Editing Dashboard (macOS) (section)

==Creation of widgets==
Dashboard widgets are created using [[Hypertext Markup Language]] (HTML), [[Cascading Style Sheets]] (CSS), and [[JavaScript]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CxY3lNQTATQC&q=Dashboard+widgets&pg=PA3|title=JavaScript: The Missing Manual: The Missing Manual|last=McFarland|first=David Sawyer|date=2008-07-21|publisher="O'Reilly Media, Inc."|isbn=9780596555306|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=CxY3lNQTATQC&q=Dashboard+widgets&pg=PA3|url-status=live}}</ref> Because the same languages are used for creating [[websites]], many web [[Software developer|developers]] can already build them. Widgets themselves are, at the core, simply HTML files that are displayed within the Dashboard layer; they use the [[WebKit]] application framework that is also used in Apple's [[Safari (web browser)|Safari]] web browser, meaning even users running earlier versions of macOS — where Dashboard is unavailable — can build them. There is widget [[API]] allows the widgets to use Mac-specific interface elements such as the Apple Slider.<ref name="auto"/>

When a Dashboard widget is built, it usually consists of six files:

* The widget's HTML file, which is the actual file that will be displayed in the Dashboard layer
* The widget's CSS file, which is used for styling the widget (but is called on from the HTML file)
* The widget's JavaScript file, although it may be implemented directly within the HTML file if the developer desires
* The widget's Property List (called “Info.plist”), which is what Dashboard uses to load the widget’s properties (i.e.: name, version, HTML file, etc.)
* The background image of the widget, in PNG format
* The [[icon (computing)|icon]] that is displayed in the menu bar

Once all of these files are in the root of a directory, it is given a name and the extension ".wdgt", and then it can be opened up in Dashboard as a widget. More complex widgets may also include a [[Cocoa (software)|Cocoa]] widget plugin (for platform-specific functionality), one or more JavaScript files (for text scrolling, preferences, etc.) or multiple images (for personalized select menus or buttons).

[[Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard]] includes an application called [[Dashcode]], which is a more user-friendly way of creating widgets. Another new feature of Leopard is called "Web Clip" which lets users easily create widgets from parts of a webpage.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S0AnCgAAQBAJ&q=Mac+OS+X+Leopard+%22web+clip%22&pg=PA72|title=Getting StartED with Mac OS X Leopard|last=Williams|first=Justin|date=2008-03-11|publisher=Apress|isbn=9781430205197|language=en|access-date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=April 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424233922/https://books.google.com/books?id=S0AnCgAAQBAJ&q=Mac+OS+X+Leopard+%22web+clip%22&pg=PA72|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, during the WWDC 2007 keynote, Steve Jobs made widgets out of the following: the featured news headlines on [[Yahoo!|Yahoo.com]], the top ten most searched terms on [[Google]], the Photo of the Day on [[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]], the ''[[Dilbert]]'' comic strip, and the box office information from [[Rotten Tomatoes]]. The user can also customize the border to further personalize the widgets.