A Guide on Concealing or Deactivating the Dashboard in OS X

Hey there! Today, I’m going to share with you some useful tips on how to hide or disable the Dashboard feature in OS X. I know it can be a bit confusing, but don’t worry, I’ll guide you through it step by step.

So, let’s jump right in. The Dashboard is a handy feature in OS X that allows you to quickly access widgets like a calculator, weather forecasts, and even a dictionary. It’s like having a mini toolbox right at your fingertips. However, there may be times when you don’t need or want this feature, which is where hiding or disabling it comes into play.

To get started, open up your System Preferences by clicking on the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and selecting “System Preferences.” Once you’re there, look for the “Mission Control” icon and click on it. This is where all the magic happens.

Now, you’ll see a checkbox that says “Show dashboard as a space.” By unchecking this box, you will hide the Dashboard from your desktop and prevent it from appearing as a separate space when you use Mission Control. This means that the widgets won’t be easily accessible in the same way as before.

But wait, there’s more! If you want to go a step further and completely disable the Dashboard, you can do that too. Just scroll down a bit and locate the dropdown menu that says “Dashboard.” Click on it, and you will see three options: “Off,” “As Space,” and “As Overlay.”

By selecting “Off,” you’ll effectively disable the Dashboard feature. No more widgets, no more distractions. It’s like it was never there to begin with.

Alternatively, you can choose “As Space” to keep the Dashboard available, but separate from your desktop. And if you prefer a more minimalistic approach, “As Overlay” will display the Dashboard widgets directly over your current desktop.

Remember, the choice is entirely up to you. Experiment with different options and find the setup that suits your workflow and preferences best.

That’s it! With these simple steps, you can easily hide or disable the Dashboard feature in OS X. I hope this guide has been helpful to you. Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Happy computing!

When Apple introduced OS X 10.4 Tiger during WWDC 2004, one of the main highlights of the new operating system was Dashboard. Mac fans were amazed by the sleek interface that displayed useful widgets, and the company quickly allowed third parties to develop widgets.
Now, 10 years later, Dashboard is not a priority for most OS X users. The rival app, Konfabulator, is long gone, and Apple has neglected its widget download page. Most of the information that was once efficiently gathered through Dashboard, such as stock prices, sports scores, and weather updates, is now usually delivered through smartphones, tablets, and new OS X features like Notification Center.

If you still use Dashboard, the good news is that Apple seems fine with letting it quietly stick around, even in the latest developer builds of OS X Yosemite. But if you no longer find the once-exciting feature useful, you can disable it to simplify your user experience and possibly save some system resources. Here’s how to disable Dashboard in OS X.

Related: Still use and love Dashboard? Find out how to manage it as part of Mission Control.

Hide the Dashboard Space from Mission Control

If you want to keep Dashboard, but just don’t want to see it in Mission Control, you can hide the Dashboard space in System Preferences.

Go to System Preferences > Mission Control and uncheck the box labeled “Show Dashboard as a Space.” You won’t need to reboot, log out, or restart any system processes; the Dashboard space will disappear from Mission Control immediately.

This method removes Dashboard from Mission Control, but you can still access the app through its Dock icon or by directly launching it. In this case, the Dashboard widgets will appear on top of your Desktop when launched, instead of being confined to the Dashboard space.

Disable Dashboard Completely

If you never use Dashboard and want to get rid of it altogether, you can disable it with a Terminal command. Launch Terminal and enter the following command:

defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES; killall Dock

Your Dock will briefly reload and you’ll notice that Dashboard is now gone from Mission Control (if you hadn’t already hidden it using the steps above). While the Dashboard app will still be on your Mac, it won’t run if you try to open it. Your Mac sees Dashboard as obsolete.
But don’t worry. If you change your mind and want to bring Dashboard back, simply run the following command in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean NO; killall Dock

Just as quickly as it disappeared earlier, Dashboard will be restored. It’s important to note that these Terminal commands respect your System Preferences settings. In other words, if you had previously chosen to hide Dashboard from Mission Control, and then disabled and reenabled Dashboard, it would still be hidden in Mission Control after you reactivate it.