Configuring the Dashboard

In Lesson 2, you learned how to use the Dashboard and the widgets it contains. In this section, you learn how to configure the Dashboard to make it as useful as it can be. Open the Dashboard, and do any or all of the following:

• Change widget locations. To change the location of a widget on the Dashboard, simply drag it to where you want it to appear.

• Configure widgets. Most widgets allow some configuration. For example, if the widget is location based, you can set the location you want to use. To configure a widget, hover over it and look for the i button; when it appears, click it. The widget moves into configuration mode. Use the configuration tools. When you’re finished, click Done to save your changes. The widget operates according to the configuration you set.

• Add widgets. To add a widget that is installed on your Mac to your Dashboard, open the Dashboard and click the Add button (+) in the lower-left corner of the Dashboard. The available widgets appear on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. You can browse the widgets by clicking the arrow buttons on each end. To add a widget to your Dashboard, drag the widget from the toolbar onto your Dashboard. You can place it anywhere on your Dashboard. Then, configure the widget you added.

• Remove widgets. To remove widgets from the Dashboard, open the widget toolbar by clicking the Add button (+). To remove a widget, click its remove button (x) located in the upper-left corner of the widget you want to remove. You can add the widgets again if you want to.

• Install new widgets. You can download and install new widgets from the Internet. To do this, open the widget toolbar and click the Manage Widgets button. In the Manage Widgets window, click More Widgets. Your Web browser opens and you move to the Dashboard widgets page. Browse for widgets in which you are interested. To download a widget, click its Download button. Click Install at the prompt. The widget is downloaded and installed on your Dashboard.