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widgetUtils.findObject(model.jsonModel, "name", "alfresco/menus/alfresco/layout/VerticalWidgets");
ALF_DOWNLOAD_AS_ZIP
The key mistake you're making in following the steps from AKU-532 is that you're trying to find a widget by the "name" attribute... the name is just the name of the module, you should be looking for the "id" as described in the AKU-532 as we have ensured that each widget has a unique ID on the search page for this exact reason.
Also, you don't need to use a later version of Alfresco - you just need to use a newer version of Aikau, see this blog post for an example of how to upgrade Aikau in Alfresco.