Welcome to the Google Gadget Ads Editor!

The Google Gadget Ads Editor (GGAE) is a fully-equipped gadget development tool that lets you quickly build, test, and validate your gadget ads prior to submitting it for review. GGAE contains a variety of features that empower you to get your gadget ad developed, approved and running on our content network in a shorter period of time. For more specific information on how to use the editor, see below.

Overview

GGAE contains a rich text editor with syntax highlighting enabled to help you edit your gadget XML files. You can use the editor to create new gadget ads from scratch, load existing example gadgets, or load remotely hosted gadgets by entering in the URL. Once a gadget XML is loaded into the editor, you can modify the source and preview your changes on the fly. After building your gadget ad, you can save and upload your gadget XML in GGAE. In addition to hosting your ad, you can also host any embedded assets used by your gadget. All hosted files in GGAE are served from Google servers with no limitations on bandwidth. For free and reliable hosting, we highly encourage you to take advantage of these hosting capabilities and to serve all your gadget ad assets through GGAE.

Getting Started

There are several different ways to get started with creating a new gadget ad. Here's a list of different paths you can take:

  1. Create a fresh new gadget ad from scratch

    When GGAE first loads, it loads in a default sample that embeds a single Flash object that spans the entire width and height of the gadget ad. You can start editing the preloaded gadget XML immediately using the built-in rich text editor.

  2. Create a gadget based on an existing sample gadget

    To start with a different sample gadget besides the default, click File >> New to see a list of other available samples, and select the one that best suits your needs.

  3. Load an existing gadget from an external location

    Sometimes you may wish to load an existing gadget that is hosted remotely outside of GGAE. To do this, go to File >> Open from URL, enter in the URL pointing to the gadget XML. GGAE will attempt to fetch the XML and load it into the editor where you can start building your gadget.

  4. Load a previously saved file hosted on GGAE

    If you've previously saved your gadget on GGAE and wish to re-open the file to edit, go to File >> Open to see the list of saved files in your account. Select the file you wish to open.

For more information about the File menu, visit the documentation.

Developing Your Google Gadget Ad

  1. Visit the Google Gadget Ads tutorial to learn about the various ads-specific functionality that you must include. Reference the tutorial frequently while you're developing your gadget ad, and follow its directions on how to perform specific tasks in your gadget.
  2. Use the editor in GGAE to create your gadget ad. See details in the tutorial about implementing clickthrough tracking and interaction tracking as it's required that you include at least one form of tracking.
  3. Click on the "Preview" tab frequently to quickly render your gadget and see the changes you've made. Test your gadget ad frequently every time you make a significant change, and fix any issues you find along the way. When previewing in GGAE, DEBUG mode is enabled by default for both clickthrough and interaction tracking. Be sure to verify that your clickthroughs and interactions are tracking correctly as you're developing your gadget.
  4. Go to File >> Save to save your work using GGAE's hosting facilities. In order to enable this feature, you must be logged in to a Google Account. Only you can edit the files saved through GGAE, but the files are publicly available for anyone to read.
  5. As you get closer to completing your gadget ad, start validating your gadget ad frequently by clicking on the "Validate" tab. GGAE attempts to validate your gadget ad by running it against a series of checks to verify that all requirements have been met. All validation checks must pass before the gadget ad can be approved.
  6. Verify that your gadget ad meets all editorial guidelines.
  7. Before submitting your gadget ad for review, it's required that you validate your gadget ad in GGAE before submission. The built-in validation tool automatically checks for various gadget ad requirements in the XML in addition to various implementation requirements. To decrease the turnaround time in approving your ad, be sure to run the validation tool against your gadget and verify that all checks have passed prior to submitting.
  8. At this point, your gadget ad should have completed validation in GGAE with all checks passed. To submit, send the following information to your sales representative: