Locating widgets on the HD

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Locating widgets on the HD

Got a new iMac with Lion. Downloaded a widget from the Apple widget site (called Metronome).

Installed on my computer and it pops up with the other pre-installed widgets. When I search in spotlight to see where this file was placed, it does not show up. I can find all the pre-installed widgets in the Library but this one does not show up - at least Spotlight and myself could not find it. Called Apple help and the fellow couldn't help me. Anybody got any idea how to locate it in the Finder window? thanks

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 21.5", 8GB memory,

Posted on Jan 4, 2012 8:48 PM

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Answer 1

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iSumanth

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40 points

Jan 4, 2012 9:23 PM in response to mrmal

Widgets are located in one of two areas: /Library/Widgets and ~/Library/Widgets(Your user library is different from system library) – but that’s not always the case. If you download a widget onto your desktop and double-click it, you’ll launch that widget directly from your desktop, and while you’ll see it in the Dashboard, it will never show up in the Widget Bar.

So place the downloaded widget from safari downloads location to your user library/widgets and launch it from there.

Hope this helps!

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Answer 2

mrmal Author

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Jan 5, 2012 7:55 PM in response to iSumanth

Thanks for your reply. I downloaded the "Metronome" widget from the Apple site. I am not sure where it downloaded to but I ran it and it appeared in my dashboard. It does appear in the Dashboard Bar and is up on my screen when I open Dashboard. I believe it was downloaded to the "Download" folder but I have deleted it and emptied my trash bin. I know I didn't copy it to a Widget folder. But it is in my Dashboard Bar but not in my Widget folder. I have only one Widget folder which is is in Macintosh HD/Library/Widgets. There is no Widgets folder in the Sysyem/Library folder.

So is the Metronome widget on my hard drive somewhere; any idea where to look for it. The reason I am trying to find the location because I have a few widgets on my old iMac that I can't seem to find anymore on the apple widget page so I was going to copy them to my new iMac, if I know where to place them.

When I go to my Dashboard and click on "Manage Widgets" the Metronome widget has a red circle beside it with a minus sign. This is the only widget with this marking. Why the special marking for this widget.

I tried to copy a widget from my old iMac into the Widget folder on the new iMac and I got a warning so I backed off.

Hope you can help me .

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Answer 3

mrmal Author

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Jan 5, 2012 8:24 PM in response to mrmal

Further to my earlier reply, I just downloaded another widget "Google Search". It installed fight from the Apple widget page, it's in my Widget bar but not in any folder on my hard drive where I can find it. Spotlight doesn't find it either. It also has the minus sign in a red circle which I believe is how you would delete the widget if you didn't want it - correst? Are these widgets running over the WEB? I thought about unplugging my ethernet cable but haven't done it yet.

gord

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Answer 4

iSumanth

Level 1

40 points

Jan 6, 2012 12:15 AM in response to mrmal

There are two things you need to know -

(A)*Spotlight won't search system folders in order to protect Mac OS from deleting important Files.

(B)When I said in the earlier message "~/Library/Widgets(Your user library is different from system library)"

It means library in your user folder which is denoted by this symbol "~" By default library folder of user will be hidden. .

Now Follow this process -

1. Open Finder

2. Now while holding "Option Key" click "Go" on the menubar.

3. Now you will able to see hidden library. Click it.

4. Now go to widget folder in it.

5. Here is the place where all your custom widgets are located other than default widgets.

6. Now after downloading any widget go to download folder and move the widget to above spefied folder and run it.

7. Now it should pop up in widget bar as well as in widgets.

8. Now these files won't be found in spotlight because as I mentioned earlier. You can't search system files.

Hope this helps!

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Answer 5

mrmal Author

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Jan 6, 2012 7:33 PM in response to iSumanth

Worked great. Thanks so very much.

gord

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Answer 6

Aug 11, 2012 11:15 AM in response to mrmal

Thanks for the answer!!

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