HOW TO COPY A USER ACCOUNT? -- I would like to share my Gadgets

I spent a lot of time downloading and installing gadgets. I would like to
use them also in my office user account (work profile) or my desktop for
example... I wonder if there is an easy way to copy all the basics between
user-accounts (like background, colors, gadgets, etc). Is there a way to
duplicate a user-account and then change its name? Or at least copy/share
gadgets or sidebar??

On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 21:46:01 -0700, i1pro wrote:
Your question is a lot more involved than I think you realize. Also, it's
not clear to me if the various accounts you mention are on the same machine
or on different machines. Will attempt to answer by breaking down your
question:

1) To share gadgets: If a signed gadget is installed by an administrator,
it will be installed in Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Shared Gadgets\. If a
gadget is not signed or if it's installed by a standard user to their own
account, it ends up in \User\<account name>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows
Sidebar\

Gadgets in \Shared Gadgets\ are available to all users by right clicking on
the sidebar and selecting "Add Gadgets."

Gadgets in the \AppData\ location are only available to the user who
installed them. UNLESS.... Take a look at the following MSDN blog article:
http://blogs.msdn.com/sidebar/archiv...a-usb-key.aspx

It has steps for transferring gadgets to a USB key and then editing the
config files so that the gadgets live on the USB key but can be loaded to
the sidebar of whatever system you're logged on to. You could probably
adapt these directions to move the gadgets to another hard drive/user
account.

2) Copying a user profile: This procedure is rather involved and is
overkill for what you want to do. If interested, open Help and Support and
type "copy user profile" into the search field; press enter. Scroll down
the page a bit for step by step directions for copying the profile. Some
but not all preferences will transfer to the new account. This procedure is
usually reserved for replacing corrupt profiles and not used for creating
multiple users that are similar.

2a) Network administrators will customize these accounts - All Users (XP)
or Default (Vista) - to create a standardized desktop for all new user
accounts. This is useful for large enterprises that want a specific and
possibly restricted desktop for their many, many users. If not prepared, an
errant click could cause an unpleasant restriction - one that could be
difficult to reverse. Anyhow, I'm not finding much with a quick search via
Vista's Help and Support or the MS Knowledge Base but there must be info
about this somewhere (MSDN, books about Vista) but again, I would consider
this overkill for what you want to accomplish.

I think 1) is probably more what you are looking for to get those gadgets
easily moved to other accounts that you use.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

Thank you for all the information. I am upgrading 2 computers into VISTA
(Ultimate and Business), then I am also setting up my laptop and have two
accounts: One for business and one for personal. The gadgets might change
later, but for now, the basic ones are in place only in one user (laptop).
I think the best option for me is the USB mem stick. THANK YOU!

"Sharon F" wrote:

I'm affraid the upgrade has a new way of storing the gadgets...

There is no AppData anywhere in my PC.

\User\<account name>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\

I couldn't find Admin installed gadgets either. They are not here:

Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Shared Gadgets\

Has anyone been able to follow the instructions to share/store gadgets on a
USB key?? HOW?

Thanks!

"i1pro" wrote: