Getting Started with Dashboard Widgets

Dashboard widgets are mini applications that appear when users run Apple’s Dashboard application in Mac OS X v10.4 and later. A widget relies on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to perform a narrowly focused task in a visually pleasing way.

Start Here

To develop a Dashboard widget you need to:

Choose next how you want to get started—by reading about the basics, getting your hands on some code, or diving into specific technologies.

Want to get familiar with the fundamentals?

Prefer to learn by doing?

Want to find out how Dashboard widgets use the web technologies you know?

Go In Depth

Sometimes you need task-focused information or answers to specific questions to get started. Browse the popular tasks described below for a more targeted way to start development on your Dashboard widget.

Ready for More?

The Safari Reference Library holds plenty more resources that make your job easier. To narrow the list of resources, you can set filters to focus on specific resource types (such as guides or sample code) or on specific topics (such as user experience or data management).