Catalina

[bootsontrail]

I upgraded my Mac OS to Catalina.

Before I did that, when I pressed the scroll button, Calculator, Calendar, Measures Conversions, Local Weather and one or two other convenient apps came up on the desktop.

Now that no longer happens.

I can go to the Apps folder and open Calendar and Calculator individually, but I don't see how to create the previous OS's array of apps and display them by pressing the scroll button.

 

[MacInWin]

That was called the "dashboard" and they were widgets on the dashboard, most likely. Catalina does away with both, I have heard. I don't know what the replacements are, sorry.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Dashboard widgets went away quite a while from Mac. Click on the icon on the top right of your Menu bar next to the Spotlight magnifying glass that looks has 3 dots and lines on it. That's the Notification Center, you'll find a number of those widgets there now.

 

[MacInWin]

Ashwin, the dashboard and widgets are there in Mojave, 10.14.6. They disappeared only in Catalina.

 

[MacInWin]

Here is my dashboard as evidence:

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Oops, haven't used the dashboard for a long time. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[krs]

I use several different widgets in dashboard several times a day - I can't believe Apple decided to just eliminate that in Catalina.

Now I wonder what else was quietly deleted in Catalina.....and how to possibly bring the functionality back.

I think a separate thread to just focus on features deleted in Catalina (and possible replacements) might be useful.

 

[bootsontrail]

Good idea about a thread for features deleted from Catalina and possible replacements.

Dashboard was a super-convenient tool. Why it was scratched is baffling.

But then changing the USB port to one that requires an adapter to let existing USB devices work, eliminating the CD/DVD drive from desktops and laptops and requiring Mac users to buy peripherals, eliminating the orange-to-green light from the laptop charger cord and requiring the user to open the lid (which can no longer be done with one hand) and wait for the battery icon to come up and display the charge level — these and other changes were also baffling.

It's as if Apple is trying to make the machines harder, less convenient and more expensive to use.

 

[honestone33]

I use several different widgets in dashboard several times a day - I can't believe Apple decided to just eliminate that in Catalina.

Now I wonder what else was quietly deleted in Catalina.....and how to possibly bring the functionality back.

I think a separate thread to just focus on features deleted in Catalina (and possible replacements) might be useful.

You took the words right out of my mouth, regarding a separate thread about "features" in Catalina. I just saw an interesting post on Macworld - News, tips, and reviews from the Apple experts about 8 hidden features of Catalina, and one of them (at least for me) is very pertinent.

 

[chscag]

Dashboard was a super-convenient tool. Why it was scratched is baffling.

Not baffling at all. It was one of the least used utilities of macOS according to Apple and most other folks who post to forums. Convenient for you perhaps, but not for most other users. So Apple killed it off.

 

[MacInWin]

I agree about the fact it was least used. I also put LaunchPad in that category. Never use it, don't see any point to it. Maybe Apple will kill it off, too.

But I'll miss the widgets I loved, particularly the screenshot one. Very handy to be able to get a quick shot without having to learn some keyboard combination. Oh, well, back to the memory work...

 

[krs]

Not baffling at all. It was one of the least used utilities of macOS according to Apple and most other folks who post to forums. Convenient for you perhaps, but not for most other users. So Apple killed it off.

I wonder how Apple decided it was one of the least used utilities - I hope they are not monitoring every click I make on my Mac.

Maybe they decided nobody uses it in the same manner they decided nobody was using "Save As...." a few years back;D;D;D;D

 

[honestone33]

I agree about the fact it was least used. I also put LaunchPad in that category. Never use it, don't see any point to it. Maybe Apple will kill it off, too.

But I'll miss the widgets I loved, particularly the screenshot one. Very handy to be able to get a quick shot without having to learn some keyboard combination. Oh, well, back to the memory work...

Same with me.

 

[pm-r]

Maybe they decided nobody uses it in the same manner they decided nobody was using "Save As...." a few years back

LOL...but NOT!!! That was one BAD OS X change decision!!


- Patrick
======

 

[krs]

I just took a look at the apps in my "Utilities" app folder.
There are exactly 30 items in there, Dashboard is not even one of them (it's in the main app folder)
But of the 30 in the utilities folder, the only one I use about as often as Dashboard is Grab.
All the other ones I use a lot less, some of them I have never used.

 

[MacInWin]

Well, first they slowed and eventually abandoned the development of widgets. They moved some of the functionality into the OS through other things, like hot corners and then Siri. Now most of what was useful about widgets is on the iPhone (or most smartphones), like weather, time, calculator, etc. I nursed my dashboard through as widgets died from lack of support, but the screen capture one I really will miss when it's gone.

 

[chscag]

Maybe they decided nobody uses it in the same manner they decided nobody was using "Save As...." a few years back

Save As has not been removed. Just hold down your "Option" key when you press save. It continues to work for Pages and other Apple apps.

Yes, it's not visible if that's what you mean. But then again, if you've been using Macs as long as you claim, you should know Apple does make changes; albeit sometimes making things less visible and perhaps harder for those who are used to old methods.

 

[krs]

Save As has not been removed. Just hold down your "Option" key when you press save. It continues to work for Pages and other Apple apps.

Yes, it's not visible if that's what you mean. But then again, if you've been using Macs as long as you claim, you should know Apple does make changes; albeit sometimes making things less visible and perhaps harder for those who are used to old methods.

I realize it was never completely removed, but adding the extra operation of having to hold down the option key didn't make any sense to me for a function I think most of us use dozens of times a day.
But did Apple not bring it back? It's certainly in my 'drop-down' in ElCapitan right now - maybe I just enabled it permanently somehow - can't remember.
However, it looks as if Dashboard is gone for good.

 

[MacInWin]

for a function I think most of us use dozens of times a day.

Really? Dozens? I used it maybe once a week, more often less than that. And pressing the Option key to get it to appear was pretty painless. There are a lot of features available with the Option key.

 

[krs]

Really? Dozens? I used it maybe once a week, more often less than that. And pressing the Option key to get it to appear was pretty painless. There are a lot of features available with the Option key.

I wonder if we are talking about the same thing.
My typical use is when I scan an image or otherwise download an image and then modify it in some way.
I always use "Save As..." to save the modification with some small change to the original image name, like an _s5 added to indicate I sharpened it by 0.5 of the max amount or _hdr to indicate I enhanced it with HDR, _1200 to indicate the picture was reduced to 1200 pixels etc.
Thus keeping the original and all the various changes so that I can go back to any one of them requires me to go through 8 to 10 of these for a single image.
Once I'm happy with the final result and I don't need to redo any intermediate steps, I delete all the intermediate images.

So dozens of times a day is not an exxageration - "Save As..." is probably the function I use the most almost every day depending on what I'm doing.