Keeping Widgets on the Desktop

[newguy]

In the thread linked below, someone states and shows that you can keep widgets on the desktop just by holding f12 when you drag them from the bar. Is this true??? Everyone's been complaining that this is impossible, and that you can only see widgets in "dashboard mode." If widegts can stay on the desktop a la Konfabulator-style, this would be awesome! Anyone else know or able to try this?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/122223/

 

[grapes911]

In the thread linked below, someone states and shows that you can keep widgets on the desktop just by holding f12 when you drag them from the bar. Is this true??? Everyone's been complaining that this is impossible, and that you can only see widgets in "dashboard mode." If widegts can stay on the desktop a la Konfabulator-style, this would be awesome! Anyone else know or able to try this?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/122223/

It can be done, but with only one widget at a time. Also, if you hit F12, it goes back to the dashboard.

To get it to the desktop you have to be adding a widget to the dashboard and then press F12 (or any F9-F12).

 

[newguy]

BUMMER!!!! Anybody else know otherwise and how easy it would be to hack so that you can have as many as you want and not have them disappear. This would seem like a very very useul option.

 

[grapes911]

BUMMER!!!! Anybody else know otherwise and how easy it would be to hack so that you can have as many as you want and not have them disappear. This would seem like a very very useul option.

A hack may be the only way to do it. I'm pretty sure its a bug that you can move widgets to your desktop. In the little I've got to use tiger, it doesn't seem that usefull to have widgets on your desktop all the time. They are things you want at the touch of the button. I see no reason to have a fedex tracker or the weather on my desktop all the time.

 

[supergod]

Wow! This is quite cool, congrats to whoever figured this one out. I would have to say that this makes dashboard far more practical. It's pretty useful when taking notes to have the notepad stay, the iTunes controller is cool to keep in one corner, and I can not even tell you how much time it will save to have the dictionary at the top of my desktop when using word.

Now, tangentially: wouldn't it make sense if you could add widgets into the top finder bar?, for instance, having a dictionary button next to the Spotlight button, an iTunes controller up there and a fold-down note pad. I use Bytecontroller to take care of having iTunes controllers in the top bar, but it would be much better if this sort of thing were built into the OS.

 

[newguy]

Keep in mind, however, according to grapes911, you can only have one up at a time.

 

[grapes911]

wouldn't it make sense if you could add widgets into the top finder bar?, for instance, having a dictionary button next to the Spotlight button, an iTunes controller up there and a fold-down note pad.

No, it wouldn't. You Press F12 or select the Dashboard icon from the dock. How would selecting it from the finder bar be any easier. It would be pretty much the same amount of work. Please explain if I'm misunderstanding you.

 

[supergod]

Sorry, what I'm saying is a bit confusing.

I think that the top bar should be more customizable and almost an alternative to the dock. Imagine that the dock is for launching apps, the finder is for finding files, now what is the top bar for? It controls small functions of the apps and finder. What I would like is for the top bar to become the dashboard. Have all your widgets in the top bar, with small icons. Certain widgets could be functional without being launched, straight out of the top bar. For instance, the iTunes player could be used to navigate tracks easily. The dicitionary could have a search area. Etc. This makes use of all the empty space up there in the center and eliminates the need for a "dashboard" whose purpose is to save space, and yet does not really save any space.

As an alternative, you could hide the top dashboard like the dock. When you drag your cursor to the top center the dashboard could come down (without having to "push" away the desktop and you could access the widgets. In this way the dashboard is not a second dock, but an addition to the finder.

You can take this idea as far as you want it, for instance adding widgets into individual apps (as I can see apple doing) so that you have one window functioning as the main application, and any subtools hidden in the topbar/dashboard. This could be very useful in any of Apples pro apps because you could use the dashboard to contain different windows, like an instrument window or a editing surface, rather than having to minimize these windows into the dock and bring them up. This dashboard could be more heavily integrated with Expose, because the widgets would also function as windows on the desktop in a practical sense. Expose could "clean up" your window, taking the tools you arent using and putting them into the dashboard.

This probably sounds utterly complicated but I think it is simpler for a number of reasons. In addition, it would probably make programming for apps as far as addons very simple: widgets are designed to be easily made, an addon tool/feature could be added to an existing app as a widget without having to upgrade the program.

 

[grapes911]

I'm guessing you haven't used dashboard that much. Play with it for a while and we can revisit this discussion. I almost guarantee you'll like it as is. You have some good ideas, I think you just need to see whats already there some more.

 

[supergod]

I've been using dashboard for the last week so I think that I've gotten a pretty good feel for it: it is, after all, a very simple system. I have begun to use the dictionary and stickies and find them useful: can't say the same for all the other widgets. What I find the most useful is that widgets can come on over a fullscreen movie in DVD player and such: you can watch the movie and take notes at the same time (I used this when I was reviewing a film).

It seems this app actually does most of what I was talking about.

http://www.macpoweruser.com/menustrip/index.html

Edit: I just used it, seems pretty flawed. It's customizable which is nice.

 

[aria505]

A hack may be the only way to do it. I'm pretty sure its a bug that you can move widgets to your desktop. In the little I've got to use tiger, it doesn't seem that usefull to have widgets on your desktop all the time. They are things you want at the touch of the button. I see no reason to have a fedex tracker or the weather on my desktop all the time.

Hmmm, I was pretty excited about being able to have widgets on the desktop, but it does sound like it is a "bug".

Maybe apple saw this bug but couldn't really figure out a way to fix it so they left it alone because it actually does how somewhat of a practical purpose.

Actually having the ability to have one widget on the desktop at a time temporarly is all I personally wanted. The only reason i wanted this ability was for the rare moment when i need to interact with a widget and an app at the same time back and forth, and I believe it would be annoying to have to keep turning dashboard on and off to get all the information you needed.