Adding and arranging widgets

Widgets come from the Widget Manager. Open it from the ⋮ menu with Add Widgets, or from Add your first widget if your board is still empty. On a phone you get there through Edit Widgets and then Add Widget.

1. 1

   Pick a widget

   The list on the left groups widgets by what they are for. Tap one and its description and available sizes appear beside it. Widgets already on your board are marked Added.

2. 2

   Pick a size

   Each size is drawn as a miniature of the real card, at the same scale, so a tall one and a wide one are honestly comparable. Bigger is not just bigger: most widgets show genuinely different content at each size.

3. 3

   Add it

   Press Add to Dashboard. If the widget is already on your board the button reads Update Widget instead, and it changes that card's size rather than adding a second copy.

Rearranging happens in edit mode. Open the ⋮ menu and choose Edit Widgets, or just press and hold any card for a moment. The cards wobble to tell you they are loose, controls appear on each one, and a bar of buttons appears at the bottom of the screen.

That bar holds Add Widget, Delete All and Done editing. Done editing is an exit, not a save. Everything you do is already kept, so leaving edit mode never loses a change and there is no confirmation to chase.

Once you are in edit mode, drag a card wherever you want it. The other cards shuffle out of the way as you go, and a dashed outline shows where it will land when you let go. If you drop a card somewhere it cannot fit, Maelo puts it in the nearest free space rather than overlapping something.

Dragging on a phone is fiddly, so every card also has a move control. Tap it and a four way pad appears that nudges the card one cell at a time. Slower, but it lands where you meant every time.

To resize, tap the small chip on the card showing its current size, such as 2×2. That opens the list of sizes that widget supports, and picking one reshapes the card in place. Only sizes that fit your screen are offered, which is why the list is shorter on a phone.

In edit mode each card carries an X. Tap it and the card goes, and the rest of the board closes the gap. Nothing behind the widget is affected: removing the Notes card does not delete your notes, and removing Client Requests does not touch a single enquiry.

Delete All in the edit bar clears the whole board at once. It asks first and tells you how many cards it is about to remove. Use it when you want to start again from a blank canvas rather than pruning one card at a time.

Maelo keeps a separate arrangement for every device you sign in on, so your studio monitor and your phone each hold their own. Rearranging on one never disturbs the other.

That also means a new device starts empty rather than inheriting a layout built for a different screen. It takes a minute to add your three favourites, and it beats squinting at a three-across board on a phone.

Your background and your light or dark setting are not part of the layout. Those follow you everywhere. See themes and backgrounds.

The phone board is two columns wide and always is, which keeps every card readable at arm's length. The differences worth knowing:

• •There is no Add Widgets row in the ⋮ menu. Tap Edit Widgets first, then Add Widget in the bar at the bottom.
• •The Widget Manager opens as a sheet from the bottom. Tap a widget's row and its sizes unfold underneath it, then tap Add to dashboard.
• •Picking a size on its own adds nothing. The row's Add or Update button is what commits it.
• •Press and hold any card to enter edit mode without opening a menu at all.