Put your calendar, reminders or weather right on your Mac desktop

Why it happens

Widgets are small live panels that show information from an app without opening it, like today's events, your to-do list or the forecast. They can sit right on your desktop, but your Mac doesn't add them for you. You pick them from the widget gallery and place them yourself.

How to fix it

1. Find a bare patch of wallpaper. If windows cover it, move them aside for a moment.

2. Hold Control and click the wallpaper (or click with two fingers on a trackpad), then choose Edit Widgets.

   Desktop›Control-click›Edit Widgets

3. The widget gallery opens at the bottom of the screen. Click an app in its list, like Calendar, Reminders, Weather, Notes, Photos or Clock, or search for it.

4. Pick a size from the options shown, then drag the widget onto your desktop where you'd like it.

5. Click Done when you're finished. To move a widget later, simply drag it to a new spot.

Still not fixed?

1. Widget showing the wrong calendar, list or place? Control-click it and choose the Edit option for that widget, then pick what it should show.

2. If widgets you added have vanished from the desktop, check that On Desktop is ticked next to Show Widgets in Desktop & Dock settings.

   Desktop & Dock›Widgets›Show Widgets

3. To remove one, Control-click the widget and choose Remove Widget.

4. If a widget stays blank or never updates, open its app once and restart your Mac. If it's still blank after that, contact Apple Support.