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How To Get The Dashboard Back In Apple OS X El Capitan

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This article is more than 8 years old.

Update: Oops they did it again! Did you install macOS Sierra only to find your Dashboard kaput? Don't worry. I've got you covered.

They tried to kill it with OS X Yosemite and Apple is continuing it's assault by automatically disabling the Dashboard in it's latest OS X release, El Capitan.

What's the Dashboard? Introduced way back in OS X's "Big Cat" days with Tiger, the Dashboard is a space for a collection of personalized widgets that run in the background. They're easily accessible via a four-finger swipe to the left and provide a host of handy tools like a calculator, translator and unit converter, not to mention weather forecasts, current radar, package tracking and tons more. Think of it as a junk drawer for your computer; but one where you can find everything and the things in it are actually useful.

The problem is, the Dashboard is an old concept, one that Apple doesn't really support anymore. Third-party widgets are no longer cultivated on the Dashboard Widgets page and only the most dedicated of developers still provide updates (thank you Radar In Motion!). A lot of the Dashboard's functionality has been relegated to the "two-finger-swipe-from-the-right" Notifications Center. And, while the Notification Center is nice, it doesn't necessarily give me all the info I want at a glance, nor does it give me the functionality I need.

So those of you dismayed by the rubber-banding screen that greeted you after upgrading to El Capitan and swiping to the left, don't despair! Here's how to get the Dashboard back in three easy steps.

1. Head to Mission Control

Open the System Preferences and launch Mission Control.

(Photo by Anthony Karcz)

2. Re-enable Dashboard

See that vile Off status in the Dashboard drop-down? That's our target.

Oh, so that's how we're gonna play it? (Photo by Anthony Karcz)

Pop open the drop-down and select As Space.

Reparo Dashboard! (Photo by Anthony Karcz)

3. Bask in Widgety Glory

OK, so there really isn't a step three. But once you've re-enabled the Dashboard as a space, you can swipe left and breathe a little sigh of relief as all your widgets launch as normal. Your obsessive radar watching, stock checking and package stalking habits have been preserved.

At least until the next OS X release.

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