Tech Geniuses
IT and Technical Solutions for Small and Mid-sized Businesses
iPad Tips
How to search for words and phrases on a webpage
Looking for something specific on a
webpage? There's an easy way to search the current webpage. Simply
enter the word you're looking for in the browser's search box (on
the top right). Normally this box shows results from you favorite
search engine, but if there are matches on the current webpage it
will also show a line saying "On this page". Tap this and Safari
will highlight and zoom in to the word found on the page. You will
also see a results bar at the bottom of the screen listing the total
numbers of results.
Note:
You'll need at least iOS 4.2 installed to be able to use this
function.
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How to use the zoom accessibility mode
Having
problems making out the small icons and text on your iPad? There's a
handy feature to magnify the entire screen and help you out: the
Zoom.
Here's how to enable it:
1. Go to Settings by tapping on the Settings App
2. Tap on General
3. Tap on Accessibility
4. Tap on Zoom
5. Turn the Zoom button to "ON"
Now you can zoom in and out by double tapping with 3 fingers. To
move around the screen while zoomed in, drag 3 fingers.
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How to go full screen on YouTube
When watching
a video on YouTube in landscape orientation it will be displayed in
full screen mode. But most certainly there will be black borders,
because most videos don't fit the iPad's screen exactly.
To get rid of these black spaces, press the button on the top right
(see our image). Or, even smarter, make a double-tap anywhere on the
video.
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How to pause an installing app
Sometimes when you're updating a
bunch of apps at the same time you wish you could pause the
installation of this large app because it's taking soooo long and
you just want to try out that new game…
Here's what you can do: hit the icon
of an installing app to pause it. It will stay in paused mode until
you touch it again to resume the installation. A very handy
function!
Turn off keyboard clicks
By default, the iPad makes a "click"
sound every time you touch the keyboard – this can be very
distracting. To turn this off, open the iPad's Settings app, tap on
General, then on Sounds. Now change Keyboard Clicks to OFF.
Silence is golden ;)
Turn your iPad into a digital photo frame
Did you know
that you can use your iPad as a digital picture frame? There are a
few ways to access this function, but this is the easiest:
Wake your iPad and look to the right of the unlock slider, then
click the flower you see there. Right after a moment the slideshow
will begin.
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Use the multitasking app switcher
If you have
iOS 4.2 or later installed and you double click the Home button, the
multitasking fast app switcher dock will be revealed. This lets you
quickly switch between apps or swipe over to the audio, brightness,
orientation lock and other widget controls.
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Organize apps into folders
Got lots of apps on your home screen?
Dozens of games and news apps floating around? Then tidy up and use
folders to group similar apps.
To create a folder, simply hold down an app icon until it starts to
wiggle. Then drag it with your finger on top of another app and
voila – both apps are now in the same folder. You can drag more apps
into a folder to create a nice collection of similar apps.
This is a very handy way to
de-clutter your home screen and keep your apps organized. Note: you
need to have iOS 4.2 (or newer) installed to use this function.
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How to preview more of your mail
The iPad has a large screen, so why
only preview 2 lines of your mail? There's a handy feature which
makes skimming emails much easier by showing 5 lines of your
mail. To change this on your iPad, go to
Settings >
Mail, Contacts and Calendars and select "5 lines" under
Preview.
Password protect apps and actions
Got kids
and don't want them to surf the web while you're away? You can
password-protect apps like Safari or iTunes so that a family member
can't buy every Beatles record with your credit card. Go to Settings
> General > Restrictions, then enable restrictions and enter a
password. Now you can define which apps and actions will be
restricted.
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Get a great background picture
We all know that it's possible to
change the background picture in the Settings app (just tap on
Brightness & Wallpaper). But Apple does only provide a small
selection of pictures to choose from.
If you want to install some real arty background then check out the
great background pictures available for free at
Poolga.
On the top of the site, choose "iPad" to only show pictures for the
iPad. If you like a picture, click it and select the iPad download.
Then click and hold the image and once it's loaded full size choose
"Save Image". You can now select this image in Settings as a
wallpaper.
Save time loading websites
Save time
typing web addresses in Safari by using the iPad's ".com" key when
typing in a URL. A little-known timesaver is that if you hold down
the .com key you get access to a menu that offers a .co.uk option,
too.
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Put 6 apps in the bottom tray
As you certainly know, there are four
apps in the bottom section of the iPad's screen, called the tray.
But your iPad can store more!
By clicking and holding on any icon
(just as you do to rearrange apps), you'll unlock each app's
position. Then just drag any two additional apps into the bottom
tray. Super handy.
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How to scroll super fast
So you're all the way to the bottom
of a website and suddenly realize you wanna read a story back at the
top. Now you could do all the dragging with your finger, which is a
good way to get sore muscles.
But here's how iPad pros do it: Tap
the title bar once. WOOOOSSHHH. You're right back on top of the
page! (Making the "wooosh" noises doesn't speed up the process, but
it does wonders for general effect.)
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The official iPad guided tours
There's a number of great videos
explaining all the standard iPad apps. Be sure to check out these
guided tours created by none other than Apple:
How to copy and paste text from one app to another
There's an easy way to copy and paste
text from one app to another. Just tap and hold a word, then drag
with your finger to select more text, and then copy it. Go to the
other application, tap and hold in the input box, and then use
paste. Easy!
Want to select a whole paragraph the
easy way? Just tap it 4 times to highlight the entire paragraph,
then use copy.
How to force your iPad to reboot
Like all computers, sometimes your
iPad will slow down. Even worse, there are times when it just
completely freezes. This shouldn’t usually happen, but every so
often it does.
To get your iPad back, hold down both
the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time until
the device reboots itself.
Type faster with double spaces!
There's a neat little trick that will
save you some time when typing on your iPad. Instead of typing a
period at the end of each sentence, just double-tap the space
bar. This will enter a period followed by a space.
Btw: the same trick also works on the
iPhone and even Android devices.
How to take a screenshot of your iPad
Sometimes you need to take a
screenshot of your iPad. Did you know that there's a very handy
function for this?
Just push the Power and Home buttons
together for a quick second. You’ll see the screen ‘flash’ white and
hear a camera ‘clicking’ sound. Now open the Photos app on your
iPad.
Voilà, there's your screenshot!
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How to save Images while browsing the web
Ever wanted to save an image that you
found somewhere while browsing the web?
Just tap and hold on an image on any web page, and you’ll be
prompted to save the image to your iPad.
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Did you already download your iPad manual?
When you buy an iPad, you don’t get a
manual. But that’s not to say there isn’t one. Most people don't
know that Apple provides a 150 page guide in PDF format.
I'm sure you already know a lot about
your iPad, but there's always a little more to learn! So here's the
link to the official iPad manual: