D2CDesire2Connect

Required Software Widget Creator

The required software widget allows you to point your students toward the software applications they will need in order to succeed in your course. The required software widget creator walks you through the process of creation without having to do any of the coding that would normally be required to develop this tool on your own.

Selecting the Application

Desire 2 Connect can automate the creation of your required software widget based on a simple selection from a number of popular applications listed below. Simply select the widget you would like to create from the list below. If you do not see the application you are looking for you can email a request to david.keppel@sru.edu.

Connecting to your Calendly Account

Calendly identifies your unique meeting calendar using a link that others can access. Use the steps below to find the link to your calendly account.

1. Open Calendly.
2. Sign into your Calendly account.
3. On your My Calendly page click on the link to your Calendly under your name.
4. Select the address in your address bar.
5. Right-click on the highlighted link in your address bar and select Copy.
6. Right-click on the text box below and select Paste.
Note: Once you have pasted your link into the text box below, you should be able to test the widget above by clicking on the Calendly logo. If your calendly page does not open please check your link.

Connecting to your Top Hat Account

Top Hat identifies your unique course using a link that others can access. Use the steps below to find the link to your Top Hat course.

1. Open Top Hat.
2. Sign into your Top Hat account.
3. Access the the course to which you are creating a link.
4. Select the address in your address bar.
Note: The link should appear as follows: app.tophat.com/e/######. The six # symbols should be numbers that match your course's unique join code.
5. Right-click on the highlighted link in your address bar and select Copy.
6. Right-click on the text box below and select Paste.
Note: Once you have pasted your link into the text box below, you should be able to test the widget above by clicking on the Calendly logo. If your calendly page does not open please check your link.

Creating a Title

Sometimes a good widget needs a title that communicates its purpose and sometimes it does not. In this case you are creating a widget to link students to a specific service. Use the following textbox to add an appropriate title to the example widget that is being generated based on your input.

Copying the Code

All your work so far has produced the code you need to make your widget. All you need to do is click the copy button to move on to the final step.

Creating your widget

Now that you have the code for your widget you can create it and add it to your D2L course shell with a few final steps.

1. In your D2L course shell click on Edit Course.
2. In the list of course administration tools click on Widgets
1. If you are viewing this list by category, Widgets is the last option in the Site Setup category.
2. If you are viewing this list by Name all options are listed alphabetically.
3. Under the button to Create Widget ensure that the Custom Widgets tab is selected.
4. Click on Create Widget.
5. Give your widget a name like "Required Software"
6. Click on the Content tab
7. In the lower right hand side of the contents text area locate and click on the </> icon
8. The HTML source editor will open. Paste your code into the text area and click Save
9. You should see a very large preview in the content area but you can click Preview Widget to see your widget at the correct size.
10. Click Save and Close.
11. In your custom widget list you should see your widget title. Click on the paintbrush icon to the right from your widget.
12. The widget settings are now displayed. Uncheck Display a title and ensure that both Display widget container style and Prohibit minimizing widget are checked
13. Click Save.
14. Click on the Homepages tab above the Create Widget button.
15. Under the Create Homepage button there is a dropdown menu for your active homepage. If you are using the course default homepage you must follow the next three steps, otherwise select homepage indicated by the dropdown and proceed to step 16.
1. Find and click the downward facing arrow next to "Course Default" and select Copy.
2. Click on Course Default - Copy. If there are two copies you should only be able to select the instance that has "Shared but not used" to the right.
3. Update the name to something you will remember like your last name followed by "homepage".
16. Find the drop down menu associated with type and make sure that it is set to Widget-based.
17. Locate the widgets area. The default widgets area consists of a larger column to the left and a smaller column to the right. While the required software widget may be placed in either column, it was specifically designed to be placed in the smaller column to the right.
1. Locate the smaller column to the right.
2. At the bottom of this column under any existing widgets click on the Add Widgets button.
3. An Add Widgets overlay will appear.
4. Click on the filter for Custom Widgets.
5. Select your Required Software widget.
6. Click Add.
7. If you click and drag the area labeled Required Software you can resposition it to the top of the column you have placed it in.
18. Click Save and Close
19. At the top of the homepages list just below the Create Homepages button is a drop down menu that allows you to select your active homepage. Click the menu, select your homepage, and click Apply.
20. Click the Course Home link to see your new required software widget.