All new Macs ship with a more recent update to Mac OS X so you'll have the Widgets Widget installed on your new Mac.  The Widget installation behavior will depend on two factors:

• Your preferred web browser
• Configuration of the web browser

Safari is the default web browser for Mac OS X.  Many Mac users also use the Firefox and Camino web browsers.  This guide will focus on Safari.

Safari Configuration
Safari's default out-of-the-box configuration allows Mac OS X to open "safe" files immediately after they are downloaded.  This feature can be disabled to provide a more secure and safe web browsing experience.

If the "Open safe files after downloading" option is enabled in Safari's preferences, and you perform the steps to download a Widget using the Widgets Widget, Safari will begin to download the Widget after you confirm that you want to perform the download.  Safari downloads the Widget (usually as .zip archive), decompresses it, opens it, and displays a security alert similar to the following:



To continue with the installation press Download, otherwise click Cancel.  The Widget Installer then displays a message asking if you want to install the Widget.



Click Install to complete the installation.  The Widget will then be added to Dashboard but in a temporary state as evidenced by the white box surrounding it and the appearance of two buttons:



Test the Widget
While the Widget is in this state, you will be able to tes it's functionality and determine if you want to keep it.  Click "Keep" to save it to Dashboard and "Delete" to prevent the installation.

Note

If the "Open safe files after downloading" has been disabled, you are using web browser other than Safari, or the download is not a .zip archive it will be downloaded to the browser's default download location.  You then have to manually perform the installation.