Ah Ha Moments

Fingerprint & Buying Free books or apps

We discussed how the Fingerprint reading on the Home button sometimes works and ... often does not. To unlock your phone if the sensor does not read your finger or thumb print then you are given the opportunity to tap in your passcode.

But what about in the Book Store or the App Store? Even free books require your fingerprint to finish the acquisition. How can you get the FREE iPad User Guide if the phone does not react to your fingers? No pop-up for the passcode or password.

First, get the password for your AppleID.

Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode. At the prompt type in your device passcode to see the options. The first block controls the Touch features. If the iTunes & App Store toggle is green, tap to turn it off.  Now go the the Books app, go to the Store and tap Search to open that screen. Your previous searches might be listed, or in the search field type iPad User Guide. Tap the cover for the current operating system. Tap the Get button (free books have "Get"). At the first prompt confirm your account username (formatted as an email address) and tap the Get button. On the second prompt, type your Apple ID password (not the device passcode). The download should begin automatically. [These instructions may not fit your situation exactly. Take notes on what you see on screen and the Home button presses it takes to get to the point where you type your Apple ID password.]

Sign In to iTunes Store prompt asks for your Apple ID password. Type it and tap OK button.

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For questions that we can't answer in class, visit the Sac State Bookstore and the Apple Geek that works there. That could be a step before going to the Apple Store.

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Other topics?

Day 4 Review - Camera & Photos

Some hints for today, but return later for more information.

Camera and Photos, what a fun topic.

Read the Camera and Photos chapters in the free iPad User Guide in Books. 

Camera Modes on your iOS devices. 

Edit Photos on your iPad.

Watch for other RenSoc seminars on iOS topics.

Other sources to soothe your creative muse include:

• Today at Apple - free workshops and studio sessions. Sign up for a "photo walk" and enjoy the experience. There are two Apple Stores in our area, Arden Fair and Roseville Galleria. Check both locations for sessions and plan your adventure day. Invite a friend or two to join you!

• MacNexus is the local "Apple Technology User Group" with morning workshops and triage on the 1st Saturday of the month at St. Marks United Methodist Church near Country Club Mall.  Monthly meetings at 7-9 pm are at the Sacramento Board of Realtors Offices on the 4th Wednesday. Come to one workshop or one meeting to check out this group. Annual membership is $40. The "tech support" and friendships you get with MacNex-ians is well worth this membership fee. The Saturday workshops often include Camera/Photos session.

•  Why not make a recurring date with friends to practice using your iPad skills. Sharing with others reinforces your skills and puts you in the mode to absorb new information. 

Whiteboard Notes: 
 "Live" button on/off
Flash
Burst

Advice: Shoot with the sun at your back!

"HDR" is High Dynamic Range" where the camera takes 3 exposures to combine into 1 photo. The 3 exposures are under-exposed, normal exposure and over-exposed. HDR is good for landscapes but not for action (because of taking 3 exposures).

Your Support System

RenSoc iPhone and iPad Seminars are a great way to make friends (with people and the technology you hold in your hands). But ... wait, there's more.

Important support resources include:

• Today at Apple - free workshops and studio sessions. Sign up for a "photo walk" and enjoy the experience. There are two Apple Stores in our area, Arden Fair and Roseville Galleria. Check both locations for sessions and plan your adventure day. Invite a friend or two to join you!

• MacNexus is the local "Apple Technology User Group" with morning workshops and triage on the 1st Saturday of the month at St. Marks United Methodist Church near Country Club Mall.  Monthly meetings at 7-9 pm are at the Sacramento Board of Realtors Offices on the 4th Wednesday. Come to one workshop or one meeting to check out this group. Annual membership is $40. The "tech support" and friendships you get with MacNex-ians is well worth this membership fee.

• Your local Senior Center might have tech sessions. Join. Help set the agenda of topics!

• Apple Support is the online collection of references created by Apple for all their devices. Read the articles on iCloud,  iPad and iPhone as well as computers. There is information on your Apple ID - your key to all things Apple.

• Apple Care+ - yes, this is an "extended warranty" but when you have a questions, problems or repairs for two years after purchase, it is fabulous to make a call 24/7. Covers online help and some repairs. Read the online information, talk to a sales associate or call 1-800/692-7753. If you did not purchase AppleCare+ when you bought your iOS device, then you can add it later, but don't wait. The time between product purchase and support could be 30 or 60 days! Call the number to find out for your case.

When you are the recipient of a hand-me-down iPad or iPhone that is wonderful. But your probably will not be able to purchase AppleCare+ support coverage.

Day 3 Review - Email & Messages

Coming Soon!

Whiteboard notes:
Creating a group
Create a Gmail account and add to Mail app
Where to save email attachments (PDFs, documents ..)
Un-spam a sender

Gestures (swipe, tap)
Send failures
Threaded conversations
Wait for answer (Notify Me, VIP)
Junk / Block Sender
Address updates
POP vs IMAP account settings
Delete old Yahoo account
Mailboxes
Search

Day 1 Review

Welcome to iPad Basics! The notes added to the whiteboard are listed below with links for more information. (You probably kept better notes than I did - Melissa)

This class is 1) Brain Work! 2) You are learning a new language and new motor skills! 3) You are building your problem solving repertoire. 4) This is a social network of live bodies who question, laugh and share successes.

You have friends and family that also use iPads. Some of you describe how they take over your iPad and make changes so quickly that you are left spinning with wonder. How about you share with them the strategy Carol announced in our class: "I will demonstrate the complete process and then we will walk through the steps so you can follow along. We have helpers to coach you to success." Let them whiz through a process. Then ask for them to watch and coach you through the same process. Most new skills take practice. Hopefully you will have tips and tricks from class to demonstrate to them!

Class is a "No WiFi Zone" where we give you information on apps already installed on your iPad. There will be a couple times where the demonstration fails due to no wifi, but that is why we want you to come to this website before and after class. 

The key to your iPad is in Gestures, Taps and finger Press (short time holding finger on a spot or a long time and how hard you press down, aka "3D Touch"). It is important that you touch the screen with the pads of your fingertips, not your fingernail. Where you touch the screen is also important. Tap an icon to open an app. Swipe from right to left can change your Home screen. Swipe down from the top right corner brings up the Control Center. Swipe down from the top of the screen brings up the Notifications Center. Swipe from left to right will bring up the Today (widgets) listing. Swipe down between rows of icons on any Home Screen brings up the Search field. 

Use the Control Panel to turn on Do Not Disturb - especially on your iPhone - so that ringtones and noises do not distract folks sitting around you. 

"What 'operating system' is my iPad running?" Also, "What model of iPad do I have?" You remember the question, right? Two important questions before we look at where you can find many answers. 

Settings > General > About > Version - gives you a number, as of 2/1/19 the current iOS is 12.1.1

The model takes more digging. Or online searching. iPads come in many models. 

Mini, iPad Air, iPad, iPad Pro (in three sizes: 10.5, 11 and 12.9"). 

Settings > General > About > Model - gives the product code (relevant to marketing people). 

Ah ha - when I touch Model is switches between two codes: A1584 and ML0T2LL/A. 

The easiest solution is to Google the numbers. Try typing this into Safari's address bar 

iPad A1584     or 

iPad Ml0T2LL/a 

The hits returned by your search might give all you need to know, in my case, iPad Pro 12.0" WiFi only. This does not tell me the month/year of purchase. I know that because it was my "reward" for sitting on a jury in 2016. This information is good to know, because at some point your iPad will no longer take an operating system update. Then it is time to save for the purchase of a new iPad. 

When I buy an iPad or iPhone I also purchase Apple Care for each one. Because these are mobile devices, lightweight and portable, they can suffer damage. This is an insurance policy. If your credit card or if your cellular service offers coverage equivalent to Apple Care then you have choices. 

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You are on your home wifi, right? Now is the time to get the iPad User Guide for your model device and current operating system. This is a FREE download from the Apple Book Store in the Books app. The look and user interface of the Books app continues to evolve. Look for the Search icon. In the Search field type 

ipad user guide

Because you know which version of the operating system you have, you know which guide to touch. If a book says (GET) is is free. If it has a price (like $9.99) then you'll pay that price for it. Research other user guides and topics or authors of interest. 

You've got the User Guide book, now what? Look at the features of an "ebook." Contents, page color, font size, search and bookmark. Contents | Bookmaks | Notes. Return to view downloaded books with Wedgee (<)  in top left corner. Don't see it? Tap in the center of a page (not on contents page). While reading your book look at the bottom of the screen to see the page number of pages. If you enlarge the font, the number of pages will increase! Here are two tricks in Apple Books: Highlight, Bookmark and Notes. Ok, three tricks. Press on a word and hold; Look Up. Now four tricks. Ha, there are even more! This is a quick introduction. 

Tap Center of page. Tap lines icon top left to return to Contents. All topics are "hyperlinked" to jump to that section. You do not have to read from page 1 to the end. Jump around. Privacy and Security. "Location Services" is first topic. Return to Contents. Basics. Tap/Hold on passcode word to highlight it. Pop-up window > tap Look Up. Read definition. Tap Done to return to page. 

Now that you have your User Guide ebook, the rest of the recap will be easy. You have the video review and you can search/explore the ebook. 

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My iPad goes to sleep while I am watching the demo in class. Can I adjust the time before I'm forced to tap in my passcode? This is specific to your operating system. 

Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock > 2, 5, 10 and 15 Minutes. There is Never, but that is generally not recommended. Sometimes you have a case or front cover for your iPad. When you close the cover it puts your iPad to sleep, open the cover to wake then add your passcode or fingerprint to unlock.

What is ...  Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift. Practice looking this up in the ebook. 

Today View = Widgets 

SORRY! Wandering into the weeds with details here. Lost track of time. So this is incomplete.

AppleTV

One of the Control Center buttons says "Screen Mirroring" and the iPad User Guide ebook does not talk about it. If you have an AppleTV (hockey puck sized device) and download the AppleTV User Guide then you will find "mirroring" discussed there. It allows iPad/iPhone/Mac on the same wifi network to send their screen through the AppleTV to the television. I use it to share Keynote presentations and Photo albums of selected pictures. Basically, an AppleTV makes any television "smart" with apps and online services. So that is also how we watch Netflix and Amazon Prime at my house. I am comfortable with Apple not selling my watching habits to other online retailers the way that my Sony SmartTV or a Samsung TV makes all those decisions without consulting me. 

In addition to Books, another app to find on your iPad or download when you are home is Apple Support. Log in with your Apple ID and password. Along the bottom of the screen are three tabs: Discover, Get Support and Account. Touch Get Support. You will see your devices and details about them.

Whiteboard Notes:
No WiFi Zone
Do Not Disturb setting (Control Panel)
Book > iPad User Guide
Gestures, Taps, Press, Swipe
Auto Sleep
What is Night Shift?
What is "Screen Mirroring" in Control Center
Today is a Home Screen view to see Widgets, reorder list
Control Center + to add items - to remove from your view
Notifications
Buttons (look for > and 3-bars)