exe with some command line options (while the host rainmeter app already running), which will cause all the existing rainmeter gadgets to become always-on-top, effectively making them into a dashboard. Rainmeter: A great app for widgets, but 1) you still have to minimize everything to get to it and 2) there does not seem to be a plugin/skin to display a directory's contents. You have to place shortucts into the rectangle one by one then. It lets you group your shortcuts into rectangles, but there isn't even an option to have a rectangle that will display a certain directory.

Stardock Fences: It only modifies the desktop, you still have to minimize all windows to get to it. Some options that I have discovered: (maybe there are plugins to them which will make the needed functionality?) (Not the shortcut to the directory, which can be done on the desktop.) Also, it automatically displays the desktop icons, which might not always be desirable (you can hide them completely with a desktop option, but what if you want to see them when you do open the desktop?), and having a dedicated dashboard would be the best anyway.Īlso it would be very nice if this dashboard program would support showing a contents of a specific directory (I know for example KDE can do that). You can kind-of achieve the same functionality by simply placing gadgets on the desktop and then Win+D each time you want to get to it, but seems way too slow (if there are many programs open that will require swapping when minimizing them). When you press the button again, the window dissapears, and you return to the exact state you were before. I mean the functionality that exists in for example MacOS or KDE, where you press a button, and a fullscreen window appears, on which you can manually define gadgets/elements.

Is there a good dashboard-like app for Windows?

Mac os dashboard widgets on desktop