tab for http://phonefavs.com This is a delicious-like (can import your bookmarks and tags out of delicious) mobile transcoder which works great on phones but also works pretty well in a desktop browser. It gives you a way to keep your bookmarks online and also stay inside a transcoder so that your bookmarking capability is with you at all times. Very useful when using public computers. I tried the same thing on my Google Apps start page, but sadly, this gadget is not usable with Google Apps! Funny how the free iGoogle has more versatility than the Apps version.
    ReplyDelete
  50. Better integration with GOOG services, better iframe support. Right now the ajax version of gmail forces out of iframes; this means that gadgets like can only use the html version of gmail... lame. Gmail should open links in email within an iframe by default so you don't leave gmail. They should then have "Add to Gmarks, Notebook, Reader,etc" buttons on the page. They do not seem to realize that a substantial proportion of their web mail user demographic is accessing gmail from kiosk-type computers. This means that these people would benefit from easy access to their google bookmarks etc without awkward navigation. Sort of a browser-within-a-browser experience. They don't even link directly to iGoogle fer chrissakes.
    ReplyDelete
  51. [...] PhoneFavs user rowanrook let me know of a good way to add your PhoneFavs bookmark list to your iGoogle personal homepage. Rowan found a plugin, called your page here, that lets you add any page as a tab in iGoogle. [...]
    ReplyDelete
  52. [...] Your Page Here gadget! This is just great closing the gaps between google apps. Like the writer i love to have my Google reader in a tab of my iGoogle [...]
    ReplyDelete
  53. This is an almost perfect gadget. If it could be made to work for the full gmail it would tick every box!!
    ReplyDelete
  54. uh, i don't know if i'm even asking the right question...

    i need help. i have 2 gmail accounts and i'd like to be able to see both on my igoogle homepage.

    help? pretend i'm a 4th grader!
    ReplyDelete
  55. This was just the help I was looking for. You're my hero.
    ReplyDelete
  56. Hi,
    This seems to have disappeared from the list of available gadgets. I can't find it if I search on 'your page here' or 'Bolinfest'

    Any ideas?
    Thanks
    ReplyDelete
  57. Je ne le trouve pas non plus.
    = Can't find it either.
    Still no idea ?
    Thanks.
    ReplyDelete
  58. Found it. Here :
    http://bolinfest.com/ig/your_page_here.xml

    But it's an inline gadget and doesn't work any more.

    See :
    http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Gadgets-API/browse_thread/thread/5776dc1be6dfd0b

    Any workaround ?
    ReplyDelete
  59. For security reasons, the iGoogle team started dropping support for inline gadgets. I believe that mine was whitelisted for awhile because of its popularity, but eventually all inline gadget support was removed.

    Unfortunately, my gadget needed to be inline because it manipulated the DOM of the host page. I think the best solution would be to petition the iGoogle team to support the concept of my gadget natively. That is, it should be possible to make one of the side tabs load a full-width iframe to a URL of your own choosing. I think that would make iGoogle a more compelling start page.
    ReplyDelete
  60. how do restart your iGoogle?
    ReplyDelete
  61. Hi Emma, can you be more specific -- what do you mean by "restart" your iGoogle?
    ReplyDelete

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