Using widgets in OS X Yosemite's new Notification Center
With the introduction of OS X Yosemite, Notification Center moves beyond notifications aggregation to include a completely new interactive Today view borrowed from iOS, widgets and a refreshed user interface.
Looking first at Notification Center's new look, the pull-out is no longer a "drawer" that shifts the entire desktop to the left when invoked, but instead produces a translucent pane that lays on top of icons and open apps, revealing a bit of color from what's below. The result is a look more in line with Yosemite's layered aesthetic, which uses transparency to create a sense of depth.
Like the old Notification Center, Yosemite's version is activated with the same two-finger left swipe from the edge of a multitouch trackpad, or a click on the dedicated icon positioned on the right of the menu bar. Alternatively, when notifications come in, users can click on the pop-in window to open the app associated with the alert.
With Yosemite, Apple finally brings over the Today view first seen in iOS 7, adding quick and easy access to a host of new tools. Like the iOS version, Yosemite's Today view includes widgets for the date, calendar, multi-time zone clock, social media, stock ticker, reminders, calculator, weather and tomorrow's events. For Mac, many of these widgets previously lived in Dashboard -- and still do -- meaning users had to switch Spaces to access their features.
At the bottom of the Today view is a static "Edit" button for adding and deleting widgets, including those made available by third-party developers. Clicking "Edit" will pull out a column containing a list of all available widgets and controls for turning them on and off. In addition, handles for repositioning currently active widgets appear when customizing the Today pane.
As in iOS, activated widgets can be tweaked or customized by clicking on the small "i" information icon. For example, additional clocks can be added in Apple's Clock widget through this mechanism.
Developers are already adding widget support to their apps, including notable standouts 1Password, PCalc and Junecloud's Deliveries, which now functions as a true standalone product.
Extensibility support from major developers means powerful interactive widgets are coming and will only be a swipe away. In many ways, Notification Center's Today view is quickly making the old Dashboard feature obsolete.
Looking first at Notification Center's new look, the pull-out is no longer a "drawer" that shifts the entire desktop to the left when invoked, but instead produces a translucent pane that lays on top of icons and open apps, revealing a bit of color from what's below. The result is a look more in line with Yosemite's layered aesthetic, which uses transparency to create a sense of depth.
Like the old Notification Center, Yosemite's version is activated with the same two-finger left swipe from the edge of a multitouch trackpad, or a click on the dedicated icon positioned on the right of the menu bar. Alternatively, when notifications come in, users can click on the pop-in window to open the app associated with the alert.
With Yosemite, Apple finally brings over the Today view first seen in iOS 7, adding quick and easy access to a host of new tools. Like the iOS version, Yosemite's Today view includes widgets for the date, calendar, multi-time zone clock, social media, stock ticker, reminders, calculator, weather and tomorrow's events. For Mac, many of these widgets previously lived in Dashboard -- and still do -- meaning users had to switch Spaces to access their features.
At the bottom of the Today view is a static "Edit" button for adding and deleting widgets, including those made available by third-party developers. Clicking "Edit" will pull out a column containing a list of all available widgets and controls for turning them on and off. In addition, handles for repositioning currently active widgets appear when customizing the Today pane.
As in iOS, activated widgets can be tweaked or customized by clicking on the small "i" information icon. For example, additional clocks can be added in Apple's Clock widget through this mechanism.
Developers are already adding widget support to their apps, including notable standouts 1Password, PCalc and Junecloud's Deliveries, which now functions as a true standalone product.
Extensibility support from major developers means powerful interactive widgets are coming and will only be a swipe away. In many ways, Notification Center's Today view is quickly making the old Dashboard feature obsolete.
Comments
Dashboard always felt clunky to me, not sorry to see that it's going away.
I use the dashboard A LOT. I'd also hate to see Apple get rid of it.
quamb: a lot of critics think it's on the way out, but a little bird tells me that Apple itself uses it extensively for internal purposes, and is quite happy with it where it is.
Did you really clean the vacuum filter? :P
It's already replaced Dashboard for me. I used the Calculator, weather and world clock on Dashboard, all of which this has. The only thing that would be nice is a translator widget.
I don't understand where to add 3rd party widgets.
They come from the app store. Click on the "Great apps for OS X Yosemite" banner in the app store and there are some there.
Did you really clean the vacuum filter? :P
No.
System Preferences can be tweaked (click on "Mission Control") to set it to OFF, as an overlay (press F12 key to view it and again to dismiss it) or as a separate Mission Control page.
I tried the Yahoo weather widget in notifications and found it to be poorly integrated and a stylistic mismatch. Deleted it after 2 minutes.
When I opened my notification centre and clicked the button "edit"...I could the calculator and the clock widgets! Can someone tell me why?? If possible can someone tell me how I can get those widgets? Thank you so much!!
I have just updated the new OS X Yosemite...I love it but seems like there is a small problem.
When I opened my notification centre and clicked the button "edit"...I could the calculator and the clock widgets! Can someone tell me why?? If possible can someone tell me how I can get those widgets? Thank you so much!!
I have the same problem - no widgets turn up, when I click edit - I cannot even see my calendar
Maybe look in System Preferences, Extensions icon, Today item, and make sure the ones you want are selected.