Google new version of their Personalized Homepage, now known as iGoogle, is loaded with many gadgets that you can add to your homepage from email, RSS feeds, weather updates, to almost everything. Adding gadgets is simple and creating iGoogle gadgets is even easier. But as you soon realize, your homepage has become a gadget mess needing some big time organization. This is where adding tabs can help move and manage your gadgets into a more organized homepage.
With the use of tabs, you can create additional pages (tabs) by name, so you can move existing gadgets off you homepage into the new tabs, making iGoogle into a mini web site.
To get started, logon to your Google account and access your iGoogle homepage. You will notice at the top upper left next to Home, is the Add a tab link.
Clicking on the link, displays the Add a tab dialog box. Here you can enter the name of the tab in the Tab name: field. I like to leave the check box checked next to "I'm feeling lucky. Automatically add stuff based on the tab name". By leaving this checked, iGoogle will search for some of the popular gadgets based on the word or phrase you entered in the Tab name field.
As you can see, the email gadgets that iGoogle found include Gmail (of course) Yahoo Mail and so on. You can delete the gadgets you do not want by clicking on the "X" in each gadget, and add any that it did not find by clicking the Add stuff link in the top right corner of the tab page.
If you already had the email gadgets picked out and on the homepage, they can easily be moved into the newly created email tab by left click and hold on the title bar of the gadget and dragging it on top of the tab you just created. In the screenshot below, the Gmail gadget is being moved to the email tab:
As you progress along and get organized, here are a couple of tips in case you make a mistake.
If you named a tag that you don't like or misspelled wrong, just double click on the tab to edit the name. You can also delete the tab at this time.
Edited: Google has recently changed how you can rename and delete a tab by adding a pull down arrow, Also added is the newly added ability to share tabs with the Share this tab also found in the drop down. When sharing a tab, a dialog box will display, and let you email the tab to anyone:
If you delete a tab or gadget, and immediately realize it was a mistake, you have one chance to un-delete it by clicking on the Undo link found under the iGoogle search box.
As you continue to add tabs, you can keep track of which tab you are in since Google color codes the tab and all the gadget title bars making the iGoogle experience that much organized!
Comments on How To Organize Gadgets By Adding Tabs in iGoogle
marge @ 10:35 am
Can't delete gadgets, can't see theme, can't change zip code….iGoogle is frustrating.
Marilou @ 10:07 pm
Same problem as Marge…what is the answer? My page is totally white with no x to delete or edit. Also, the time has disappeared. Adding, no problem…deleting, impossible. Help!
Marilou @ 10:08 pm
See above…
@marge & Marilou
If you have access to another Computer or different browser, access your iGoogle page and see if you can edit/delete, etc…
If you can, then the problem could be with your browser cookies, cache, add-ons. Here are some suggestions from Google to fix the problems you described above (you can also try this if you do not have access to another Computer or browser)
http://www.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=9004
Dave @ 7:37 pm
I can not remove/edit/organize my gadgets because the X is not showing in the top of the gadget space or anywhere else. How can I organize this?
Blair J @ 4:14 pm
I have tried everything to delete the gadgets I have put on igoogle, even tried to delete my igoogle home page to start over . I click on delete x and it disappears only to re-appear the next time I go to the home page. This should be against the law, in essence you are forcing me to use google products that I cannot change. Please help me before I get any more upset. I have many medical conditions that could get worse if I get upset. Thank You. Blair
@Blair J
No one is forcing you to use anything. You choice is made by your actions, not by anything that is written on this site
Cindy @ 6:03 am
I hate the new iGoogle that takes up so much space with tab titles on the left! Now I'm getting the dreaded "Information is temporarily unavailable" for nearly dozens of my added websites, only about l6 show up, the rest nothing.
Jack @ 10:50 am
Same problem: how to remove the notebook gadget form igoogle.
If anyone knows…I would very much apreciate it.
Jack
SHEILA MARIE MCCANN @ 3:49 pm
CAPS BECAUSE I'M SOOOO FRUSTRATED W/iGOOGLE I DELETE,DELETE,DELETE AND THE SON OF A, OH I'M SORRY I'M JUST AS FRUSTRATED. I AM NEW TO THIS GOOLE,IGOOGLE OR WHATEEVER ,THAT I'M READY TO TURN OFF MY COMPUTER FOR GOOD. I ONLY GOT IT BECAUSE I'M HOMEBOUND RIGHT NOW AND THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE FUN. HOW DO I DELETE IT PERMENETLY?
jeanette @ 7:52 pm
igoogle gadgets tabs are orange, how do i change this step by step, i'm not computer savey. They are ugly. I have this serene theme with ugly orange tabs.
Mike @ 10:11 am
I can delete some igoogle gadgets, but not others. Each gadget has a downward arrow on the bar with a menu. One option is "Delete this gadget". Some gadgets can be deleted this way, but others ignore the delete option and won't go away. What a PITA !
Mike @ 10:14 am
I just found a solution on another site:
The way to delete a gadget from iGoogle is the following…
1. Maximize the gadget
2. Once the page has loaded, look at the top of the page, just under the search area, you will se a links for "Edit", "Delete" and "Share.
3. Click "Delete" you will be sent back to your iGoogle homepage, and the gadget will have been deleted.
impatientgirl @ 11:00 am
This still won't work. Several gadgets keep coming back.
Marie @ 10:36 am
Here's the best one yet. The Yahoo gadget defaults to the Yahoo page whenever you go to iGoogle. I tried to edit it but it came back. Now, it just goes immediately to Yahoo from iGoogle. There is no hope of getting it off because you are not at iGoogle long enough to edit it.
AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!
dumbdmmy @ 9:33 am
Dont know if you fixed the yahoo issue yet. I just got some tips on the internet - you stop or kill the page loading as soon as you hit google - and then delete the tab when page is not completely loaded. this worked for me!
don't matter @ 11:36 am
i cant do it either your directions are confusing me
Denise @ 2:15 am
Is there any way to delete gadgets off the homepage. There are no X to delete gadget. There is no way to maximise gadget either. Cannot get the add tab to work on igoogle accounts either. At a complete loss as to what to do. This new igoogle is ridiculous. What is going on?
pete-suffolk @ 12:30 pm
I used to have a gadget that showed my Yahoo mail on my iGoogle page. Suddenly it stopped working, and I have tried all the available Yahoomail gadgets and none of them work now. What happened?