Gizmo Toolbar is a free toolbar app that can provide multiple docking toolbar launchers on your desktop.
The software two main launcher styles, slab (with icons laid out on a rectangular shape and carousel (laid out of a circular shape), and offers a very high degree of customization: color, size, opacity placement on screen, keyboard hotkey, behavior, etc. And while this makes it very powerful software it also can make the creation of a simple toolbar a rather complicated affair. Luckily, Gizmo Toolbar offers a one-stop-shop “toolbar gallery” that users can choose from, as well as a wizard to make setup more user friendly.
PROS: here’s what I like about this one:
- Multiple docks: on the same screen or multiple monitor, you can set each up with their own user customizable hotkey (see screenshot below).
- Drag and drop: adds items to docks
- The toolbar wizard: makes setting up your launcher easy (easier, at least than the manual setup)
The toolbar gallery: provides ready made presets to choose from, and lets you make and save your own (see screenshot to the right).- Light footprint: remarkably, at around 6 megs in memory.
- You can run each dock as its own process: optionally.
CONS: or “tips on how this program can be improved”
- Complicated setup: despite its high degree of configurability (or because of it), setting up a toolbar is a long, drawn out affair that many users just might give up on. At least the wizard offers an easier alternative.
- You cannot duplicate docks: once you create one, you cannot simply duplicate it and modify the copies, which is strange.
The verdict: looking for a cool docking launcher app that can display multiple docks? Then try this one. Gizmo Toolbar is a nice app that is highly configurable and quite useful.
Version tested: 2.7.9
Compatibility: Windows XP, 2000, Server 2003, Server 2008, Vista, Windows 7; 32bit or 64 bit.
Note on installing: this software can be installed standalone (gtoolbar-xxx-setup.exe) or as part of Gizmo central (gizmo-xxx-setup.exe). If you are installing via the latter, make sure to only check the Gizmo central option (first option, see screenshot), unless you want to install other components.
Go to the program home page to download the latest version (6.08 megs).
keep getting facemoods popping up on your site with a download button that is misleading WOT warning when i clicked it by mistake
I removed the facemoods ad in the sidebar; however, you might see fm ads served by google.
I will say though that WOT is annoyingly hardcore, and a magnet for false positives. Once a couple of people post negative comments over a site it is guilty until proven innocent. Annoying.
I read with great interest your posting about Gizmo Toolbar. I have long been a strong proponent and user of Mouse Extender as a launching dock, and Gizmo Toolbar seemed to be the very same kind of application. I was not encouraged by your review but I tried it anyway and found it to be a very capable and easy to use application. While the front end of the setup process is somewhat longer than Mouse Extender for example, due to designing the dock size, shape, placement, etc., the back end of adding applications is a breeze and I have now found a new favorite launcher. Thank you for bringing it to us.
@ Dean: I’m glad you like it. I hadn’t realized that I had come down so hard on it.
what is a light footprint