Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Home Screens, App Library and Widgets

some notes need clarification from meeting transcript and chat notes. come back at the end of the week to check for updates. 

All about how to organize your iPhone Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Today screen (what is that?). We’ll also take a look at the App Library and discuss Widgets…what they are and how to set them up. 

Some features demonstrated today work on newer devices and with recent iOS versions. Did you know that a new iOS version, 17.2, is now available. Always update for security reasons. Some older devices will not be able to update. 

Home Screen is a series of Home Screens where you organize app based on your current needs and uses. Slide all the way to the left has widgets, called the Today Screen. Slide all the way to the right to find the App Library, where all your apps live. The Lock Screen appears when you lift your iPhone and wake it up - waiting to see your face or react to your fingerprint. 

Home Screens are different but the Dock holds four apps across all Home Screens. App icons are not very informational except for Calendar, Clock and badges on Mail, Reminders and Settings. 

Widgets show more app details than a simple app icon. 

Touch and hold on any open space on a Home Screen, tap the + in the top left corner to begin exploring what Widgets can display. Adding the smallest widget will take the space of 4 app icons, 2x2. 

Add Weather widget - look at the sizes for the widget - 2x2, 2x4, 4x4. How about the Batteries widget to display current charge levels. 

Some widgets respond to your touch/tap to open the app - Calendar, Fitness, Weather, Clock (World Time), etc. Many apps have widget views. This feature changes regularly and is a good place to explore every time you install an iOS update and even your favorite apps to see if new items and features would better meet your needs. 

On Home Screen group apps into a folder. Drag one app icon over another to create a folder - rename to better fit your use. Tom does not use folders to organize apps anymore. His primary Home Screen is the apps he uses daily. Manage visible Home Screens in the wiggle mode > tap ( oooo ) above the Dock to see the current Home Screens with a checkmark below each one. Tap the check to turn it off. Tap Done. Now just your Primary Home Screen and the App Library will appear. Use search to open any app. Use Siri to open apps not on your Primary Home Screen. 

Smart Stack is multiple widgets of the same size in the same space. 

Add Widgets to Today Screen for views from apps - Calendar shows current appointments; Weather shows current temperature at current location; Notes shows words from last note. 

App Library, swipe all the way from right-to-left. Apple has curated these apps into groups that show three app icons and a group of additional icons. You cannot curate this list. Tap into the Search to see an alphabetical list of apps. Some apps appear with cloud icon - the app is archived to save space on iPhone and tap to re-download and use. 

Manage apps on Home Screen - delete from Home Screen or delete from device! You can also find an app in the App Library and then touch and hold to see menu option to add back on Home Screen. Remember that Siri can open apps. Build a new habit: Use Search to find apps by name. 

Lock Screen is more customizable in iOS 16-17. Easy access to Flashlight and Camera - press and hold to open and use. iOS 17 allows multiple Lock Screens tied to different Focus/Do Not Disturb settings when using Customize button. In the Customize view outlines appear where you can make changes to font, color and other widgets to display. This info on the Lock Screen might save on battery power because you do not have to unlock and find the Calendar or info you need. 

Tap the Edit button to add Wallpaper to each Lock Screen. 

Tap Every Button ! Have fun. Explore. 

iPhone User Guide is online  or iPad User Guide is online 

Simple Google Searches at 11:50 am on 12/6/2023 for ... 

Questions submitted via Zoom Chat: Thanks for asking questions ... I learned a lot by researching the answers. 

Is the App Store the same as the Apple Store? 
  • App Library are the the apps on your device. The App Store is where you Get (free) or purchase new apps.
How do you get your other home screens back? My second home screen went away into the App Library.  Oh No!   How do I get it back as a home screen? 
  • Just above the Dock are small circles indicating the number of visible Home Screens. (You might see "Search" there, covering the circles. Touch and Hold to make Search go away ...) Touch and Hold on the circles to thumbnails of your Home Screens appear. Below each thumbnail is a circle or checkmark. Visible Home Screens have a checkmark, when you wan to bring one back tap the empty circle and the checkmark appears. Tap Done in the top right corner of the screen. 
Tom - why have you drifted away from organizing apps on Home Screens in Folders? 
  • Search and Siri are easier for Tom to use. 
In widgets what’s Smart Stack? 
I recall there’s something about combining two keys like Control and command that will scroll after I’ve clicked the first key then I keep key pressed, scroll down and all between the two clicked emails are clicked.  I've searched for this and still can’t figure out what the keys are.  Maybe this doesn’t work any more? 
Why when I go to contacts, search sometimes doesn’t bring up my person. What's up? 
  • Apple Communities is a great place to look for answers. Impress your friends with your knowledge. iOS17 can't search for contacts can be searched without logging in. But the real gain is to join the community and be active in reading, replying and posting questions. 
Sometimes I accidentally delete an App or two but don’t know which ones. Is there a way to find out how to find out? 
  • There are two steps to deleting an app. First you get in the jiggle mode where all apps are dancing then you tap the ( - ) on an app and see a prompt with choices: Delete app, Remove from Home Screen and Cancel. 
  • Open the App Store app > tap profile icon in to right corner > tap Purchased > My Purchases > Not on this iPhone and review the list. (hope you don't have as many apps as I do ;-)
When you say “go to the manual” - how do you do that? 
How do you easily get to the flashlight from the Home Screen when it’s not locked?
  • Flashlight can be summoned with Siri or the Control Center. Or just ask Siri to "Turn on Flashlight." 
Is there a way to delete a whole list of emails from the same sender, rather than one at a time?  I’ve got over 30,000 emails and would like to delete most as easily as possible.  I'm on a Xs iPhone
How do you create a group with a name for email addresses to use for sending emails e.g. yahoo mail? 
Subscribe with Hide My Email feature tips. 
  • Check out Ellen's Tips for iOS mentioned on the Resources page. She has a tutorial on Hide My Email - to get it, enter your firstname and email address and tap Submit. You will get an email with a link to a PDF document. I find her guides and videos helpful! Also, visit Ellen's Tips for iOS YouTube Channel to see her videos on topics discussed this semester. Wow, I want to watch her videos! 
  • Back to Tech Talk America and David's 2022 Top 5 Apple Mail Tricks - #5 - jump right to #5 Junk Mail.  
Lock Screen timeout suggestions work for an unlocked iPhone to delay going into lock mode. 
  • No setting found for changing the amount of time a Lock Screen stays visible before 1) dimming, 2) recognizing a face or fingerprint.  



Lost Your Car?

Hopefully your car wasn't stolen! But maybe you just left a shopping mall through a different door than the one you entered. I recall a problem like this after attending an event in the ARCO Arena, where every door looked the same! 

One idea is to use two Apple AirTags in your vehicle. One in an obvious place and one tucked away. Bad actors will find the obvious one and stop looking for the second one. Each AirTag can be named. Buying the 4-pack of AirTags saves some money and you can add one to your luggage when traveling. 

Let's review two apps - Apple Maps and Find My for the next time … 

When your iPhone connects to the car radio via Bluetooth then Apple MAPS will show you “Parked Car.” This is great for any large sea of parking lot. No additional app needed! (When renting a car, this might be a reason to connect to the radio, and then remember to delete it before turning in the vehicle.) 

The FIND MY app will show you location and give directions to get to People, Devices (computers, iPads with same AppleID), Items (AirTags). The ME pane is settings for this feature. I just checked it to see something new on iPhone 15 Pro: My Location via Satellite. Currently “Not Available” > Learn More > … because I am on WiFi and have cellular available and recent iPhone model. Tapping on a Device name helps find it with Play Sound, Directions and allows a device to Mark As Lost > Activate when really lost/stolen and to Erase This Device when confirmed lost/stolen. 

Reporting all this to you is a reminder to ME! And I will share with other iPhone users. You know I believe in rewiring tech details in my brain by sharing in person and writing on the blog. Especially when I’m not using features as regular habits. Thanks for indulging me.