Hmm, perhaps you should start from the custom_index mod and modify that to your hearts content. Thus, you can use your customized index easily, including being able to one-click enable/disable it.

Here is the main file that is what your front page [aka index] is replaced with when enabling custom_index:

\mod\custom_index\views\default\canvas\layouts\new_index.php

I have edited this to include upcoming events, which works for me. If you want to include things like the dashboard... well, I just created a plugin for you [and anyone else who wants to use it] to show how widgets work and are displayed, etc etc.

It is extremely simple and all it does is add a link to the main menu as well as giving users another place to place widgets. Take a look through the code to get a better feel of how you can add widgets to any other mod, such as the custom_index mod.

Link to my plugin: http://community.elgg.org/pg/plugins/project/621377/developer/jazzer666/my-widget-board

I JUST made this, specifically for this topic. I hope it helps teach you how to make mods and how to use/display widgets.

Also, if you are using Windows, I suggest using Notepad++ for programming in PHP (or pretty much any other language). It is simple, quick, clean, and has nice PHP syntax-displaying features. Just google "Notepad++".

Good luck! If you have any other questions/problems, feel free to post.