Widgets are becoming more and more fashionable and Apple devices seem to have finally found their way. Although there are many users who consider it secondary, the truth is that for others they can be tremendously useful elements with which to have information at a glance or even have direct accesses. That is why we will tell you in this article how you can use widgets on a Mac.
Necessary requirements for it
In old versions of macOS there are no widgets as such, but rather a kind of stickers with clocks, digital post-its and other very similar elements that were integrated into the one known as Dashboard. However, to have full access to the actual and updated widgets you must have a software version that is macOS 11 or later . This version called Big Sur has a certain compatibility for the following Macs:
- MacBook (2015 and later)
- MacBook Air (2013 and later)
- MacBook Pro (Late 2013 and later)
- Mac mini (2014 and later)
- Mac Pro (2013 and later)
- iMac (2014 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 and later)
Put and configure widgets on a Mac
If you meet the above requirements, you will be able to have full access to these widgets. Setting them up on your Mac is really simple, since you will only have to follow these steps:
- Open the notification panel. (Click on the date and time in the upper right).
- Click on “Edit widgets” at the bottom.
It is likely that by now you have already found a widget on the notifications panel and it is that by default some will appear already in place, but don’t worry if you don’t like them because you can modify it from the panel you have accessed.
On the left side of this panel, you will find all the applications that have a widget for macOS, as well as a search engine to search manually in the event that there are many apps that have these elements available.
In the central part the widgets will appear as they will be seen later. You can select them by clicking on them and they will automatically go to the right part of which we will talk later. The size of the widget can be chosen in most cases, since you will notice that at the bottom of these it says “P”, “M” and “G” in reference to it (Small, Medium and Large). You will have to select this size before clicking on the widget to place it.
On the right side there will be the notification panel and widgets in which they will appear whenever you open it. Automatically, the widgets you place will be placed at the bottom, but if instead of selecting them, you can drag them where you want. Also once they are fixed, you can move them by doing the same dragging gesture.
When you want to exit, all you have to do is click the “Accept” button at the bottom right. At that time you will have the notification panel and widgets ready to consult whenever you want, although you must remember the following that we discussed.
Limitations to consider
Although on an iPhone with iOS 14 or later it is possible to put the widgets anywhere on the screen, the truth is that on a Mac this is not the case. Unfortunately they are limited to a specific part of the system, from the aforementioned notification panel . This is not really a bad thing as such, since they are within easy reach with just one click and are still very useful to consult them frequently. However, they cannot be placed on the desktop, a place where only files and folders are stored, but which could be a more than interesting destination to add these visual elements.
What kinds of widgets are there?
The macOS Big Sur version not only brought with it functionalities adapted to the new Macs with Apple’s own chips, but visually it drinks much of what we have in the iPhone and iPad. If you have any of these devices, you may have already realized that the widgets are identical in design and even functions. They have a minimalist aesthetic and are identical in shape, regardless of whether they are native or third-party .
Precisely this last aspect is one of the most outstanding, since not only does Apple itself offer you the possibility of having widgets for its applications, but developers also have the possibility of adding their own. In addition to the applications that you use on your computer, you will be able to find some other program dedicated exclusively to providing you with widgets for Mac.