Extract text from GADGET files
To convert your GADGET file to another format, you need Microsoft Windows or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Widget Archive" file type, you need software like Microsoft Windows or a similar tool.
A .gadget file is a legacy installation archive used by the Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista and Windows 7. These files are essentially renamed ZIP or CAB containers holding standard web technologies - HTML, CSS, and JavaScript - along with an XML definition file. While they once powered desktop widgets for clocks, weather, and system monitoring, Microsoft completely discontinued the format in 2012 due to severe security vulnerabilities that allowed arbitrary code execution.
Users often encounter .gadget files when recovering data from old backups or attempting to run legacy desktop tools on modern systems like Windows 10 or Windows 11. Because the operating system no longer supports them natively, double-clicking a .gadget file will typically fail or prompt a security warning. The most practical workflow is not to "run" them, but to convert them into standard archives. By converting a .gadget file to ZIP, 7Z, or RAR, you can safely extract and view the internal assets (such as PNG images or source code) without exposing your system to the vulnerabilities of the Sidebar platform. For developers, this conversion is the first step in porting the widget's logic to a modern web extension.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GADGET file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DAT, RTF and XNB files.
If you want to convert GADGET file to EXE, MSI, APP, DMG, DEB, RPM, PKG, RUN, SH, BAT, CMD or COM, you can use Microsoft Windows or similar software from the "Desktop Widget Package" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert JAR, APP, SCR, IPA, COM, AAB, PS1, DMG, VBS, EXE, XAPK or MSI files to GADGET, try Microsoft Windows or another comparable tool in the "Desktop Widget Package" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our GADGET converter.