Editing Dashboard (macOS) (section)

{{short description|Discontinued feature of macOS}}
{{About|Apple's Dashboard software|articles about dashboard software in general|Dashboard (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Dashboard
| logo = Dashboard OS X.svg
| logo_size = x64px
| screenshot = Dashboard Widgets OS X El Capitan.png
| screenshot_size = 300px
| caption = Dashboard widgets running under [[OS X 10.11 El Capitan]]
| operating system = [[Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger]] to [[macOS 10.14 Mojave]]
| genre = [[Widget engine]]
}}
{{macOS topics}}

'''Dashboard''' is a discontinued feature of [[Apple Inc.]]'s [[macOS]] operating systems, used as a secondary desktop for hosting mini-applications known as [[Widget engine|widgets]]. These are intended to be simple applications that do not take time to launch. Dashboard applications supplied with macOS included a stock ticker, weather report, calculator, and notepad; while users could create or download their own.

Before [[Mac OS X 10.7 Lion]], when Dashboard is activated, the user's desktop is dimmed and widgets appear in the foreground. Like application windows, they can be moved around, rearranged, deleted, and recreated (so that more than one of the same Widget is open at the same time, possibly with different settings). New widgets can be opened, via an icon bar on the bottom of the layer, loading a list of available apps similar to the iOS home screen or the macOS [[Launchpad (macOS)|Launchpad]]. After loading, the widget is ready for use. 

Dashboard was first introduced in [[Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.maketecheasier.com/create-dashboard-widgets-from-safari/|title=How to create your own OS X Dashboard Widgets from Safari - Make Tech Easier|date=2010-07-26|newspaper=Make Tech Easier|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-08|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818043737/https://www.maketecheasier.com/create-dashboard-widgets-from-safari/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/mac-software/mac-os-x-yosemite-review-3516686/|title=Yosemite review: Continuity and WiFi problems mar an otherwise pleasing update|last=Haslam|first=Karen|newspaper=Macworld UK|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-01-10|archive-date=August 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819061536/http://www.macworld.co.uk/review/mac-software/mac-os-x-yosemite-review-3516686/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBwwJuVfLg0C&q=os+x+dashboard+widgets+api&pg=PA186|title=Pro Web Gadgets for Mobile and Desktop|last=Udell|first=Sterling|date=2010-04-06|publisher=Apress|isbn=9781430225522|language=en|access-date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=April 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424233921/https://books.google.com/books?id=BBwwJuVfLg0C&q=os+x+dashboard+widgets+api&pg=PA186|url-status=live}}</ref> It can be activated as an application, from the Dock, Launchpad, or Spotlight. It can also be accessed by a [[Apple Keyboard#Usage of function keys|dashboard key]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/how-make-mac-dashboard-useful-3517197/|title=3 ways to Mac Dashboard useful again: games, entertainment and fresh new productivity widgets|last=Hattersley|first=Lucy|newspaper=Macworld UK|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-01-13|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726161042/https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/how-make-mac-dashboard-useful-3517197/|url-status=live}}</ref> Alternatively, the user can choose to make Dashboard open on moving the cursor into a preassigned hot corner or keyboard shortcut. Starting with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, the Dashboard can be configured as a [[Spaces (software)|space]], accessed by swiping four fingers to the right from the Desktops either side of it.

From [[OS X 10.10 Yosemite]] onward, the Dashboard was disabled by default, with the [[Notification Center]] becoming the primary method of displaying widgets. As of [[macOS 10.15 Catalina]], Dashboard has been removed from macOS.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/4/18652971/apple-macos-catalina-dashboard-widgets-removed-feature|title=Apple will permanently remove Dashboard in macOS Catalina|last=Statt|first=Nick|date=June 4, 2019|website=[[The Verge]]|access-date=June 5, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116231757/https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/4/18652971/apple-macos-catalina-dashboard-widgets-removed-feature/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Widget support is reintroduced in [[macOS Sonoma]], released in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Porter |first1=Jon |title=Apple announces macOS Sonoma with game mode and support for desktop widgets |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/5/23745460/apple-macos-14-sonoma-features-updates-wwdc-2023 |website=The Verge |access-date=8 June 2023 |date=5 June 2023 |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605175034/https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/5/23745460/apple-macos-14-sonoma-features-updates-wwdc-2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> In macOS Sonoma, Apple has integrated the Dashboard with the Desktop. Users are still able to keep widgets in the Notification Center.