All posts in category iPad tips

How to Split your iPad Keyboard (and find Hidden Keys)

As part of my month-long anniversary series, some posts will include information covered previously. Hopefully this way new readers get to see things they missed and older readers might be reminded of things they have forgotten. (This “forgetting” thing happens to me, too!)

Balancing the iPad while you type can be difficult. Holding it with one hand as you type with the other feels a bit unbalanced and the thought of dropping it is just too costly to even consider.

If you split the keyboard, you can hold the iPad securely, and, yes, type with your thumbs. This might not be your choice for all-the-time, and many people don’t like it at all, but for those who do, you may also be interested in some HIDDEN keys once the keyboard has been split.

Before we find those secret, invisible keys, let’s split your keyboard.

Here is how to split your iPad keyboard:

Bring up an email, or notepad or something else where the keyboard appears.

Look for the key with the picture of the keyboard on it that is next to the 123 button on the lower right side. If you tap on that button, the keyboard disappears. But we don’t want to make the keyboard disappear, we want to split it.

To split the keyboard, touch and HOLD that button (that looks like a keyboard). You’ll see a little menu appear that gives you two options: undock and split.

Tap on “split” to split your keyboard. As soon as you tap on “split”, you will see the keyboard separate, and rise up into the lower middle area of the iPad screen. It will also get a bit smaller to fit your thumbs.

Now you can hold the iPad securely with two hands while you type.

The hidden keys are in the blank areas on either side of the keyboard. Just stretch your thumb out a little further beyond the ”t” and you can type a “y”. Tap the blank area next to the “v” and you’ll get a “b”.

This also works if you split the numbers keyboard. Tap the empty space next to the “5” and get a “6” and so on.

Touch and hold the button again to merge the keyboard and re-dock at the bottom of your screen.

Even though I personally don’t use this feature, I just enjoy doing it occasionally to find those secret, hidden, invisible keys. (Yes, I’m that geeky )

A Keyboard Shortcut for Punctuation on your iPad and iPhone

When you type on your iPad or iPhone, and you need to insert punctuation, you have to TAP the 123 button, then TAP the selected punctuation, and then TAP the ABC button so that the keyboard will return to the alphabet.

That’s 3 taps for each time you need to punctuate. Whew. That’s a lot of tapping.

Here is how to accomplish inserting your punctuation with just ONE tap:

When you get to the moment that you need punctuation, place your finger on the 123 button and HOLD. Now, SLIDE your finger to the punctuation you need, and then RELEASE. Tap – Slide – Release

Poof!

Your punctuation appears in your text, and your keyboard returns to the alphabet so that you can continue typing.

Give it a try: Touch the 123 ….. keep your finger on the screen ….. slide to the punctuation you want…. and release. Cool, huh?

17 Comments

by sharechair on May 15, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Beginners, How to's, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, Keyboard Shortcut

Tagged beginner, boomers, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, keyboard shortcuts, seniors, technology

Posted by sharechair on May 15, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/a-keyboard-shortcut-for-punctuation-on-your-ipad-and-iphone/

How to Set Bookmarks on your iPad

photo credit: wikipedia

I use “bookmarks” on my MacBook all the time, and back in the early days of using my iPad, I greatly missed this feature. I soon learned, however, that you can bookmark on your iPad, and it is easy to do.

(You can also set bookmarks on your iPhone, however it works differently than the iPad, so another post will be dedicated to setting up bookmarks on the iPhone.)

The Bookmark Bar on the iPad is very handy. Once you have it set up, whenever you go to Safari, you will see your favorite websites (ones that you have bookmarked) right across the top of the screen. Just touch one and you will be whisked right to the website.

So let’s set up the Bookmark Bar on the iPad. We start by activating it in Settings.

Here is how to use the Bookmark Bar on your iPad:

Open Settings > Safari. Look for “Always Show Bookmarks Bar” and turn it “on”.

Close settings, and launch your Safari app.

Go to a website that you visit frequently.

Now, touch the sharing arrow up at the very top left of the page. A menu will appear and one of the choices will be “Bookmark”.

Touch “Bookmark” and a new box will pop up. Make sure “Bookmarks Bar” is your choice, and tap “SAVE”.

That’s all there is to it. The next time you launch Safari, look up at the top of the page, (just under the search boxes) and you will see the names of all the websites that you have added to the Bookmark Bar. Tap any of them to zap yourself straight to your favorite website.

4 Comments

by sharechair on May 13, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Apps, Beginners, How to's, iPad, iPad tips, Organization, Tech Tips

Tagged apps, beginner, boomers, iPad, iPad tips, organize, seniors, Tech Tips

Posted by sharechair on May 13, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/how-to-set-bookmarks-on-your-ipad/

3 Gestures to Use on your iPad (and save your home button)

If you know anyone who has used an iPad (or an iPhone) for an extended period of time, you might have heard complaints that the home button can get sticky or less responsive. Using gestures in place of the home button can make the iPad an even better experience. The gestures are easy and intuitive.

First make sure that your iPad has its gesturing ability turned ON. Go to your Settings > General > Multitasking Gestures. Make sure this is switched to “on”.

Here is how to close an app on your iPad without using the home button:

Open an app.

Spread your fingers wide and gently place them all on the screen.

Now, pull your fingers together, dragging them across the screen.

Poof! Your app is closed, with no home-button-usage.

Here is another gesture for your handful of fingers. This works with four or five fingers, and on the iPad only, not the iPhone (the iPhone’s screen is too small for so many fingers.)

The purpose of this gesture is to move from an open app to another open app without having to tap your way through the “close > navigate to the next app > open” sequence. This is awesomely helpful if you are working with two or three open apps and want to go back and forth between the them.

Here is how you can move between apps:

Let’s practice with two apps that came with your iPad (but it will work with any two apps).

Tap to open the Clock app. Now close it.

Tap to open the Photos app. Now close it.

Go back and open the Clock app again. Now place four or five fingers on the screen and swipe to the left.

Here comes the open app, Photos, from the right. (If you swipe to the left again, you’ll see the last app you had open before you tried this trick).

Now swipe back in the other direction, and you have returned to Clock. Spend a moment flipping back and forth. You can see how easy it is to move between your open apps. Try again with two apps of your choice.

This may not be a gesture you’ll need often, but when the day comes that you need to work with two or more apps, this gesture will be golden.

And last but not least … the “Swipe UP”.
Simply place four fingers on your iPad screen and push UP. This exposes the task bar and makes visible all of the running apps. (More on “running apps”, soon).

Keyboard Hints for your iPhone and iPad

Two of the earliest posts on this blog were quite simple but also quite helpful.

First, how to lock the caps key on the keyboard of your iPhone or iPad, so you don’t have to keep tapping it in order to type a series capital letters.

Although no one likes to read a “shout” (typing in all caps), sometimes it is necessary to type that way. And when you do, it is as simple as a double-tap.

To type in caps, just double tap the up-arrow. It will turn blue. When it is blue, any typing you do will be in caps. To return to regular-type, just tap it again.

Another handy hint that I often forget about (until I need it!) is how to find an umlaut or tilde or other little letter-symbols on your iPad or iPhone keyboard.

Here is how to find an umlaut et al:

Just tap and HOLD your finger on a letter. If there are surprises to be found, they will pop up and you can select them. Here is a screen shot as I held the “U”.

Try it yourself and see what you find. Not all letters harbor surprises, but many of them do.

15 Comments

by sharechair on May 6, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Beginners, How to's, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips

Tagged apps, beginner, boomers, iPad, iPhone, keyboard shortcuts, seniors, Tech Tips

Posted by sharechair on May 6, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/keyboard-hints-for-your-iphone-and-ipad/

Taking a Short Blogging Break

While I’m gone, please take some time to look through some old posts, especially if you are a few user/follower

How to’s

Very Beginner Series

All Things Kindle

And for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, as you move your way toward your winter months, don’t forget this easy way to make your gloves touch-screen friendly!

12 Comments

by sharechair on April 5, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Apps, Beginners, How to's, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, Kindle, Kindle Fire, Very Beginner Series

Tagged apps, beginner, boomers, iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Kindle Fire, newbies, seniors, technology

Posted by sharechair on April 5, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/taking-a-short-blogging-break/

How to Let Siri Help You Remember Birthdays

photo credit: freakgirl via photopin cc

When you filled out the contact pages on your iPhone, you put in names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.

You most likely know that you can add birthdays, too. (Just look way down at the bottom of the contact page (in edit mode), and tap on “+ field”. This will give you a whole list of possibilities, one of which is “Birthday”.)

And so assuming that you have birthdays recorded for your contacts, you can let Siri tell you when they are.

Just ask her.

Here is how to let Siri help you remember birthdays:

Push and hold the home button to activate Siri.

Ask: “When is _____’s birthday?”

That’s all you do. Now just wait for Siri’s answer.

6 Comments

by sharechair on April 3, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Beginners, How to's, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, Siri

Tagged basic, beginner, birthdays, boomers, easy, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, newbies, seniors, siri, technology

Posted by sharechair on April 3, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/how-to-let-siri-help-you-remember-birthdays/

How to Find a Buried App on your iPhone and iPad

photo credit: Daniel Y. Go via photopin cc

I have so many apps, that most of my icons are folders. Folders full of apps. (Good thing you can’t put folders inside of folders.

)

I could stop here and look up the count to share with you, but I won’t, because it’s embarrassing. Just know… there are lots of apps on my iPhone and iPad.

But before I beat myself up too much, I will point out that I know I am NOT alone. I know that there are many other people (not just me!) who have oodles of apps. And folders too.

Oodles of folders full of apps.

If this describes you, you may have discovered that sometimes it is hard to find an app. No matter how you try to organize your screens, no matter how many folders you make, somehow you just can’t find the app you need.

Here is a quick way to find that needed app:

Put your finger on the left side of your home screen and swipe to the right.

This will bring you to this blank screen with a search box on the top.

Start to type in the app you are looking for. You can see here that as I started to type “Bookworm”, I didn’t get very far until it appeared right at the top of the list. Once the elusive app appears, just tap on it and it will open.

8 Comments

by sharechair on February 25, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Apps, Beginners, Gestures, How to's, iOS6, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, Organization

Tagged apps, basic, beginner, boomers, easy, iPad, iPad tips, iPhone, iPhone tips, newbies, organize, seniors

Posted by sharechair on February 25, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/how-to-find-a-buried-app-on-your-iphone-and-ipad/

How to Make Lists in your Reminder App on your iPhone

I use the Reminders app ALL the time. I depend on it. My own memory lets me down, but this app keeps me focused and spares me from making many “oops, I forgot” mistakes.

I often ask Siri to remind me to: write a note, pay a bill, pick something up at the store, etc etc etc …. And before I know it, my list is long. Really long. Silly long.

And it can get really messy if your personal reminders are woven among your work reminders. A quick look for your next crucial appointment time might be hard to find if it is wedged between ‘pick up milk’ and ‘stop at the post office’.

What to do?

Separate your reminders into lists.

Here is how you can make lists in your Reminders app:

Open Reminders and tap on the Menu in the upper left corner.