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Macs: Drag Widgets to the Desktop

by Jon Chase on December 17, 2009 at 06:30 AM


For many Mac users, widgets trapped in the Dashboard are all but useless since you can't use them without flipping the Dashboard on and off. Follow these instructions to festoon your desktop with your favorite widgets -- including those you create yourself with Safari's Web Clip feature!
  • Open Terminal (in Utilities) and type in the following:
    • defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES
  • And then:
    • killall Dock
      • (This restarts your Dock, which controls Dashboard.)
  • Now, whenever you want to drag a widget to your desktop, just hit F12, click on the widget you want, and -- while still holding the mouse button -- hit F12 again. The widget will float over all windows.
  • To return the widget back to your Dashboard (which you have to do if you want to keep it; closing it will delete it), just do the reverse. Click on the widget, hit F12, and then release the mouse button.
This is especially powerful if you use Safari to make Web Clips of your favorite Web-based functions, like video streams, Flash games, calculators, etc. Make a Web Clip and then follow the above steps.

If you want to return your Mac to "normal" mode, and out of Dashboard developer mode, open Terminal and repeat the above commands. But, instead of "YES," type "NO" at the end of the first line.

Tags: apple, dashboard, mac, safari, techtip, top, web clips, WebClips, widget, widgets

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