The Tips - Mac Kung Fu - page 128

hotkey, if your keyboard features it, or hit F12 ( FN +F12 if you're using a portable
Mac or Mac aluminum keyboard).
To activate desktop widgets, open a Terminal window (open Finder, select the
Applications list, and then in the list of applications double-click Terminal
within the UTILITIES folder), and then type the following at the command prompt:
DEFAULTS WRITE COM.APPLE.DASHBOARD DEVMODE -BOOL TRUE;KILLALL DOCK
The Dock will temporarily slide out of view and the wallpaper might vanish
for a second or two, but don't worry; they'll come back within seconds.
Using Desktop Widgets
To bring a Dashboard widget to the desktop, access the Dashboard by hitting
the keyboard hotkey or F12 ( FN + F12 on MacBooks or Mac aluminum keyboards).
For various reasons, this works only with new widgets you add, so open the
widget chooser (click the plus icon at the bottom left), double-click a widget
to add it to the Dashboard, and then click and hold the widget as if you're
going to move it to a new position. Then, while still holding the mouse button
down, hit F12 again (or FN +F12) and, hey, presto—you have a Dashboard icon
on the desktop.
To put the widget back on the Dashboard, simply repeat the procedure in
reverse—click and hold the widget on the desktop, hit F12 (or FN +F12) to start
the Dashboard, and then release the mouse button.
If any widgets don't appear after you drag them to the desktop, open a Termi-
nal window, and type KILLALLDOCK . This should make them visible.
To delete an individual widget, hold down OPTION , and then move the mouse
cursor over it. The small X icon will appear in the top left and, when clicked,
will cause the widget to vanish, just like when you're using widgets within
Dashboard normally.
Deactivating
To turn off desktop Dashboard icons later, open a Terminal window, and type
the following:
DEFAULTS DELETE COM.APPLE.DASHBOARD DEVMODE;KILLALL DOCK
Note that after making this change, any widgets left on your desktop will stick
around until you manually move them back to the Dashboard, in the inverse
of the procedure described previously—click and hold the widget that's on