How to Add Widgets to Mac OS Tiger Dashboard

Widgets are useful mini-applications that perform a variety of tasks in in the Mac operating system OS X. Some applications from previous versions of OS X were changed into widgets for the Tiger release. You should know how to add widgets to the Tiger dashboard and also how to manage them so your computer doesn't get too cluttered.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Open up the dashboard application. It's the icon in the dock that looks like a speedometer but has icons instead of numbers. You can also find Dashboard in your applications folder on your hard disk.

2. Go into the dashboard preferences, located under the "file" menu in the program. You can select which widgets are displayed and how they appear in the preferences. You can also add new widgets here if you already have them installed.

3. Download some new widgets. Apple maintains a large database of company and user created widgets at its website (see Resources below). Here you can browse new widgets and download the ones you want to add.

4. Wait for the widgets to install. Each widget should do a quick self-install after you download it. You probably won't have to customize this installation or set it up.

5. Check the dashboard to see if your new widget is already there. Some widgets add themselves to the dashboard and others need to be put in manually in the program's preferences.

6. Use the dashboard's widget manager to control all of the widgets on your Mac. This handy manager should show up with your widgets in the dashboard screen. You can simple select or deselect any widget in the menu to have it displayed.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful about how you set the display options for your widgets. Sometimes the graphical pop up of the dashboard can be an unnecessary burden on your computer. You should minimize the graphics in the dashboard preferences to keep your computer running smoothly.

• You should know how to change your widgets using both the dashboard preferences and the program's widget manager. The widget manager is often quicker to make changes with and you can sort your list of widgets in many different ways.

• Be careful about using Terminal commands to disable your Dashboard in Mac OS Tiger. The terminal can be a great tool if you know how to use it and enter commands properly, but you can also cause problems within your computer if you don't understand exactly what you're doing.

Resources

• Download widgets from Apple's website