Getting Started with FinanceWidget

Getting Started with FinanceWidget

FinanceWidget is a lightweight, borderless Windows desktop widget manager that displays clean, real-time stock, ETF, and market index charts powered by Google Finance. It provides a visual, at-a-glance dashboard directly on your home screen to track your favorite financial assets and market trends.

🛠️ Prerequisites

To run FinanceWidget and configure your visual trackers, ensure you have:

• Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11 (x64 architecture).
• System WebView2: Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime installed (pre-installed on Windows 11 and up-to-date Windows 10 devices).
• Google Account (Optional): Recommended for logging in to optimize layout rendering stability when using the Google Finance Beta Site.
• Google Finance Format Tickers: Tickers must be entered in the exchange-prepended format (e.g. SCHD:NYSEARCA or JEPQ:NASDAQ).

🚀 Quick Start Guide

Follow these four steps to deploy your first widget module onto your desktop and begin tracking your metrics:

Step 1: Install and Launch

1. Download the latest release ZIP from the official repository releases.
2. Extract the archive to a local folder (e.g., C:\Users\<Username>\FinanceWidget\).
3. Double-click FinanceWidget.exe to run it.

[!NOTE] Windows SmartScreen warning: Since this application is a community project and is not signed with a commercial developer certificate, click “More info” and then “Run anyway” on the Windows alert dialog.

Step 2: Access the System Tray Controller

FinanceWidget runs as a lightweight daemon in the background to keep your taskbar clean:

1. Locate the FinanceWidget icon (a graph symbol) in your Windows System Tray (bottom right, near the clock).
2. Right-click the tray icon to access the master control panel.

Step 3: Deploy Your First Ticker Widget

1. Right-click the system tray icon and select Add New Widget.
2. An elegant ticker entry dialog will appear.
3. Enter a ticker symbol of your choice.
   • Example (Stocks): AAPL:NASDAQ (Apple Inc.)
   • Example (ETFs): SPY:NYSEARCA (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust)
   • Example (Indices): .INX:INDEXSP (S&P 500 Index)
4. Click Add or press Enter. A borderless widget containing the Google Finance chart will appear on your desktop.

Step 4: Position and Configure the View

1. Move: Drag the widget by the gray top handle to place it anywhere on your home screen.
2. Resize: Drag the edges or the bottom-right corner to scale the graph layout to your preferred size.
3. Keep on Top: Right-click the widget and check Keep on Top to lock it above your other open windows, or toggle Hide Title Bars from the tray icon context menu to make the widget completely borderless for a clean, graphical HUD.

[!TIP] All widget configurations (window position, dimensions, ticker target, and layout options) are saved automatically to your local state files.