Extract text from Windows widgets (GADGET)
To convert GADGET widgets to another format, you need Windows or other Compressed software.
To convert other file formats to the "Windows Desktop Widget" file type, you need software like Windows or a similar tool.
A .gadget file is fundamentally a renamed ZIP archive that stores the necessary assets for a Windows Desktop Gadget. Originally introduced in Microsoft Windows Vista, these mini-applications provided widgets like clocks, CPU meters, and weather trackers on the Windows Sidebar. Internally, a .gadget file bundles standard web technologies, including HTML, CSS, JS, and a required gadget.xml manifest file.
The primary disadvantage of the .gadget format today is its deprecated status and inherent danger. Microsoft completely abandoned the format in 2012 due to severe, unpatchable security vulnerabilities that allowed remote code execution. Modern operating systems like Windows 10 and 11 do not support them natively. If you download a legacy widget, it is essentially an unverified executable. Furthermore, many of the web APIs these gadgets relied on (such as old weather or stock feeds) are now permanently offline, rendering the widgets useless even if you force them to run.
Because this is a discontinued, legacy Windows format, traditional converters cannot transform it into a modern executable widget. The best conversion target is a standard ZIP archive. By converting or renaming the file to ZIP, you can safely extract its contents without executing malicious scripts. Our system can unpack the underlying archive, allowing you to inspect the embedded HTML and JS code directly in your browser safely.
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 Windows or similar software from the "Windows Desktop Widget Archive" 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 Windows or another comparable tool in the "Windows Desktop Widget Archive" 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.