Editing Google Desktop (section)

{{Short description|Computer program}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = Google Desktop
| logo                   = [[File:Google Desktop logo.png|Google Desktop's logo]]
| screenshot             = [[File:GoogleSidebar Vista.png|The GDS Sidebar sits on the user's desktop and displays relevant information.]]
| caption                = The GDS Sidebar sits on the user's desktop and displays relevant information (Google Desktop on [[Microsoft]] [[Windows Vista]])
| developer              = [[Google]]
 | released              = {{Start date and age|2004|10|14}} 
| latest_release_version = 5.9.1005.12335
| latest_release_date    = {{Start date and age|2011|09|14|df=yes}}
| operating_system       = [[Cross-platform]]
| genre                  = [[Desktop search]]
| discontinued           = yes
| license                = Proprietary
| programming language   = [[C++]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lextrait.com/Vincent/implementations.html |title=The Programming Languages Beacon |edition=v10.3 |first=Vincent |last=Lextrait |date=July 2010 |access-date=2016-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120530/http://www.lextrait.com/Vincent/implementations.html |archive-date=2012-05-30 }}</ref>
| website                = [http://desktop.google.com/ desktop.google.com]
}}
'''Google Desktop''' was a computer program with [[desktop search]] capabilities, created by [[Google]] for [[Linux]], [[macOS|Apple Mac OS X]], and [[Microsoft Windows]] systems. It allowed text searches of a user's email messages, computer files, music, photos, chats, web pages viewed, and the ability to display "Google Gadgets" on the user's desktop in a [[Sidebar (computing)|sidebar]].

In September 2011, Google announced it would discontinue a number of its products, including Google Desktop. The reason given was that "In the last few years, there’s been a huge shift from local to cloud-based storage and computing, as well as the integration of search and gadget functionality into most modern operating systems. People now have instant access to their data, whether online or offline. As this was the goal of Google Desktop, the product will be discontinued."<ref name=spring-clean/>