{"id":33199,"date":"2025-02-28T16:45:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T00:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/?p=33199"},"modified":"2025-03-02T17:28:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T01:28:24","slug":"if-found-call-widgetsmith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/2025\/02\/if-found-call-widgetsmith\/","title":{"rendered":"WidgetSmith to Put \u201cIf found call:\u201d on Your Lock Screen"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just finished telling you about a cool trick to use Focus modes to put an \u201cIf found call:\u201d message on your lock screen<\/a>, but I may have an even easier method. To recap, the problem to be solved is that someone finds your phone you left behind and they need a way of contacting you to help get it back to you. Using a Focus Mode works for me because I don\u2019t use Focus Modes, but for those who do, it can be problematic.<\/p>\n

I posted a link to my previous article in the Mac Geek Gab Discord, since that\u2019s where Elliott had given the Quick Tip idea. Someone who goes by the handle MySpoonIsTooBig responded saying it caused issues with his other focus modes, and offered what might be an even better way to accomplish this task. They walked me through how to do the same thing using the free version of the iOS app Widgetsmith<\/a>. Widgetsmith is from the great developer David Smith who brought us such fine apps as Pedometer++. I\u2019ll go through the steps MySpoonIsTooBig explained to me. Before we kick in, to the best of my ability to test, it appears that Widgetsmith is accessible using VoiceOver on iOS.<\/p>\n

Create Rectangular Text Widget in Widgetsmith<\/h2>\n

In Widgetsmith, across the bottom you’ll see a series of tabs. We\u2019ll only be working in the first tab of the interface: Widgets. You\u2019ll see an ad at the top unless you have a premium subscription, then a couple of videos to teach you how to configure different widgets. Below that you\u2019ll see four rounded rectangle buttons where you can choose what kind of widget you want to create. We want to select Lock Screen, so let\u2019s narrow our search down by selecting that button.<\/p>\n

\"01
Narrow Search to Lock Screen & Select Rectangular Widget<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now we have to find the right widget. We want to add text to our lock screen, so you might be tempted to choose the very first option, \u201cAdd Text Widget\u201d. Oddly, it appears you can’t add text widgets to the lock screen. Instead, we need to select \u201cAdd Rectangular Widget\u201d.<\/p>\n

The next screen has quite a few tabs, but Widget is chosen and that\u2019s where we want to stay. Even though we don’t want a photo, under the Photo section, you’ll see one that says \u201cCustom Text\u201d and shows a colorful rectangle with the words \u201cYour Text Here\u201d on it.<\/p>\n

\"02
Select Custom Text and Then the Text Tab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With Custom Text selected, we need to select the Text tab. This screen lets us enter our custom text. If you put \u201cIf found call:\u201d followed by the phone number all on one line, the font will be wee tiny on your widget. I recommend replacing the default text with \u201cIf found call:\u201d on the first line, and the phone number on the second line.<\/p>\n

\"03
Enter the Text for Your Widget & Select Settings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the top center of this screen, you\u2019ll see the default name of the widget, \u201cRectangular #1\u201d and \u201cSettings\u201d underneath it. If you select Settings, you can change the name of your widget. In a moment of whimsy, I changed \u201cRectangular #1\u201d to \u201cIf found call:\u201d<\/p>\n

\"04
Rename Your Widget<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hit the Back button, and now you\u2019ll see your new text for the widget and the new name at the top of the screen. Now hit Save in the upper right.<\/p>\n

\"05
Success!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back on the main page, under Rectangular Widgets, you should see your newly named widget with its custom text under Rectangular Widgets. We\u2019re done with Widgetsmith for now, so let’s enable the widget on our lock screen.<\/p>\n

Enable New Widget on Lock Screen<\/h2>\n

Lock your phone using the side button. Tap it once to wake up the phone. Press and hold anywhere on the screen to bring up the option to customize your lock screen. You’ll be given the option of lock screen or home screen. We want to select lock screen.<\/p>\n

\n
\"06
Customize<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"07
Select Lock Screen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

This reveals a rectangular box under the clock that says “Add Widgets”. When selected, a pane will slide up from the bottom, giving you the option to add different built-in widgets as well as those offered by your installed apps. Scroll all the way down to W in the list of apps and select Widgetsmith.<\/p>\n

\n
\"08
Add Widgets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"09
Scroll to Select Widgetsmith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Swipe past circular widgets and choose rectangular widgets. Close the Widgetsmith pane with the X. You\u2019ll see a grey rectangle plopped into the wide rectangular widget area under the clock.<\/p>\n

\"10
Slide to Rectangular Widgets and Select<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tap the grey rectangle once, which allows you to select from your rectangular widgets in the Widgetsmith app. In my case, I just have the one called \u201cIf found call:\u201d<\/p>\n

\"11
Choose the Widget You Just Created<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now the grey rectangle has been replaced by the text you entered for that rectangular widget. You can close the lower pane with the X, and finally hit Done in the upper right.<\/p>\n

\"12
Success!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your lock screen now has your fancy \u201cIf found call:\u201d widget. The only thing that bothers me about this is that it\u2019s left-justified. You can drag it to the right, but you can\u2019t drag it to the center. I had a genius idea. Using Widgetsmith, I created two circular widgets which are half the width of a rectangular widget. My idea was to leave them blank but put the rectangular widget between them. Sadly Apple doesn\u2019t let you do that. Your text must be on the left, or the right, not the center. I know people grew weary of the saying, \u201cIf Steve Jobs were still alive\u2026\u201d but I am positive if he were alive and I sent him a screenshot of this OCD-inflicting lack of centering, heads would roll in the widget department.<\/p>\n

While we can\u2019t center the widget like nature intended, we can make this widget slightly more interesting. Open up Widgetsmith again, and select your new rectangular text widget. The second tab on the top is Theme. You can change the background of the widget to make it stand out more by either adding a standard or solid background (default is None). Standard appears to fill the rectangle with a translucent color complementary to the image behind it, while solid is opaque, which will cover up some of your wallpaper. I prefer none.<\/p>\n

However, I did have some fun changing the font for my widget from this same Theme tab. Some of the fonts have a star next to them, which I presumed meant it was part of the paid-for Widgetsmith, but I was able to use those even with the free version. Have fun choosing a font that you hope will get that good Samaritan to call you to return your phone.<\/p>\n

\"Fancy
Fonts!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bottom Line<\/h2>\n

The bottom line is I think this is a better solution than using a Focus Mode, especially for those who enjoy Focus Modes for their intended use. In describing using Focus Modes for the message, I had a moment of pause before I said it was, \u201cfuture proof\u201d, but I did think the solution would last longer than the one day between my two articles.<\/p>\n

I prefer the text at the bottom of the screen like we had with Focus Modes, but this is probably a more resilient method. Many thanks to MySpoonIsTooBig for the handholding figuring this out.<\/p>\n

Widgetsmith looks like a terrific app with tons of fun to be had. I haven’t even begun to describe all of the other free features of this app. If you want to have even more options like interactive widgets, premium icon packs, premium themes, weather, air quality & pollen widgets, consider supporting David (or as he seems to be called, \u201cUnderscore\u201d), by subscribing for $2\/month or $20\/year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just finished telling you about a cool trick to use Focus modes to put an \u201cIf found call:\u201d message on your lock screen, but I may have an even easier method. To recap, the problem to be solved is that someone finds your phone you left behind and they need a way of contacting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[7093,7091,6584,7094],"class_list":["post-33199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-posts","tag-if-found-call","tag-lost-phone","tag-widgets","tag-widgetsmith"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/If-found-call-phone-number-in-Widgetsmith-1040x520-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33199"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33238,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33199\/revisions\/33238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}