TMO Quick Tip - Set Your Widgets Free!

by , 7:30 AM EDT, April 21st, 2006

Widgets come in all sizes, shapes, and levels of usefulness. Some are great little diversions, like the iPilkington widget, and some are amazingly useful, like Decimator. If you have a favorite widget that you want available even when Dashboard isn't taking over your whole Desktop, all you have to do is liberate it. Here's how:

• Press the F12 key to display the Dashboard layer.
• Click the plus symbol in the lower left corner of your display to open the widget drawer.
• Click and drag the widget you want on your Desktop out of the drawer.
• Before releasing the mouse button, press and release the F12 key.

A Dashboard-free widget.

Once your widget is free of Dashboard, it floats above every window on your Desktop. You can even move it around, just like any other application window. To remove the widget from your Desktop, just press the F12 key again.

You are limited to only one widget on your Desktop at a time, so if you want more visible, take a look at Amnesty Widget Browser from Mesa Dynamics. It lets you display several widgets on your Desktop, and also lets you change their opacity, rotate them, and set their window level to desktop, standard, or floating. It costs US$19.95, and a free time-limited demo is available.

if you have ideas for Mac related tips that you think other TMO readers might find helpful.