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Mac Tip: Run Widgets Outside Of Dashboard

Posted in How To on 28/01/2012 by Mark Greentree

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This Mac tip is provided by Mark Greentree and was originally posted on Mark’s blog – Everyday Mac Support. For more of Mark’s tips visit his site, follow him on Twitter, or browse his archive of posts here.


How To: Run Widgets Outside Of Dashboard

Do you ever get frustrated of going into Dashboard every time you want to access a widget with important information.

Well with a Terminal command and the click of the mouse you can have any widget you like run outside of the dashboard. Please note however that the widget will always be the front most window so this tip is really useful for users with large displays but users with small displays may find this distracting.

To locate Terminal simply navigate to your Applications > Utilities and within the Utilities folder you will locate Terminal.

Then simply enter the following then press the return key:

defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES

Then enter the following then press the return key:

killall Dock

Now when you go to your Dashboard by pressing F4 on Apple’s wireless keyboard should you then click over a dashboard widget and hold the click without letting go then press F4 again you will notice that the Dashboard will close but the widget you have clicked on will remain visible on the screen.

At this time you can continue working in any application with the widget running.

Should you wish to put the widget back into the dashboard all your need to do is click on the widget and hold then press F4 to launch dashboard and upon letting go of the mouse you will notice that the widget in question will pop back into the dashboard at that point in time.

Should you wish to completely disable this feature just go back to Terminal and enter the following:

defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode NO

Then enter the following then press the return key:

killall Dock

 

Warning: Terminal commands have the ability to change the running operation of your Mac. Please copy and paste the Terminal command as shown directly from the article. Mistakes in keystokes can cause your Mac to perform differently and may in-fact result in a loss of data. It is advised that you only use the Terminal if you feel comfortable with the command line interface. If you are ever unsure please consult your local tech support person.

  • http://www.facebook.com/danielbelini Daniel Belini

    Didn’t work for me.
    Mac Mini mid 2011 Lion 10.7.2

    • http://twitter.com/EverydayMac Everyday Mac Support

      Should work fine. I am running 10.7.2 also.

  • http://profiles.google.com/smoke.j.d Jory Riggs

    I had to finagle my way around it. my dashboard was not set to a keystroke. so i had to bind it to the f6 key function. Got it to work after that though. before that i had it set to the upper left corner. didn’t try to drag the widget to the corner. Thought it would be easier to temp reset the ui command

  • http://profiles.google.com/smoke.j.d Jory Riggs

    I need help. I want to disable this shit and I can’t. I’ve fucking done the goddamn terminal 5 goddamn times now and it won’t get right of it. So reply dammit. so i can watch videos full screen again please. 

    • http://twitter.com/EverydayMac Everyday Mac Support

      Should you wish to completely disable this feature just go back to Terminal and enter the following: defaults write com.apple.dashboard demoed NO

      Then enter the following then press the return key: killall Dock

    • http://twitter.com/EverydayMac Everyday Mac Support

      Okay. If you have disabled the function before putting the Dashboard app back into the dashboard then it will still be displayed.

      To fix re-activate this functionality in the Terminal.

      Then perform this step: 

      “Should you wish to put the widget back into the dashboard all your need to do is click on the widget and hold then press F4 to launch dashboard and upon letting go of the mouse you will notice that the widget in question will pop back into the dashboard at that point in time.”

      Once the app is back within Dashboard simply run the second Terminal command to prevent the ability to run widgets outside of Dashboard.

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Mark Greentree

Mark Greentree is the principle blogger and podcast creator of Every Day Mac Support. His aim is to inform users at all levels of experience how to get the most out of the Apple hardware and associated software. He is the lead host of Not Another Mac Podcast, an Apple based round table discussion with Mac users and experts from all over world.