Turning off the Widgets in the dock

Hi, WA.

This answer depends on what you mean by "the dock." I'm assuming the Dock, since you stated "dock" not the Widget Bar.

Given that, I read your question to mean that you want to use the Dashboard icon in the Dock to close a Widget, similar to how one can switch to an open window in a given application from that application's Dock icon, or Quit/Hide an application from its Dock icon. Correct?

If that's the case, then the answer is no: you have to open Dashboard to close a widget.

You don't need to disable widgets as JDee suggested in order to close them and save the RAM and VM they are using. If there's a widget open on the Dashboard and you no longer want it active, simply close it:

1. Open Dashboard.

2. Either:

• Click the ➕ in the lower-left corner of Dashboard. Click the (X) in the upper-left corner of each widget you want to close. Close Dashboard.

• Press and hold the Option key, then mouse over a Widget you want to close. Click the (X) in the Widget's upper-left corner and it will close. Mouse over and close additional widgets as desired. Release the Option key. Close Dashboard.

If you use the Widget Manager (Widgets widget) as JDee suggested, then you are removing the widget from the Widget Bar, meaning you'll have to enable the widget in the Widget Manager before you can use that widget again in the future.

Widgets only consume RAM and VM when they are on the Dashboard. They consume neither RAM nor VM simply by being in the Widget Bar: that simply lists installed widgets which are available to be placed on the Dashboard (activated).

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

I don't want the widgets to steal any memory away from my mac while I'm using Garageband. Will unchecking the widgets do this?

Yup.

Un-checking the widgets in the Widget Manager will disable them and remove them from the Widget Bar. See: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh2251.html

Disabled widgets will not consume any memory resources.

-- JDee

WarriorAnt wrote:

"Ok then how about dashboard itself? it that taking up my memory?"

Very little, a couple of 1-2 MB of RAM at most. Given how well Mac OS X manages virtual memory (VM), as Al noted, this is insignificant.

If you look in Activity Monitor, you will see there is no process for Dashboard. There are processes for active widgets, but nothing for Dashboard itself. This is because the code for Dashboard is actually implemented within the Dock. So is Exposé.

If you either:

- restart your Mac; or
- quit the Dock process in Activity Monitor (it will relaunch automatically);

and then look at the Dock process in Activity Monitor, you'll get one reading for Dock's use of RAM and VM. If you then press F12 to launch Dashboard, the values in the RAM and VM columns of Activity Monitor for Dock will increase a tiny bit. This will also launch the processes for any widgets you've activated in Dashboard.

If you never launch Dashboard after you startup your Mac, it consumes no discernible memory.

If you want to permanently disable Dashboard, there are third-party utilities to do this, such as DisableTigerFeatures, which can also disable Spotlight's processes.

You've never stated how much RAM is installed in your eMac. That would be good information to add to your Apple ID Profile using the "My Settings" link in the upper-right side of this Web page.

If you have the minimum required (256 MB) or or minimum recommended (512 MB) physical RAM needed for Mac OS X and GarageBand, disabling Dashboard itself will buy you little in the way of added performance since your RAM is already so low — especially if you have just 256 MB — that there will be a good bit of VM swapping: applications like GarageBand can be quite resource intensive.

You can learn more about Mac OS X memory management by reading my "Problems from insufficient RAM and free hard disk space" FAQ.

You can find some other suggestions for improving Mac OS X performance in my my "Tuning Mac OS X Performance" FAQ.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

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I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Hi WarriorAnt --

I want to turn off my widgets in the dock to save memory. Is this possible?

Yes. Click on Dashboard. Then click on the Plus Sign in the circle at the far left-hand side. Then click on the Widget Manager widget, which should also be at the far left-hand side.

When the Widget Manager opens, you'll see all of the widgets you currently have installed. Just uncheck the boxes next to the widgets you don't want to consume memory to disable those widgets. (Uncheck all the boxes to deactivate all the widgets. You can always go back and check some to reactivate them later if you want.)

To make sure that it's worked, you can go to Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor, click on the "system memory" button and check your memory usage. It should no longer show the deactivated widgets as consuming any memory.

__ JDee

JDee wrote:

"Disabled widgets will not consume any memory resources."

Neither do inactive widgets, i.e. those which have either been activated and then closed, or those that are simply in the Widget Bar but have not been activated.

If the objective is to "save memory" (by which I presume you mean RAM and VM — Virtual Memory — here), it is wholly unnecessary to disable widgets in the Widget Manager.

The only widgets that consume RAM and VM are those you have activated: either double-clicked in the Widget Bar or dragged from the Widget Bar onto the Dashboard space. These are the widgets that are active and displaying data when you open Dashboard.

Removing a widget from the Widget Bar by disabling it in the Widget Manger saves nothing: all it does is change the enabled property value for the disabled widget in your com.apple.dashboard.plist file from Yes to No.

So, if you're looking to conserve RAM and VM, close active widgets.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Continuing to battle away with his straw man, Dr. Smoke emphatically wrote:

it is wholly unnecessary to disable widgets in the Widget Manager.

JDee never said anything about it being necessary.

JDee was asked, simply, whether un-checking the widgets will stop them from consuming memory resources.

JDee correctly answered that un-checking them would disable them and remove them from the Widget Bar, and that disabled widgets do not consume memory resources.

So, if you're looking to conserve RAM and Virtual Memory and remove your unused widgets from the Widget Bar, then disable your widgets in the Widget Manager by un-checking the boxes next to them on the left-hand side of the manager.

-- JDee

JDee wrote:

"JDee correctly answered that un-checking them would disable them and remove them from the Widget Bar, and that disabled widgets do not consume memory resources."

This is incorrect. If you disable a widget that is merely in the Widget Bar, it has no effect on RAM or VM.

Only active widgets — those running on Dashboard — consume RAM and VM. Closing an active widget is all that is required.

Unchecking an active widget in the Widget Manager also deactivates it, but further removes it from the Widget Bar. If you later want to use that widget again, you have to go through the additional steps of relaunching the Widgets widget, enabling the widget, then reactivating the widget. Those are extra steps which buy you nothing vs. simply closing the active widget w.r.t. saving RAM and VM.

For many users here they'd forget they disabled the Widget. Months later, after this thread had faded from memory, they'd go to open some widget disabled in the Widgets Manager via your method, then think something was amiss with their Mac. Minutes later they'd be back here posting "Help: My xyz widget is gone!"

If you look in Activity Monitor, the only widgets using RAM and VM are those which have been activated. Those in the Widget Bar which have not been launched or activated are consuming no resources. Disabling them by unchecking them in the Widgets widget does nothing to RAM or VM use. It doesn't even free disk space: merely changes the setting w.r.t the widget being available in the Widget Bar in the previuosly-cited Dashboard preferences file.

The simplest and most elegant solution is to simply close the widgets you do not want to use. This saves steps and may save confusion down the road.

QED.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Not through with his straw man, Dr. Smoke strikes yet another blow for sophists everywhere by mischaracterizing JDee's post in order to critique it.

JDee never talked about disabling a widget that is merely in the widget bar.

The OP's second post in this thread reads as follows, Dr. Smoke:

I don't want the widgets to steal any memory away from my mac while I'm using Garageband. Will unchecking the widgets do this?

JDee's responded, "Yup." Simple and elegant and accurate.

That answer was correct, and no matter how speciously you insist otherwise, that fact remains.

That you prefer another solution, Doctor, does not make the alternative incorrect. Your solution has merit, and no one's ever said anything to the contrary, but either solution will accomplish for the OP exactly what he wants, either solution will stop his widgets from consuming memory resources.

Please, you've made your case -- in excruciating detail several times running now -- and the OP seems satisfied with the information presented. So what say you we let this thread die a merciful and longer overdue peaceful death.

Finis.

You wrote:

"but either solution will accomplish for the OP exactly what he wants, either solution will stop his widgets from consuming memory resources."

Your solution has side effects. Mine does not.

Simply answering the exact question asked with the first thing that comes to mind is one approach to answering questions.

Thinking ahead and considering potential side effects is a far better approach. That's my approach, and why my recommendation is better: it doesn't merely answer the question, it considers the side effects and avoids them. That is the essence of providing a complete answer.

I claim victory and depart the field. 😉

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

There is one more thing I did not get a chance to share;
I will restart my computer before beginning a more concentrated work period with Garageband or similar apps. This resets Widgets to a none open status along with a few other things. As long as I do not open Widgets for a 1st time since the restart, their use of memory and CPU is nil. Thus I do not rearrange them just to satisfy memory utilization, I just restart the computer as that resets more than just Widgets. Then, should I need to see a Widget mid-work, I use WidgetKiller (as I posted above) when I am done and that nixes Widgets from memory or CPU use.

alright guys settle it like men and duke it out in the school yard at recess 😉 anyways just thought ur last bit of the post was amusing..not very helpful tho 😉 try to save the arguements for the schoolyard

Perhaps what we need to examine here is why the concern over memory? Are you getting low memory errors with certain apps or function?

The reason I mention this is that the OS dynamically allocates memory to each process that requests it. When it is not needed by that process or application then that memory is free for use by another application or process. the system has some excellent memory handling routines. Something must be happening for you to have this concern. Maybe if we knew what was driving your concerns over memory we would be better able to help.

To answer your question, I can't see where dashboard is taking up any memory as long as no widgets are active. There is no entry for Dashboard in the Activity Monitor. To test this I opened dashboard and the four widgets that I have active each showed an entry in the Activity Monitor. They were listed as Dashboard Weather Widget and so on. When I quit each of those widgets the entry disappeared from the activity monitor and when all of the widgets were closed there were no entries for Dashboard in the activity monitor. Of course it may be there under a different name and I just don't realize it, or it may just be included as part of the finder's overall memory use.

I may not be correct but if Doc Smoke comes back, he is the poster I would tend to put the most faith in. He is highly intelligent and incredibly knowledgeable about these things. Not that others aren't of course. There are huge numbers of people here with outstanding knowledge. I have just come to trust in his advice over the years as it has been correct, thorough, and well thought out.

Then again, there is always Widget killer.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/widgetkiller.html

harmz