What fun that we are all together again. Ok, apart but together. Together with our iPhones and iPads. Hurray for a new semester.
Review the details of how to create Note pages to keep track of your Zoom classes based on iOS 13.7.
Point your iPhone to this Quick Response Code to get right to our website.
Come back soon - this page will have additional information and links. There is a ton of information on this page. Don't try to absorb it all in one reading. Take small sips and then explore options hinted at on your iPhone or iPad.
Websites recommended for more information have a green background. Just tap the words to open Safari on your device and read at your leisure.
- Carol gave us the button and screen tours for iPhone and iPad. Then she revealed the secrets to using the multi-touch screen > gestures! Gestures can be one finger up to five fingers, a long stroke or a flick, a tap, touch-and-hold or a long press. Gestures replace the mouse and keys used to give a computer instructions.
- Web browsing with Safari and using the Search field is powerful but so is Spotlight Search on your device. Swipe one finger down in between icons on your Home Screen to bring up the Spotlight Search field at the top of your screen. Search for any term or name to see results from your Contacts app, Notes app or even the Internet. You should also explore how to begin a search using your personal assistant, Siri. Try a long swipe and then try just flicking your finger down.
- Swipe with one finger from right to left on your Home Screen to see additional Home Screens - watch the dots just above the Dock.
- Swipe using one finger left to right and keep going until you see the Today View. Welcome to Widget-Land! These boxes are sub-components of the apps on your device. You can control what widgets are visible and the order of widgets on your list. If you add many widgets, then scroll up to see more. To add new widgets to your device, scroll the list up until you see [Edit]. Tap Edit to reveal Today View options. The top box are the current widgets and they are marked with a red (-) button on the left and an icon with three parallel lines on the right. The bottom box, More Widgets, have a green (+) button. The list of available widgets in the bottom box depends on the apps you have downloaded. Not all apps have a widget for the Today View. The widgets you show on your iPhone do not have to be the same ones you show on your iPad. Transit information (Google Traffic or Maps Destinations) are good for iPhone because you are ... on the go.
- On your iPad, the vertical bar in the Dock | separates your chosen apps (on the left, they always appear here) from the recent apps (that rotate as you use more apps on your iOS device.
- Control Center has helpful buttons for quick controls like Brightness, Do Not Disturb, Flashlight, Camera, WiFi and more. To access the Control Center on older iPhones with a physical Home button, swipe up from the bottom of your screen. On face-ID iPhones, swipe down from the top right corner. Add features to your Control Center from the gear app icon - Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls > tap a green (+) to add the feature, tap a red (-) to remove the feature from your Control Center. Use the three parallel line icons on the right side to change the position of the feature in your Control Center.
- Is your iPad ever stuck in landscape position? Is it broken? Did you do harm? NO! You probably turned on the Rotation Lock in the Control Center. Active / Enabled settings are light colored and inactive / off settings are black.
- The long press gesture on an app icon is how you bring up the option to Delete or Share or Edit Home Screen. If your apps are wiggling, you are in the Edit the Home Screen mode. Some apps will have a small (x) and tap this to bring up the Delete option - you must confirm that you want to delete this app. If you delete a game, your scores are also deleted. You can return to the App Store and re-download past purchases - at no new expense. The App Store remembers what you have downloaded and there will be a cloud-icon - tap it to download again. On devices with a physical Home button, stop the wiggling of apps by pressing the Home button. On face-ID devices, look for the Done button in the top right corner of a Home Screen.
- The Sacramento-based Apple Support Group is called MacNexus and membership is $40 per year. They offer two Saturday morning workshops each month as well as a general meeting on the 4th Wednesday of the month. All meetings are now on Zoom! This is a great group of skilled Apple Device users as well as newbies. You can get your questions answered here and connect with other iPhone and iPad users https://macnexus.org
Additional comments ...
- Remember that to learn more, you are just a tap away from more information. There is the Tips app on your devices - Remember how Carol demonstrated the Search feature by swiping between app icons on the Home Screen. Find Tips - open it to see iPad specific tips on your iPad and open on an iPhone to see specific tips for iPhone!
- Know more about your device by searching for the Apple Support app. It will tell you about all your Apple devices associated by your Apple ID. Tap on the name of your iPad then tap on Device Details to see your Model, OS Version, Serial Number and the date when AppleCare expires. In the Topics box you can get more information. For example if you think your battery is not holding a charge, open Device Performance > Battery Performance and read Maximize Battery Life. Do you struggle with Touch ID (a physical Home button) or Face ID? Open Device Performance > Help with Face ID or Touch ID and read one of the articles there.
- Use your web browser to open the Apple Support YouTube Channel to find short videos on many topics - iPhone, iPad and Mac computer.
- Search YouTube for videos on topics you want to review. Type "iPhone Gestures" in the YouTube search field revealed several helpful videos: Zollotech: 10 iPhone and iPad Gestures You Might Not Know - Zollotech: 5 iPhone Gestures and Tips You Should Be Using - Apple Insider: All iPhone XS Gestures in under 5 minutes! Your search terms should be as specific as possible. Use the iPhone model name and your question. "iPhone SE AND Contacts" where the AND creates a boolean search for the words before combined with the words after. This type of search helps reduce the number of false hits to your inquiry. Use this same technique with a Google Search or a Bing Search.
Melissa's Email-to-Notes demonstration went by quickly and was too much to push into our brain. But that is why this website exists. Come by often and re-read past entries - you'll be pleased at what you now know and surprised at what you missed the first time.
Several people shared their glee at learning more about the Notes app. James said it is "Under-appreciated for all it can do!" Pat shared that "After attending this seminar many times I've started to use Notes more. The best example is my grocery list! I always have my list with me." Everyone agreed that using Siri is a habit worth practicing ...
