Tip of the Day - Episode 73: On our way to Grandma's house

Hi Everyone,

Bold Text: What big eyes you have
All the better to see with...or in my case to see the fine text in iOS7. I don’t know if my eyes are going, but the screens in iOS7 seem a little harder to read.  If you’re in the same woods (you know the ones on our way to Grandma’s house) like me, try switching to “Bold Text”. Go to Settings/General/Accessibility and turn on “Bold Text” (Fig 1.01). It will ask you to reboot your iOS device.

Fig. 1.01

Calendar: Where did my list go
A couple of you have asked where did my calendar list go. If you want to look at summary of your events, try viewing your calendar in the calendar list view. From the calendar app, select the magnifying glass and this will open the calendar list view.

  

Hope these help,


Peter











Hope these tips help,

Tip of the Day - Episode 72: Lost is Space

Hi Everyone,

Sorry, it’s been awhile since I've posted any tips. Things have been a little crazy around here and I've been lost in my projects. I think I found my way back, so let’s get into this tip of the day.

Control Center:
Did you know that you now have a new control screen that will give you access to multiple functions on you iOS device? Try "Control Center", just swipe up from the bottom of your screen (Fig. 1.01). This gives you quick access to (from left to right) Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, Screen Lock, Screen Brightness, Audio controls, AirDrop & AirPlay (on iPhone 5 and higher), Flashlight, Timer (Clock), Calculator and Camera. By the way...when the icon is white, that function is on (Fig 1.01, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are on).

Spotlight:
Some of you have wondered where Spotlight went. From your home screen(s), swipe down from the middle of the screen to reveal your search window (Fig 1.02 Spotlight).

Fig. 1.01                                            Fig 1.02

Hard Boot:
Some of you have experience problems with the new iOS and your device became unresponsive or even crashed. If this happens to you, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button at the top of your iOS device and the Home button simultaneously for 10-30 seconds . You should see a couple of scenario at this point. If the Power off bar appears, slide to turn off your device. Wait for the device to shut down and then press and hold the Sleep/Wake until the Apple icon appears. If your device crashed, you may not see the Power off bar and will have to continue holding the two buttons until the Apple icon appears. If all else fails, make an appointment at the Apple store. You may have a more serious problem.

Hope these help,


Peter

Episode 71: You got mail

Hi Everyone,

Next to using your smartphone as a….well…phone, checking your email is probably one of the most used function. So, reply all and let’s get into this tip of the day.

Order your mailbox
Do you get more email in one account over the rest? Did you know that you can order or rearrange your email accounts? From your mailbox, select “Edit”. The icons will change from arrows to lines. Select and hold on the lines to move up or down. Want to change the account name? Go to Settings\Mail,Contacts,Calendars\ Select your account \Account\Description to change the account name.

Refresh Your Inbox
Did you sent it yet? Waiting for that email to show, swipe down from the Mailbox screen or Inbox to refresh your email. You will see an arrow formed in a circle and hopefully the email that you’ve been waiting for.

Highlight and Reply
Working with a long email string, sometime you want to collaborate over a portion of the email and you don’t want to send the entire email in the reply. Maybe you want to forward portion out parts to different groups. Try selecting the line item, paragraph, etc on the email and click on the reply/forward icon (the arrow icon below). You don’t have to click on the “Copy/Select All” option that pops up. The new email will show with only the content you highlighted.

Back to your draft
Here’s a shortcut to get back to your saved email draft. First of all, do you know how to save a draft? When you’re composing an email and need to get back to it later, select “Cancel” to show the options to “Delete Draft” or “Save Draft”. So, to recall your draft without going to the draft folder, press and hold the “Compose” icon and select your draft. Sorry Exchange users, the draft folder in Outlook does not sync to your iOS device.

Archive or Delete (Gmail)
Do you want to delete your email instead of archiving it? Did you know when you archive an email in your Gmail account, it goes to your “All Mail” folder?. To turn off archiving, go to “Settings/Mail,Contacts,Calendars/Gmail” and turn off  “Archive Messages”. When you do this, the icon that looks like a bankers box will go away.

Signature: "Sent from my..."
I keep bringing this one up (Episode 68). Just go to your "Sent" folder, copy your signature info from one of your emails and paste it into the signature field.



Hope you enjoy these tips,

Episode 70: Calendar 101

Hi Everyone,

A few of you had problems with calendars this week, so it looks like it's time to address the events in our lives and put it in a place on our calendars. So, save the date, accept the invitation and let’s get into this tip of the day.

Calendar: Not sure...I put it on the kitchen calendar.
How many of you still keep paper calendars and have to look at your calendar to check you schedule? I know you’re out there...I see your calendars at your desk. Did you know that you can keep multiple calendars on your mobile device? I have a work (Exchange) calendar, a personal calendar (Google), and a family calendar (shared Google)... I know a shared Google calendar on my iOS devices...you’re asking how to do that and I’ll get to it later. With all the things that we have to keep track of, like school activities, parent meetings, work, piano lessons, my birthday this month and so on. You can easily organize all your calendars in your calendar app. Turn your iPhone on its side to change the view from a monthly calendar to a weekly calendar.

Fig 1.01                                                                                    Fig 1.02

Default Calendar

A couple things to remember when you have multiple calendars. Set your default calendar (Settings\Mail, Contacts, Calendars\Calendars\Default Calendar). This will determine which calendar your events will go to when you create an event. If you create more events for work, make work your default calendar and If you need to put it into another calendar like your Google, just select the "Calendar" line in the "Add Event" to list all of your available calendars (Fig 1.02).

Invitations
When you create an event and you invite someone, it will show as in invitation. Here’s the fun part. If this was a personal event and they sent it to your work email, it will show on your work calendar and if you shared your work calendar, it will be seen by all those you've shared your calendar with. So, make sure you check your calendars when you accept an invitation from friends. You might not want that bachelorette party showing up on your work calendar.

Shared Google Calendar: iOS (iPhone/iPad)
This one is for iPhone and iPad users. When you create a shared Google calendar (family or group), it typically doesn't show up on your list of calendars. From your device, launch Safari and go to "www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect". Sign in to your Google account and select your calendars you want to sync. That’s it...easy as pecan pie.

Siri
Ask Siri to make an appointment and it will show up as an event or calendar item. Ask Siri to invite someone and it will show as an invitation.

Screen Shot
Last tip (Episode 69: Camera Phone 101), I forgot to add taking a screen shot. I use it to record information on my devices (serial & IMEI), problems with my phone before I go to the Apple store (so I can show them a screen shot of the problem in case it goes away before I get there), game layouts before I change them, screen shots for my tips of the day and so on. Just press the "Home" and "Sleep/Wake" button at the same time. The screen will flash and the screen shot will be saved in your camera roll.


Hope you enjoy these tips and don’t forget to pass on any great tips or apps,

Episode 69: Camera Phone 101

Hi Everyone,

I know I've already done "Say Cheese", but we have new users and some of you veterans are asking how to do things we've covered in the past. So over the next few episodes, I'm going cover some of the past tips and group them like today's episode. So, smile at the camera, say cheeeeeese and let's get into today's tip of the day.

Quick...take the picture

How many of you still hit the home button...slide to unlock...swipe to find the camera icon...select the camera icon and then take the picture by tapping camera icon on the screen. I've seen you at our last event taking pictures. Here's a shortcut to taking quick pictures. From the lock screen, slide the camera icon up and press the volume up button to take the photo. The hardest part of this sequence, is overcoming the urge to unlock your phone (slide to unlock) and skipping right through the swipe up. At that point, you might as well look for your camera icon and launch it the long way. With a bit of practice and using the volume up button to take the picture, you won't have to set your drink or hors d'oeuvres down.

Stills from video: iPhone 5

Did you know when recording a video on your iPhone 5 you can take a still photograph? While recording the video, just tap the camera icon or my preference, press the volume up button. Don't have an iPhone 5, try Video 2 Photo, you'll have to create your still in post (after the shot).

Sending Photos:

There are so many ways to send a photo, let me count the ways (these are just the native apps).

• From the Messaging app, tap the camera icon.
• From your email, press and hold on the body of the email to "Insert Photo or Video".
• From your Photo app, select "Edit", select your photo and then select "Share".
• From the Camera app, swipe your finger to the right to open your camera roll. Tap on the photo and select the "Share" button. This will not work if you open the camera app from the lock screen.
• From Photo Stream, you can create a shared photo stream folder and add your family and friends to the subscribers list. (Check out episode 62).

Prezi: Not your fathers PowerPoint

Looking for a new way to present your information. Tired of the flat presentation of a PowerPoint. Try Prezi. It's a different way of engaging your audience. You can get a free account at prezi .com. If you work in education, you can get the upgraded education account for free. There's a little bit of a learning curve, but once you've mastered it, you'll amaze your audience. As a bonus, there's an app for it.

Hope you've enjoyed these tips,

Peter

Episode 68: Computer, Initiate Auto-Destruct Sequence

Hi Everyone,

Okay, you’re at the Apple store and they want you to press the "Erase All Data" button and you start to panic. Horrible thoughts start flying through your head...am I going to lose my contacts, my photos, or even worst, my high score in Bejeweled? Breath in...breath out...and let’s talk about today’s tip of the day.

Backup: Restore from backup
I can’t emphasize the importance of backing up your mobile device. I know that some of you out there (I’m not going to point fingers, but he occasionally rides his bike to work) have not taken these steps to protect your data and lost information, photos, etc. Download iTunes to your computer and plug in your iPhone/iPad. It can’t get any easier. Select the "Summary" tab. to view your last backup. If you don’t sync to a computer, make sure that you setup your iCloud account (Settings\iCloud). Now if you have to press the "Erase All Data" at the Apple store, you can restore your device to the last saved backup. You can with confidence initiate auto-destruct sequence.

Signature: "Sent from my iPhone"
Have you see what others see when you email them from your mobile device? "Sent from my iPhone,iPad, HTC device"... and so on. On your iOS device, go to Settings\Mail.Contacts,Calendars\Signature to create signatures for all or each of your accounts. I use a separate signature for my personal and work email.

External Battery: Can’t reach the plug
How many times have you gone to an workshop and ran out of battery? Now you have to look for a plug...it’s too far from my table...someone is already using it...you get the picture. Did you know that they make portable external batteries that can power all your USB devices? If you get one with a dual output, you can help a friend or make a new friend at the table. Just plug it in to extend your battery or use it to charge your device. They can range from $10-$150. When you look at the top end of the range, you’re paying for a label. I bought a 9000mAh at monoprice.com for $40. It will fully charge an iPad or charge your iPhone 4-5 times. Great for those looooong flights across the pacific (Hafa Adai). Oh, here’s an added bonus. You won’t leave behind your iPad plugged into the wall. Yes, I collected two at our last workshop.

Hope you enjoy these tips. Don’t forget, if you have a great tip or app, pass it on.

Episode 67: Broken Screen

Hi Everyone,

There was a time in our lives when we were able to function without a phone in our pockets. Today however, it’s an impossibility...well, that’s what my kids say. Here’s a couple tips for those uh-ohs in life.

Apps: Recovering Apps
Have you ever accidentally deleted an app or maybe you let a little one play with your iPhone/iPad and now you are missing some apps. No fears, just go the Apps Store > Purchased > Not on this iPhone\iPad and download it from the cloud (click on the icon that looks like a cloud with an arrow pointing down). This works with songs that you purchased as well.

Calendar: Add an event
There are several ways to add an event to your calendar. You can select a day from the month view and then select the + icon. Did you know that if you press and hold on the day, it will bring up the "Add Event" window? Try turning the screen on its side and it will change from the month view to a weekly view. Press and hold on the date and time to create an event. Want to use Siri, just to make an appointment.

Workbench: Broken Screen
Okay, you broke your screen and you didn’t buy insurance for your iPhone. All is not lost. You do have a couple options out there. If you’re not mechanically inclined, there are local shops, mall kiosk or online shops that will fix your device. It can cost around $70-$100 to replace your iPhone screen.

Have you ever wondered what was behind the screen. It’s really not too hard to replace your screen. There are several vendors out there to order the parts and they even have tutorials and videos to do the job. Always shop around for the best prices. I use phonepartsusa.com to order my parts. Yes, I’ve replaced 1 iPhone screen, 1 Home button and 2 iPad screens.

Excel: Name Box
Are you working with multiple worksheets and use vlookup in your Excel formulas? Do you manually select a worksheet and the array when entering your formula? Try naming the array with the Name Box (Fig. 1.01) and then use that name in your formula. So, instead of =VLOOKUP(A2,Resource!A:C,2,FALSE) where you select the worksheet and then the array (Resource!A:C), you now just type "District" in its place.

=vlookup(a2,district,2,0)

Did you notice that my formula was not case sensitive and that I used a 0 instead of false? That’s another tip. Want to learn more fun things you can do with Excel? Just come by my desk or send me an email.

Fig. 1.01

 

Hope you enjoy these tips and I hope that last one was not Greek to you,

Episode 66: I must be losing my mind?

Hi Everyone,

Multitasking through our busy life and schedule, you may encounter a hiccup here and there. It happens to all of us. We’re running at full power to long and your brain rebooted itself. Where did I put my glasses…you know the one on top of your head. I can’t believe I forgot my number. Where did that app go? Here’s a couple of tips for those fuzzy moments in life.

Phone: What’s my number?
This happened to me today. I was filling out a work order and I forgot the last digit of my cell. If this happens to you, select the “Phone” icon on you iOS device. Select “Contact” and tap the top of the screen (or scroll to the top) to show “My Number”. If you have Siri, ask her “what’s my number”… second thought, you might not want to say that out loud.

Spotlight: Where did that app go?
Have you ever lost an app? You know that you installed it, but you can’t remember where it’s at. Perhaps you let a little one (child, grandchild, etc) play with the phone and now your app is gone. Use Spotlight to find the app. Press your “Home Button” or swipe to the right to open the “Spotlight” window (search). Type the name of the app and it will show your results with the folder name to the right.

Phone: Nickname
Do you say the whole name when calling a contact (old school)? Maybe your tired and you call for someone by their nickname (no match found). Did you know that when you use voice commands to make calls, you can use just the first name or even nicknames? If you have junior in your family, just add the nickname to the contact…”call junior”.

Hope you enjoy these tips. Don’t forget, if you have a tip or app you want to share, pass it on.

Episode 65: Web Browser

Hi Everyone,

Okay, IE (Internet Explorer) is running slow and now you’re on Chrome. You open a page on your iOS device and it asks for a Flash plugin. So, let’s talk about web browsing in this tip of the day.

Google Chrome: The Basics
So you moved to Google Chrome and you’re a little lost. Your Menu Bar is gone. You don’t see a Home icon. It looks a little funny…. As with anything new, there is always an adjustment period or learning curve. Most of your icons that you were used to in IE are just not available on Chrome. This doesn’t mean that Chrome is not as good as IE. It just means it’s more streamlined. The icon that looks like a list icon (three horizontal bars) is your “Customize and Control” function. Go to settings to add the Home icon, set you default and even add users. This is a great feature if you have multiple Google accounts. It makes switching between account a breeze. No more logging out of one account and logging with another. Here’s another cool thing about Chrome. When you do a search, roll over the link and you will see two arrow to the right of the link. Roll over the arrows to preview the page.

Flash on you iOS: Can’t see the flash
You go to a website with flash content on your iOS device and it’s not doing anything. You can’t see the video, game, etc. To see the flash content, you will need to install a flash browser app on you iOS device. Here are a few options you might see in the app store. You can use a flash browsers like Photon, Puffin and Skyfire or you can use a remote desktop app like Splashtop.

iPhone 5 Tip: Camera
Did you know that you can take still photos while shooting a video on your iPhone 5? While shooting a video, you will see the camera icon to the side of the screen. Press the icon or the volume up button to take a photo. Now you have the best of both worlds. Sorry iPhone 4/4S, this is only available on the iPhone 5.

App of the day: Slopro
Here’s a fun app for the action videographers out there. Slopro is a video app that will shoot an action shot in slow motion. The basic app is free, with a watermark and can only post to YouTube. The upgrade will let you save to the camera roll ($3.99).

Hope you enjoy these tips. Don’t forget, if you have a great tip or app, pass it on.

Episode 64: Scotty, I need more power...

Hi Everyone,

Have you ever noticed that your battery drain can be somewhat inconsistent. You get half a day’s change on one day and two days change on another. You find yourself wandering if you have a bad battery or was I just playing Bejeweled longer than I thought I was? Well, let’s look at battery power for this tip of the day.

Battery: Tips for increasing your battery life
Did you know that there are several elements that can affect your battery life? Have you ever noticed when traveling your batteries seem to last longer. You don’t always have access to Wi-Fi and if you are flying, your device is in Airplane Mode. On my last flight, I was able to watch three movies and still had more than 50% left on my iPad.

Do you have a lot of apps running in the background? Try closing your apps in the Multitasking window. Double click on the Home button, to open the Multitask bar. Click and hold on an icon. Click on the red minus to close the icon. Make sure you are not deleting apps. You will only see the Multitask bar and the icon will have a red minus and not a black circle with an x.

If you have a Bluetooth keyboard, turn it off when you are not using it. If you are continuously connected to a Bluetooth device, this will drain your battery quickly. Adjust your screen brightness. Do you really need it all the way up?

There are a ton of other factors, push email, location services, notification and more that can drain your battery. Changing your email to manual (fetch instead of push for personal accounts), turning off locations & notification services on apps you don’t use will help increase your battery life (do you really need location services on Fruit Ninja).

To keep your battery healthy, once a month, run it all the way down before your charge it up. If you still can’t make it through the day without having to put your device on a charge, come by my desk and we’ll see what is draining your battery.

Fig 64.01 (Multitasking)

Hope you enjoy these tips. Don’t forget, if you have a great tip or app, pass it on.