Yahoo! Mail Checker

Although Yahoo! withdrew support for the Widget Engine and closed down the widget gallery back in 2012, there are still a variety of such useful and fully functional tools out there, ready to provide you with fast access to important information or frequently used applications. One example is Yahoo! Mail Checker, a simple, yet handy widget that can be used to get real-time notifications about newly received messages in your Yahoo! Mail inbox.

Needless to say that the Yahoo! Widget Engine must be installed on your computer before using this application. Once Yahoo! Mail Checker is added to the 'My Widgets' folder, its main window is displayed on the desktop.

The configuration process is not difficult at all, since all you have to do is enter the username and the password of your Yahoo! Mail account. Optionally, the widget can be set to remember the login credentials. For those who don't have an e-mail account yet, the 'sign in' option is designed to assist you through all the necessary steps for creating one.

Once you are logged in to the Yahoo! Mail service, the widget displays the last time when the mailbox was checked and the number of unseen messages since the last time the inbox was accessed, enabling you to open the e-mail account in the default web browser with a single click. Right-clicking on the widget opens a menu where you can hide and close the gadget or check the mailbox for new e-mails.

The 'Preferences' section is where you can customize the widget color to match the desktop theme, adjust the transparency level and modify the window level. This option enables you to always place the widget on top of or below all the other opened windows.

Optionally, you can have the application's position fixed, which means that the widget cannot be dragged around with the mouse anymore. However, you can still move it by holding the CTRL key or by activating the 'Heads Up Display' mode.

Yahoo! Mail Checker is part of the installation of the Widget Engine, but the widget file comes in handy in case you removed it by accident. The application can prove really useful for those who are frequently using this mail service, as it enables you to check the number of newly received messages without having to use a web browser.