To bring a widget back into Dashboard, do the exact same thing in reverse - click and hold the widget, launch Dashboard, and let go of the mouse. This could either be a positive or a negative, depending on the amount of screen real estate you have available. The only sticking point is that it will always float above any windows you have open. From there it will act just as it did in Dashboard - you can move it around the screen, interact with its features, etc.

Letting go of the mouse will drop your widget right on the desktop. Click and hold a widget of your choice and hit Dashboard’s keyboard shortcut (usually F4 or F12 on most Macs). Once you’re back up and running, launch Dashboard. In order to actually run a widget on your desktop, you must first log out and then back in again. Generally, devmode is used by developers to facilitate quick creation of widgets, but it works just the same for casual users like us. What this code does is create an entry in the preferences file to activate a behavior known as devmode. Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities), copy & paste this command in the window, then press Enter:ĭefaults write devmode YES

Apple has included a hidden option in the Mac operating system which enables support for running widgets right on the desktop. When hitting the keyboard shortcut to invoke Dashboard becomes too cumbersome, rest easy knowing an alternative method is available. Learn how to fix that pesky problem along with a couple other helpful hints related to Dashboard. One of the most common complaints about Dashboard in Mac OS X is the inability to run widgets on the user’s desktop so they’re always visible.

Mac os dashboard widgets on desktop