Changes in Gmail

If you access your Gmail via the web and not through Apple Mail, you’ve probably noticed a few changes.

Gmail has introduced a new feature called tabbed inbox that automatically filters your email into several different categories. Most newsletters and mass mailings will now be delivered to your “Promotions” tab instead of your inbox.

To change this:

1. Click on the “Promotions” tab

2. Find any emails that you don’t want to get lost in this pile of promotions and drag it to the “Primary” tab.

3. Be sure to click “Yes” when the alert pops up. Do this for any of the emails you want to see right away.

Or, if you prefer to remove this new Tabs feature:

1. Go to the “Settings” box in the upper right hand corner of your inbox and select “Settings.”

2. Click on “Configure Inbox,” unselect all of the categories except “Primary,” and then save your changes.

Thanks to Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo and Anna Garrett for the heads up on this!

iPad Tip of the Week

The Fastest Way to Open Any App

If you’re like most of my clients, you have quite a few apps on your iPhone and iPad. And to find the ones not readily available on the first page can take some scrolling and searching.

Here’s a shortcut:
Instead of scrolling, swipe in the opposite direction, to the RIGHT to reveal Spotlight, the built-in Search tool.
Type the name of the app you’re looking for and it will appear in a list.

If you don’t see it, you’ll have to adjust your Spotlight settings

Tap Settings
Tap General
About halfway down, tap Spotlight Search
Be sure there is a checkmark next to Applications

You might want to remove the check mark next to items that you don’t want to include in the search. This will also save on battery usage.

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Quick Scrolling in Safari

Instead of using your mouse’s scroll wheel or trackpad or dragging the blue scroll bar, you can move down the page by pressing the Space Bar.

Move up the page by holding down the Shift key and pressing the Space Bar.

iPad Tip of the Week

Quick Scrolling

When you reach the bottom of an article, or an email or the news feed in FaceBook, instead of scrolling all the way back to the top:

Just double tap in the very top black horizontal menu space where the time and battery are displayed and you’ll zip right up to the top of the screen.

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Setting Margins in Microsoft Word

Many of my clients have been using Microsoft Word for years, yet they admit they don’t know how to properly set margins.

It’s NOT by sliding the triangles on the ruler!

Click here for a free video lesson that will show you how easy it is to properly change your margins.

This tip is just one of the many things you can learn in Mac to School’s Virtual Classroom. To gain access to the entire course and all of the other great video lessons, join the classroom.

iPad Tip of the Week

Emailing Photos

One way to share pictures via email is from the Photos app:

1. Open the Photos app

2. Tap Camera Roll or Photo Library, depending on where the photos are

3. Tap Edit

4. Select the photos you want to email

5. Tap Share

6. Tap Mail

If Mail is not an option, you have too many photos selected. So cancel and unselect several photos then try again.

Another Option is to insert the photos directly from Mail

1. Create a new mail message

2. When you’re ready to insert a photo tap and hold in the message area

3. Choose Insert Photo or Video

4. Choose where the picture is (Camera Roll, Photo Library, an album, etc.)

5. Choose the photo

6. Tap USE

To send several photos at once, either repeat the above steps for each photo or use the first method from Photos.

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Sorting and Searching in Notes

I use the Notes app for all kinds of things: movies people recommend, restaurants I want to try, great ideas that come to me when I am out and about.

By default, the Notes are sorted by the date they are edited, which can mean a bit of searching for the Note I want.

From the View menu, you can change how notes are sorted: by Date Created, Dated Edited, or by Title, so you can choose what works best for you.

Or, use the Search feature to have Notes find it for you.
Just click in the box next to the magnifying glass at the top of the list of Notes and type what you’re looking for.

iPad Tip of the Week

Enjoying Photos

Family gatherings are a great time to share photos. And it’s fun to be able to have your photos displayed in the background.

When your iPad is asleep and locked, you can still view Photos using the Picture Frame mode. It’s different than the Slide Show mode when you are in your Photos.

To set your preferences for Picture Frame:

1. Click Settings

2. Click Picture Frame

3. Choose your Transition

4. Choose how long it shows each photo, whether to Zoom in on faces, and if you want them Shuffled, in a random order

5. Choose which photos and albums to show

6. Sit back and enjoy

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See What Fonts Look Like

You can change the fonts of text in Mail as well as most other Apple programs by highlighting the text and then clicking on the desired font from the Font pulldown menu. But you don’t know what the font will actually look like until you do it.

Another way to experiment with fonts in email is to choose Show Fonts from the Format menu.

The Fonts window shows a list of grouped fonts (Collections), the family of typefaces, the possible styles of each typeface and a size to choose.

To see what the font actually looks like, you can reveal the Font Preview Pane.

1. Click on the barely noticeable circle that is below the word “Fonts” and above the “T” tool. Your mouse becomes a tool with arrows.

2. Drag the tool down to reveal the Font Preview Pane.

You can make the entire window bigger by dragging on any corner of the window.

iPad Tip of the Week

Creating Groups

Unfortunately, there is no simple way to create Groups in the Contacts app on your iPad or iPhone. But there is a workaround:

Create the Group in the Contacts app on your Mac. Any changes made on the Mac will automatically sync via iCloud to your iPhone and iPad.

 

 

Zooming in Safari

You can zoom to see the entire page larger or just the text on the page.

To Zoom In on the entire page:

From the View menu choose Zoom In several times
or
Hold down the Command key and press the + several times.

To Zoom Out:

From the View menu choose Zoom Out
or
Hold down the Command key and press the – several times

To only increase the size of the text:

From the View menu, choose Zoom Text Only.

This feature may not work on all web pages.

iPad Tip of the Week

View Browsing History

To see the last few websites you’ve visited, tap and hold on the back arrow in the Safari window.

Tap on any of them to return to that site.

To see a full history of where you’ve been:

Tap on the bookmarks icon (looks like an open book)
You’ll see three icons on the bottom, a book, a clock and a pair of glasses
Tap the book icon to see all of your Bookmarks
Tap the glasses to access your Reading List
Tap the clock to see your History
Tap on any item to go there

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Bookmarking Tabs in Safari

Some of us like to open each website in a new window while others prefer working with Tabs.

I like to use both, depending on the situation. If I am just going from one site to another, I’ll use windows so that I can navigate with the Back arrow. But if I am researching a trip or looking for information on a particular topic, I may choose to open those windows as Tabs, by holding down the Command key when I open the page.

Using Tabs keep all windows open and active, allowing me to move between pages without having to go back, back. back.

With all of those Tabs open, sometimes I’d like to Bookmark them all as a collection.

To Bookmark a set of open tabs as a collection:

1. From the Bookmarks menu, Choose Add Bookmark for These Tabs
2. Type a name for the collection
3. Choose a location from the pop-up menu
4. Click Add

Now, when you click on that Bookmark in the list where you saved it, you’ll have access to all of those tabbed windows

iPad Tip of the Week

Photos On The Go

If you’re planning to travel this summer with your digital camera and don’t want to carry your laptop to transfer all of the photos you’ll be taking, you can easily connect your camera or SD card directly to your iPad with a USB Camera Connector.

In addition to connecting your camera, the connector lets you attach a USB keyboard and many USB microphones and headsets.

Sorry, the USB Camera Connector doesn’t work with an iPhone.

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The New Mavericks: What Should Snow Leopard Users Do?

Several clients have asked me about Mavericks, Apple’s newest OS announced earlier this week and coming in the Fall. It looks like there will be some great new tools for organizing files and sharing between devices. You can read all about the new features on Apple’s website.

You can also preview the new iOS7 for iPhones and iPads, also due in the Fall.

And you can check out the system requirements for the new versions here.

While indications are that you will probably be able to upgrade from Snow Leopard directly to the new Mavericks OS, you may want to start the upgrade process NOWso that you can start taking advantage of iCloud, syncing between your iPad and iPhone and using some of the cool new apps and features.

I can help you with the upgrade, before, during and after, so that everything works and you’re comfortable with the changes.

We’ll meet virtually to make sure your computer can handle the new OS, upgrade any software and, most importantly, I’ll help you tweak Mountain Lion so that it looks and feels and works the way you’d like it.

Drop me an email and we’ll talk!

P.S. Not sure what version of the OS you’re running? Under the Apple menu, choose About This Mac. 10.6.8 is Snow Leopard, 10.7 is Lion, 10.8 is Mountain Lion.

Three Secret Shortcuts for Deleting Text

One way to remove unwanted text is to use the Delete key. Another is to highlight the word or words and then press the Delete key.

Here are three secret shortcuts to make editing even easier:

For PC converts who miss the Forward Delete key:

Hold down the FN key and press the Delete key

To delete an entire word:

Position the cursor at the end of the word, press and hold the Option key while hitting the Delete key

To delete an entire line of text:

Position the cursor at the end of the line, press and hold the Command while hitting the Delete key

iPad Tip of the Week

What To Do If Your iPhone Gets Wet

Before putting it in a bag of rice:

1. Remove from water as soon as humanly possible.

2. Turn the iPhone off immediately by holding down the power button until it shuts off.

3. Remove any case or enclosure right away since they can trap in moisture. Screen protectors are fine to leave on unless there’s an obvious water bubble.

4. Dry out the iPhone as best as you can using cloth (t-shirt, socks, whatever is readably available) or an absorbent material. Wipe down the screen, sides, and back. Pay special attention to the power button, volume buttons, mute switch, speakers and microphones, and the audio output jack, try and get all visible moisture soaked up.

5. Use a Q-Tip if possible to try and soak up extra water from the audio output jack and in small crevices. If you’re out and about or have no q-tips handy, a little stick or sharp pencil poking through a t-shirt or cotton material can work too.

6. Disconnect any headphones, ports, chargers, USB cables, or accessories immediately.

7. Now with all visible water removed, you’re ready to stuff the iPhone into a rice bag.

8. Put the iPhone Into a Sealed Bag Full of Rice.

Here are the basic requirements:

– A zip-lock bag or similar that is air tight
– Rice, any generic type, ideally not “enriched” (more on that in a second)
– Patience for at least 36 hours

Fill a zipper locked bag fairly full of rice so that the entire iPhone will be covered, then place the iPhone into the bag and seal it shut with some air in the bag.

Any type of rice works, but try to avoid enriched rice as it leaves a lot of white residual powder in the bag and it will also get into the ports and buttons on the iPhone.

The patience part is the hardest, and generally the longer you wait the better the likely outcome because you want all water inside the device to be completely absorbed by the rice before trying to power it on again.

Once you’ve waited at least 36 hours, open the rice bag and check out the iPhone. If you suspect the iPhone has any residual moisture left in it at all, do not power it on. If all seems well, go ahead and turn it on as usual. If all goes well, it’ll power on as usual, and your iPhone will have survived the water encounter!

Thanks to OSXDaily for the tip!

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Claim More Desk Space: Move The Dock

The Dock is that strip on the bottom of your Desktop with all of the icons on it. It’s a handy tool for quickly opening all of your favorite programs.

Most computer screens are wider than they are tall, and the Dock takes up precious screen space. Some people solve this issue by Hiding the Dock.

If you like to see your Dock, but still want more screen space, consider moving it to the side.

1. Under the Apple menu, choose Dock

2. Slide the mouse over and choose Position on Right or Left

It may take a day or two to get used to the new location, but I think you’ll really appreciate the full screen space.

iPad Tip of the Week

Undo and Redo

Did you know there is a way to UNDO and REDO on your iPad and iPhone?

If you accidentally delete some text, you can undo your last action in Mail or Notes.

On the iPad:

To UNDO, tap to access the number keyboard, then tap the Undo key.

To REDO, tap to access the Symbol keyboard, then tap the Redo key.

As an alternative, you can also shake your device to undo and redo, like this:

After deleting some text, hold your iPad firmly with your both hands and give it a quick shake, and the Undo button slides in for you to undo.

To redo, shake it again.

On the iPhone:

There are no Undo and Redo keys but shaking works for both.

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Folders in Mountain Lion

The old way to put similar files into a folder is to first create the folder and then drag the items into it.

Mountain Lion offers a shortcut:

1. Select the items by clicking on one, holding down the Command key and clicking on the others.

2. From the File menu choose New Folder From Selection

or

Right-Click (or hold down the Control key and click) on one of the selected items and choose New Folder From Selection from the revealed menu

3. Title the folder and you’re done.

iPad Tip of the Week

Change Your Email Signatures

Your emails don’t have to say “Sent from my iPad or iPhone. In fact, if you have several email addresses, you can now create a different signature for each account.

1. Tap Settings

2. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars

3. Scroll down to Signature and tap

4. To set the same signature for all email accounts, tap All Accounts and then, in the box below, type what you want to appear at the bottom of every email

5. To set a different signature for each email account, tap Per Account. All addresses will be listed and you can type in each box

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Using iCloud to Share Mailboxes

 

One of my favorite features about iCloud is that I can save important emails on the cloud and am able to access them from my computer, my laptop, my phone AND my iPad, and even from someone else’s computer via the web. I find this especially helpful when I am traveling: all of my flight information, reservation confirmations and other important stuff is with me.

To set this up:

1. In Mail, click the plus sign at the bottom of the left column that shows all of your Mailboxes.

2. Chose to create a New Mailbox.

3. Title it (ie. TRAVEL)

4. Next to Location, choose iCloud

5. Now, drag any important travel emails into this Mailbox. That Mailbox will now be available on all other devices that have your iCloud/me.com/mac.com mail account

In order to use iCloud to sync your Mailboxes, you need to be running Lion or Mountain Lion. If you’re ready to upgrade, I can help with the transition. Email me for details.

iPad Tip of the Week

Sharing iCloud Mailboxes

To access the Mailboxes you created on iCloud for sharing emails,

1. In Mail, scroll down past the Inboxes to Accounts

2. Tap iCloud

3. Scroll to see all of the Mailboxes

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Tips for Printing iCal Calendars

 

Here’s a quick video lesson that will show you several ways to customize what you print from iCal. Yes, you can even print blank monthly calendars!

Here’s the link–enjoy!

iPad Tip of the Week

Hidden Volume Adjuster

Even faster than pushing the up and down button on the side of your device, you can adjust the volume right on the screen.

1. Double tap the Home button to reveal the bar that shows all of your recently opened Apps.

2. Slide that bar all the way to the right until you can’t go any further and you’ll see the volume slider.

3. You can also adjust the brightness here.

4. Double tap the Home button when you’re done.

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Google Secrets

 

With Safari’s new all-in-one address/search bar you can access some of Google’s powerful features without having to go to google’s page.

To get a quick definition of a word, type: define and the word

To check on a flight, type the airline and flight number

To check a stock price, type the stock symbol

To bring up a calculator, type in any equation

 

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Returning Recent Calls

To quickly call back the last person you spoke to, no need to tap on Recent. Instead, from the keypad, tap the Call button and the last number will appear. Tap Call again to dial.

 

Comparing Pictures in iPhoto

You can compare two or more photos in iPhoto by clicking on one, holding down Command and clicking on the anothers.

Click Edit and they will appear side by side so you can decide which one is better.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Taking Pictures is Even easier

If you’ve ever wished your iPhone camera had a physical shutter button, look no further. The phone’s volume up (+) button doubles as a shutter button whenever the Camera app is opened. This hard button feels sturdier all around, plus it makes it a cinch to take self-portraits or to tell strangers how to take a photo of you and your friends.

You can also quickly access the camera even when your phone is locked.
From the locked Home Screen, slide up on the camera icon. It takes the right touch and the right slide, but once you master it, it’s the fast way to access your camera.

You can do this with anyone’s phone, regardless of whether or not you know their password because it only opens the Camera app, locking you out of all other apps-and other photos and videos-on the phone. Just the photos or videos you take at that moment will be visible to you.

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Searching in Mail

If you’re like most of my clients, you have a lot of emails in your Inbox and it can be pretty tedious to scroll up and down, looking for a particular email.

In the top right corner there is a search box. Type in what you are looking for. (If you don’t see it, make your window wider.)

A list of suggestions will appear as you type.

On the left side of the window, just below the icons of the toolbar, you’ll also see that you can limit the search to a specific folder.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Taking a Picture of Your Screen

Sometimes you have something on your screen that you want to share with someone in an email.

Maybe it’s an odd message that appears, or your high score in Words With Friends.

To take a snapshot of your screen:

Press and HOLD the Home button and also press the Sleep/Wake button at the same time.

The screen will flash and you’ll hear a click, indicating that a photo has been taken.

Your screen shots are saved automatically in your Photos gallery where you can view and then email them.

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Using DropBox Like a Backpack

Many of my clients work between several devices, maybe a laptop and an iMac, an iPad, even on their iPhone and they ask me, “What’s the best way to have my documents available to work on, no matter where I am?”

While Apple will suggest you use iCloud, I think it’s much easier to use DropBox. DropBox is also a cloud-based storage space that you can access from any computer and mobile device, and it’s easier to use and access than iCloud.

Storing your working files on a cloud-based system is like carrying them in a backpack so they are wherever you are.

Download the free DropBox app onto your Mac and onto each of the devices you want to share your documents with.

Set up your free account (you get 20GB of storage for free) and sign in with the same account on each of your devices

Drag the files you want to share with yourself into DropBox.

Make sure you have an internet connection when you do this so that the current documents go up to the cloud for universal access.

Note: When you drag the document from your computer to Dropbox, they are now ONLY on DropBox. If you copy them, the version you leave on your computer will NOT be changed when you change the one on DropBox)

Then, open the files directly from your DropBox, make your changes and the changes will appear on all devices.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Faster Charging

Your iPhone and iPad will charge faster if you plug them directly into a wall outlet instead of your computer.

Be sure to drain the battery at least once a month to maximize performance.

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Scroll Bar Secrets

The scroll bar, on the right side of every window, allows you to move up and down the window to see the contents.

In the System Preferences, under General, you can set the Scroll Bar to either jump to the next page or to the spot that’s clicked.

This is handy when you are scanning a document or wanting to quickly navigate through a section of your photos.

If you don’t see your scroll bars all the time, this is where you can also choose to Always show them.

Dragging the scroll bar moves you fast, sometimes too fast. But dragging the scroll button is the quickest way to go all the way to the top or bottom of a window.

Clicking on the up and down arrows at the bottom of the scroll bar will move you a line at a time in that direction. This is great if you are reading a document line by line or looking at individual photos.

BONUS: In Safari, pressing the Space Bar scrolls the window a screen at a time.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Copy and Paste

Yes, of course you can copy and paste text on your iPad and iPhone.

1. Press and hold your finger at the beginning of the text you want to select. A menu appears, and the text is highlighted in light blue and there are blue circles on either end of the selection

2. Drag the blue circles to highlight all of the text you want to work with or choose Select All

3. Choose Copy

4. Press and hold your finger where you want to put the text you copied

5. Choose Paste

Editing Text

Use this same technique of pressing and holding your finger to reposition your cursor to Edit text

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Drafts in Mail with Mountain Lion

Lots of folks are asking where the Drafts Folder went in Mail after they installed Mountain Lion. It used to be that SAVE AS DRAFT was a choice. Now, just close the email you want to save and it will give you the option to Save As Draft.

Once you’ve saved something, the Drafts Folder will appear in the Mailbox list in the left column.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

A Week’s Worth of Weather

The weather widget in the Notification Center doesn’t just show you the weather for today. It can also show you the weather for the next five days.

Just swipe left or right for the full forecast.

 

Turn Notes Into Stickies

The Notes app in Mountain Lion is a great tool for jotting down thoughts, lists, to-dos. If you want to keep a Note in view on the Desktop, like a Stickie, just double-click the note in the list window. Now you can move it around your Desktop and keep it in view.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Easier Reading with Reader

Have you found an interesting article to read, all of the ads on the screen are distracting?

Safari has a built in READER feature that will open most articles in a new window with just the article. No distractions.

1. Click on a new article. Most newspaper and magazines with substantial text will support this feature.

2. Click on the word READER that appears at the far right side of the page’s address (this may not be available for all articles).

3. The article will open in a new window with just the text.

4. Click READER again to get back to the full page in Safari.

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Saving Photos From Mail

A reader recently sent this question:

“If I get an email with photos attached, there is a drop down menu that invites me to save as or add to iPhoto. The iPhoto option does not work. Of course I can drag and drop or I can save as but I’d like to know why the add to iPhoto option does not work.”

There is a bug in Mountain Lion with Apple’s Mail program so this feature currently doesn’t work. So, until Apple fixes this, the easiest way to save photos you receive in Mail is to drag them, one at a time, onto the iPhoto icon in the Dock.

If you are still using Lion or Snow Leopard, this Save to iPhoto feature does still work.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Deleting Photos

A reader emailed me this question:

“I need to delete pictures from my iPad. I need more space on it for games for my grandson, but when I follow the steps below, my delete button changes to DELETE EVERYWHERE. I don’t want the pictures deleted on the MAC. How to delete from the iPad device only without losing the same picture on the MAC?”

The Delete Everywhere refers to the photos on the iPad only. You may have them in the Camera Roll and in an album. Deleting the photo from the camera roll will also delete it from any albums it is in.

It will NOT be deleted from your Mac. You can test this by deleting a single photo, then checking your Mac.

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The Power of Preview

A reader recently sent this question:

“When I open a PDF in Preview I get a list there of about 10 items (Pics). I didn’t notice these before is there a way to get them off Preview when I open it?”

Apple’s free Preview app is the easiest way to open and read PDF files. You can see the entire document in full screen and you can also see the thumbnails, miniature images in the sidebar for navigating quickly to a particular page.

To show or hide the thumbnails, from the View menu, choose what you want to see: contents only or thumbnails.

You can also make your choices from the Toolbar by clicking on the View icon all the way on the left.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Quick Definitions

If you are reading an article on Safari and need to look up a word, here’s a fast and easy tip:

1. Tap and hold your finger on the word to highlight it

2. A choice will appear

3. Tap Define

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Viewing Full Names of Files

A reader recently sent this question:

“If you put some icons on the desktop, the names on this icons get truncated and its difficult to figure out the name you picked. How would you increase the number of characters you can use in naming a desktop icon where it can be seen?”

First you should remember that, the more files and folders that you have saved onto your Desktop, the slower the Mac will be. While you can adjust the size of the icons and text (In the Finder, under the View menu, choose Show View Options) it won’t change how many letters are revealed.

If you move all of these items into a single folder on the Desktop, then you can play with the different view options of that folder (by icon, list, column, coverflow) and you’ll be able to read full titles.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

A Trick For Rearranging Icons, Creating Folders

There are several ways to move and organize your favorite Apps on your screen.

First, press and hold on one of the icons to get them wiggling.

To move an App, just drag the icon to a new position.

To move an App to a different screen, drag it all the way to the edge of the current screen to advance to the next screen.

This can be frustrating, getting the icon to easily move to the next screen. So here’s a great trick:

1. Press and hold on one of the icons to get them wiggling

2. Drag the App into the Favorites Bar at the bottom (If there is no free space, temporarily move several of your existing favorites onto a screen to create some space in the Bar)

3. Swipe to the screen where you want to put it

4. Then drag the App from the bar up to where you want it

To group similar Apps together, drag one on top of another and a Folder will be created that you can rename.

 

Finding Words on Web Pages

Even though there is no visible Search tool, you can search any web page in Safari, even your FaceBook news feed.

1. From the Edit menu choose Find or hold down the Command key and type F

2. A search box appears in the top right of the toolbar

3. Type the text you’re looking for and press the Return key

4. It will tell you how many there are and the first match will be highlighted

5. Press the Return key again to move to the next match

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Don’t Bother Typing Periods

Instead of actually typing a period at the end of a sentence, double-tap the space bar and it will put in a period followed by a space so you can just start typing the next sentence.

If this feature doesn’t work:

1. Tap Settings

2. Tap General

3. Tap Keyboard

4. Turn the “.” Shortcut ON

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Opening Links in New Tabs in Safari

Searching on the internet usually means doing a Google search, clicking on each of the suggested sites, and clicking the back button to return to the list of Google’s suggested sites.

What if there were an easier way to see those pages without leaving the list of results?

Some folks use Tabs all of the time. Others prefer to open each new page and use the Back button to navigate. (You can set this preference under the Safari menu, Preferences.)

But Safari allows you to combine both ways to navigate.

Anytime you see a link in Safari and you want to open that link without leaving your current page:

Hold the Command key when you click it.

It won’t look like much different but if you look toward the top of that window below the Bookmarks Bar, you’ll see a new tab has been opened with the desired link.

The Back button is not active because you never left the original page. Instead, to close the current page, hover on the tab at the top of the page, below the Bookmarks Bar and click the X or to return to the original page, simply click on that Tab.

If you’re stuck and can’t get back to where you want to go, you can Quit Safari and all will return to normal.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Selecting Photos to Share or Delete

To select a single photo or more than one to share (or delete):

1. Tap the Photos icon on the Home screen

2. Tap Edit in the top right corner

3. Tap the photos you want to select and a check mark will appear on the photos

4. Tap Share (or Delete) from the bottom toolbar

5. Choose Email, FaceBook, etc

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Missing Folders in Mail

Where did all of my folders go?! Many clients are emailing me in a panic.

The triangles that used to appear next to ON MY MAC and iCLOUD and GMAIL that you could click on the reveal your folders are gone.

To see your folders, hover your mouse over ON MY MAC and iCLOUD and GMAIL where the folders used to be and you’ll see the word SHOW on the right side.

Click SHOW and all of your folders will appear.

Phew!

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Adding a Person’s Photo to their Contact Info

It’s fun to have a person’s face appear when you are receiving an incoming call from them on your iPhone or a FaceTime call on your iPad or iPhone.

1. Find the person in your Contacts

2. Tap Edit

3. In the top left next to their name tap the square that says Add Photo

4. You can either take a picture of them or choose a photo from your Camera Roll

5. Now, whenever they call or FaceTime, you’ll see their photo. FUN!

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Emptying the Cache in Safari

Safari’s Cache makes pages that you’ve previously loaded open faster. Often it’s because it’s opening an older version of that page. Sometimes refreshing or reloading a page will bring up the newer version, but sometimes it’s best to Empty the Cache.

In previous versions of Safari, it was easy and clear how to Empty the Cache. Under the Safari menu you choose Empty Cache.

With Lion and Mountain Lion and the newest versions of Safari, Empty Cache is no longer a choice under the Safari menu.

1. Under the Safari menu choose Preferences

2. Click on the Advanced icon

3. At the bottom of the window put a check next to Show develop menu in menu bar

4. Close Preferences

5. You’ll see you now have a new menu across the top called Develop

6. Under the Develop menu, about half way down, choose Empty Cache

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Bar Code and QR Code Scanning

A reader recently asked about bar code and Q scanning with her iPhone. There are several free apps that allow you to take a photo of a bar code or QR Code with your iPhone or iPad. Search the App Store for Bar Code Scanning to see the choices.

The codes reveal all kinds of information including:

– Prices from over 30 different online retailers including Amazon, Home Depot, Macy’s, Best Buy, Target, and more
– Local prices to find out if the product is sold near you (US only)
– Millions of customer reviews from Amazon & Best Buy
– Related deals & coupons
– Related accessories
– Nutritional information & ingredients (US only)

 

Make Things Bigger on the Desktop

Did you know that you can make the text AND icons bigger on the Desktop?

1. From the Finder click the View menu

2. Choose Show View Options

3. You can drag the top slider to make the icons bigger or smaller

4. Change the text size

5. You can even reposition the label text from the bottom to the side

6. Click a check mark next to Show Icon Preview and you’ll see a thumbnail of all of your jpgs

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Four More Ways to Conserve Your Battery

Under Settings:

1. Turn off Bluetooth if you are not connected to a wireless keyboard or your car’s system

2. In General, under Spotlight search, limit where it should look when you use the search feature

3. Under the iPod setting, turn off the EQ

4. Under Location Services, wisely choose which Apps REALLY need to know where you are

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Scroll Bar Secrets

The scroll bar, on the right side of every window, allows you to move up and down the window to see the contents.

Dragging the scroll bar moves you fast, sometimes too fast. But Dragging the scroll button is the quickest way to go all the way to the top or bottom of a window.

Clicking the up and down arrows at the bottom of the scroll bar will move you a line at a time. This is great if you are reading a document line by line or looking at individual photos.

In the System Preferences, under Appearance, you can set the Scroll Bar to either jump to the next page or to the spot that’s clicked.

This is handy when you are scanning a document or wanting to quickly navigate through a section of your photos.

BONUS: In Safari, pressing the Space Bar scrolls the window down a screen at a time. Shift plus Space Bar scrolls the window up a screen at a time.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Quick Scroll to the Top

When you reach the bottom of an article, or an email or the news feed in FaceBook, instead of scrolling all the way back to the top:

Just double tap in the very top black horizontal menu space where the time and battery are displayed and you’ll zip right up to the top of the screen.

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Changing the Direction of Deleting in Mail

I don’t know about you, but when I am deleting a series of emails in Mail, I like to delete from the bottom up. But it seems that the default deletes from the top down. What I mean is, if I delete something in the list, I want it to highlight the next email ABOVE the one I deleted.

You can choose which direction the deleting goes.

1. Delete an email

2. Notice if it now highlights the email above or below the one you deleted

3. Press the up or down arrow on the keyboard to choose the direction you want

4. Press delete to remove the next email and it will now be highlighting the next email in the direction you chose

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Conserve the Battery

One way to get more battery time on your iPhone and iPad is to change the setting for auto-adjusting the brightness.

1. Tap Settings

2. Tap Brightness and Wallpaper

3. Turn the Auto-Brightness setting OFF

4. Now it will stay the same brightness no matter what the ambient light conditions.

5. If you need the screen to be brighter or dimmer, come back to settings and make the change manually

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Keyboard Shortcuts

The Apple Wireless Keyboard is sleek, compact and feels great on your fingers. But it’s missing the numeric keypad and a few other keys that some people are lost without.

This week’s tip is a short (less than 2 minutes!) video lesson especially for all of you recently converted PC users who miss those special navigational keys.

Check out the video. Try the tip. Let me know what you think!

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Quick Contacts Editing

If you need to quickly delete a person’s phone number or address from their contact information, you don’t need to tap Edit first.

Find their entry in your Contacts

Simply swipe your finger next to the information you want to delete and tap Delete.

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Typing Emoticons

Emoticons are those cartoon characters that people include in emails and on FaceBook. They are those winking smiley faces and colorful hearts and random, fun images of things in our lives.

Built into the Mac since Lion, you can easily add these characters.

1. Under the Apple menu, choose System Preferences

2. Click on the Keyboard icon

3. Check the box to Show Keyboard and Character Viewers in menu

4. A new icon appears in the top right menu bar, next to the clock

5. Click it to show the Character Viewer

6. The left column shows the different collections of symbols, shapes and arrows that have always been available on the Mac

7. Click Emoji to access the cartoon emoticons

8. Click on People, Nature, Objects, Places and Symbols to see the choices

9. To use one simply drag it to where you are typing

 

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Typing Emoticons

Emoticons are those cartoon characters that people include in emails and on FaceBook posts. They are winking smiley faces and colorful hearts and random, fun images of things in our lives.

To set up access to the Emoji keyboard:

1. Tap Settings

2. Tap General

3. Scroll down and tap Keyboard

4. Tap Add New Keyboard

5. Find and tap Emoji

6. Get out of Settings

To use the Emoji keyboard when typing:

1. In email or on FaceBook, when you have the regular keyboard showing, tap the Globe icon and it will switch to the Emoji keyobard

2. Tap the various symbols to choose between categories

3. Tap the Globe again to return to the regular keyboard

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Organizing Bookmarks

In Safari, Bookmarks are favorite website that you go to often. If a long unrelated list of all of your saved bookmarks is overwhelming you, here are some tips to organize them:

1. From the Bookmarks menu, choose Show All Bookmarks

2. In the left column click on either the Bookmarks Bar or Bookmarks menu, whichever one you want to work with

3. To Add a Folder, click the “+” sign at the bottom of the list of websites

4. Title it

5. Now drag related bookmarks on top of the folder to put it in it

To rename a bookmark, click once on it to select it. Click on the words to turn them the highlighted color Type and press Return when done

To delete a bookmark, click once on the icon of it, press the Delete key

To rearrange the bookmarks, just drag them up or down the list to where you want them

To move a Bookmark from the Bar to the Menu, click on the place where it is and drag it on top of where you want it

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Foldify

FOLDIFY
I usually only promote free apps but this one for iPad looks SO FUN!Draw, create, print and fold amazing 3D figures with Foldify. You don’t need drawing skills – Foldify has tons of free content to create amazing, high quality figures!

Additionally – what if we told you that your fun doesn’t need to be limited just to device? You can print figures from the app, then it’s just as easy as cutting it out and folding. Foldify offers 10 different templates for different types of figures. Even without drawing skills you can still create quality figures with a large selection of ready to use elements.

Foldify allows you:

print your figures directly from the application using AirPrint or send the PDF via email

view real-time 3D figure’s preview – any action you take is previewed in 3D without any delays or extra steps

zoom, rotate and draw on templates

use stamps like eyes, mouths, eyeglasses and many others

upload your creations to Foldify server and browse other users’ figures which you can print and rate

share your figures on Facebook, Twitter and e-mail

Get Foldify from the App Store on your iPad for $1.99 (50% off for a limited time)

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See What Fonts Look Like

You can change the fonts of text in Mail as well as most other Apple programs by highlighting the text and then clicking on the desired font from the Font pulldown menu. But you don’t know what the font will actually look like until you do it.

Another way to experiment with fonts in email is to choose Show Fonts from the Format menu.

The Fonts window shows a list of grouped fonts (Collections), the family of typefaces, the possible styles of each typeface and a size to choose.

To see what the font actually looks like, you can reveal the Font Preview Pane.

1. Click on the barely noticeable circle that is below the word “Fonts” and above the “T” tool. Your mouse becomes a tool with arrows.

2. Drag the tool down to reveal the Font Preview Pane.

You can make the entire window bigger by dragging on any corner of the window.

 

 

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Managing Photos

Thanks to Brian Lawler of the San Luis Obispo Mac Users Group for sharing this tip:

Deleting photos on the iPad and iPhone can be tedious–you have to either delete them all or you have to tap Edit, then tap each photo you want to remove.

Another option is to use your Mac to help speed up the process.

1. Open Preview on your Mac

2. Plug in your iPhone or iPad

3. From the File menu, choose Import from Phone

4. When you see the thumbnails you can select which photos you want to delete from the device

5. To select a series of photos in a row, click on the first one, hold down the Shift key, click on the last one

6. To randomly select photos, click on one, hold down the Command key while clicking on others

7. Then, to delete, click on the little red button in the lower left corner and all of the selected images will be deleted on your device

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A Fast and Fun Way to Email Photos

You probably know how easy it is to email pictures from iPhoto. But with iPhoto ’11 you have a choice about how those photos appear.

You can choose to have them just be attachments right in the email. Or, try this:

1. In iPhoto, under the iPhoto menu, choose Preferences

2. Click on the General icon

3. Next to “Email Photos Using, choose iPhoto

4. Close Preferences

Next:

1. Choose some pictures you’d like to send (Click one photo, hold down the Command key and select others)

2. Click the right facing Share arrow in the bottom toolbar

3. Choose Email

4. In the right column you now have several themes to choose from

5. Each theme will suggest how many photos work best

6. Add text in the designated spaces7

7. Be sure to check the box next to Attach Photos to Message so that the recipient can download the photos.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Christmas Songs, Music and Carols – with Lyrics

Enjoy 80 of the best Christmas classics, includes YouTube videos and full color music visualizer.

Hanukkah Dreidel
Spin the dreidel, win the pot.Play with friends and family.

Gingerbread House Maker
No fuss, no bake just good old fashioned fun.

Snowman Maker PRO
Build a snowman, dress him up, choose background and share with friends.

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Mac Tip of the Week

Question: Sometimes when I receive an e-mail and open it, I get a box with a blue ? in it. How do I handle this?

If a person has forwarded the message and the settings in their email do not include the graphics in the attachment, then you have no access to them.

If it is an email directly from someone, you can check your own settings. In Mail, under the Mail menu, choose Preferences. Click on the Viewing icon. Be sure there is a check mark next to “Display remote images in HTML messages”

Question: I would like to change the size of the font in my iCloud email. How do I go about doing that?

You can change the font size and the font for your emails in Mail under the Preferences menu. Click on Fonts and Colors. Next to Message font, click on Select, choose your desired font.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Q & A

Question: I would like to change the size of the font in my iCloud email. How do I go about doing that?

While you can’t change the font on your iPhone and iPad, you CAN change the size of the font.

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap General
3. Scroll down and tap Accessibility
4. Tap Large Text
5. Choose a size
6. When done, tap Accessibility in the top left, tap General in the top left, Tap Settings in the top left to return to the main Settings screen

This larger font choice will apply in Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Messages and Notes

 

 

Printing Mailing Labels

Apple’s Address Book/Contacts makes printing mailing labels so easy. You first need to create a Group of only the people you want to print labels for.

Here’s are three great videos from The Virtual Classroom that will show you how easy it is to create a group and print your labels.

The steps are different, depending on the version of the OS you’re using (Mountain Lion, Lion or Snow Leopard), so choose the video for your situation.

Printing Mailing Labels with Snow Leopard
Printing Mailing Labels with Lion
Printing Mailing Labels with Mountain Lion

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Groups in Contacts

iOS6 changes how you see your Groups in you Contacts. When you tap Groups, it now shows a list of all of your Groups. But if you tap on one, all it does is remove the check mark next to it.

So how do you see who’s in a group?

1. Tap Groups and they will all be checked
2. Tap All Contacts and it will uncheck every group.
3. Then tap the Group you want to see
4. Tap Done
5. Now it shows you only the people in that Group

To see All Contacts again:

1. Tap Groups
2. Tap All Contacts
3. Tap Done

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Adjusting the Brightness

Does your computer screen seem dim? Does the screen get dark if you don’t touch it for a while?

One way to brighten the screen is by pressing the key on your keyboard above the number 2 with the picture of the sun on it.

To change the setting that automatically dims the screen:

1. Under the Apple menu, choose System Preferences

2. Click on Energy Saver. It looks like a light bulb

3. Adjust the time settings for the Display Sleep

4. Remove the check mark next to Automatically reduce brightness before display goes to sleep

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Picture Frame

Family gatherings are a great time to share photos. And it’s fun to be able to have your photos displayed in the background.

When your iPad is asleep and locked you can still view Photos using the Picture Frame mode. It’s different than the Slide Show mode when you are in your Photos.

To set your preferences for Picture Frame:

1. Click Settings

2. Click Picture Frame

3. Choose your Transition

4. Choose how long it shows each photo, whether to Zoom in on faces, and if you want them Shuffled, in a random order

5. Choose which photos and albums to show

6. Sit back and enjoy.

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Finding and Searching on the Mac

Every program on the Mac has a Search tool. Usually it’s a rounded rectangular box with a mini magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner of the screen. (If you don’t see it, try dragging your window wider to reveal it.)

Just type what you’re looking for in this box to save you time and aggravation.

In Mail, when you Search, you can limit where Mail looks and what it looks for by clicking on one of the choices across the top: All Mailboxes or just the one selected, whether the text is in the Entire Message, From, To or part of the Subject of the email.

To find a folder or document saved on your Mac, you can use click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner to open up Spotlight, which gives you a list of all items.

A second way to Find documents is to choose the Find command under the File menu in the Finder. Type in what you’re looking for and a list will appear. Click once on the item and at the bottom of the window, you’ll see the path listed, so you know where to find the item.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Finding and Searching on the iPhone and iPad

Are you looking for a person’s phone number? While you might think it’s pretty easy to click on your Contacts and scroll to that person’s name, there is a much faster way.

Slide to the screen to the left of the first Home screen to reveal the built-in Spotlight program.

Begin typing the person’s name.

Not only will their name appear next to the icon of the Contacts, but you’ll also see all emails related to that person, any iCal appointments, even text messages.

Click on any entry and you’re there.

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Back Up Your Contacts/Address Book

Even if you use Time Machine to backup your computer, it’s a great idea to have a separate backup of just your Address Book, just in case.

You can keep the file on your hard drive or also copy it to a flash drive or your external hard drive. Better save than sorry!

Here’s a free video lesson that will teach you how to back up your Contacts!

And, remember, deleting a person from your Contacts on your iPhone or iPad will also remove them from your Contacts on your Mac!

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Signatures in Email

By default, every email you send says “Sent from my iPhone or iPad.” You can remove this and even add your own signature. And, with iOS6, you can now have a different signature for each of your email accounts.

1. From the Home screen, click on Settings

2. Scroll down to Mail, Contacts, Calendars

3. Scroll all the way down to Signature

4. Choose All Accounts if you want to use the same signature for all of your email accounts

5. Click Per Account if you want to create unique signatures for each email account

6. Delete the existing text and type what you’d like it to say

7. There is no need to Save it, just tap back to Mail and you’ll see that, next to Signature, it now shows either the text you typed or the number of how many email accounts you have

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Ram vs. Hard Drive Storage: What’s The Difference?

Computer memory is RAM. It’s like your physical desk. How much RAM you have determines how many apps you can have open at one time and work with efficiently.

If your computer is slow, or freezing, or you get the spinning ball, you need more working space–you need to install more RAM.

Hard drive storage space is like your closet. You can store a whole lot more in your closet than would ever fit on your desk to work with at any given time.

Uninstalling Apps, deleting photos and documents creates more storage space. Buying and installing RAM will create more efficient working space.

To find out how much RAM and hard drive storage your Mac has:

Under the Apple menu, choose About This Mac

The RAM amount, measured in GB, is listed in this first window.

To see how much hard drive storage you have, click More Info

If you are running Lion or Mountain Lion, click on the Storage tab across the top and a graphic will appear, showing you how much you are using and how much is left.

If you are running an earlier version of the OS, in the left column of the More Info window, scroll down and click on Serial ATA and click on the hard drive listed for the information.

In my opinion, you need a minimum of 4GB if you are running Lion or Mountain Lion. Anything less than that, and things may run slow, or freeze.

Contact Apple or a third party dealer (MacMall, MacMemory) to find out how much more you can add to your particular Mac.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Free Apps

The cool, crisp weather of autumn is an invitation to get outdoors and spend some time in nature. This month’s free apps can enhance your experience.

LEAFSNAP

Have you ever found a leaf and wondered what kind it was? This virtual field guide lets you take a picture of the leaf, then matches it to the correct leaf in the apps database.

iBIRD LITE GUIDE TO BIRDS

This intro app is a pared down version of iBird, one of the most popular bird identifying apps. iBird Lite includes 31 species of birds, including search capabilities and bird songs.

RELAXING SOUNDS OF NATURE LITE

If you can’t get outdoors, you can bring the sounds of nature indoors with this free app. With 22 different nature sounds, you can create your own combination of sounds to relax, reduce stress and feel better.
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Reminders in Mountain Lion

Mountain Lion is packed with so many new features, like Smart Browsing in Safari, VIPs in Mail and Reminders.

Reminders, like Notes, sync between your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Unlike Notes, you can set an alert by date, time, even location in the Reminders App.

I’ve just added a whole new course to The Virtual Classroom so members can learn all about these great new features.

Click here to watch a free video from the Virtual Classroom that will show you how to use the new Reminders feature.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Quick Scroll To The Top

When you reach the bottom of an article, an email, or your Facebook posts, instead of scrolling all the way back to the top, just tap in the very top black horizontal menu space where the time and battery are displayed and you’ll zip right up to the top of the screen.

————

Turn Off Facebook Notifications

Do you get an email every time something is posted or commented on in FaceBook? This can make for a very full and overwhelming Inbox.

Here’s how to turn them off:

1. In FaceBook, click on the down triangle in the top right next to HOME

2. Choose Account Settings

3. In the left column, choose Notifications

4. Anywhere you see an icon of an envelope, it means you are asking to receive an email notification

5. Click Edit

6. Click on the envelope to remove all checkmarks

7. Do this with each category

8. Now breathe….

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Editing Text

Instead of deleting and retyping, you can edit text, just like you do on your Mac.

1. Tap and hold your finger near the text you want to edit. An onscreen magnifying glass appears, showing you where the cursor is positioned

2. Drag the cursor to the desired point

3. Now you can type, delete, and edit your text

Selecting Text to Copy and Paste

1. Use the same technique for positioning the cursor, and this time, tap and release, revealing choices to Select, Select All, etc

2. To select only some text, drag the corner grab points to surround the text you want to work with

3. Tap the now selected text to choose to cut or copy

4. To put the text someplace else, tap where you want to put it and choose Paste

Shortcuts:

To select a single word, double-tap it

To select a paragraph, swipe across the paragraph with two fingers

or

quadruple-tap the paragraph

or

pinch/pull on the corner handles with two fingers to change the range of text

Undo the Last Thing Your Did

To undo the last thing you typed or edited, shake the iPad and then click Undo

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Make an Email Really Stand Out

The Flag feature of Apple Mail is great for marking important emails. And you can quickly find any flagged emails quickly with the built-in Search tool.But sometimes an email is REALLY important and you want it to really stand out in the long list of messages in your Inbox. So why not make it a color?

1. Click once on the email

2. From the Format menu, choose Show Colors

3. Choose a color. You can change how you see the different color choices by clicking on the icons at the top of the window. The icon on the far right will show a simple crayon box for simplicity.

4. Close the color window and the email will now be highlighted in that color.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Inserting a Picture in Mail

The new iOS6 is filled with great new features, including the ability to now add a photo into an email directly in Mail.

1. Create a new mail message

2. When you’re ready to insert a photo tap and hold in the message area

3. Choose Insert Photo or Video

4. Choose where the picture is (Camera Roll, Photo Library, an album, etc.)

5. Choose the photo

6. Tap USE

To send several photos at once, either repeat the above steps for each photo or:

1. Open the Photos app

2. Tap Camera Roll or Photo Library, depending on where the photos are

3. Tap Edit

4. Select the photos you want to email

5. Tap Share

6. Tap Mail

If Mail is not an option, you have too many photos selected. So cancel and unselect several photos then try again.

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Setting Margins in Microsoft Word

Many of my clients have been using Microsoft Word for years, yet they admit they don’t know how to properly set margins.

It’s NOT by sliding the triangles on the ruler!

Here’s a free video lesson that will show you how easy it is to properly change your margins.

This tip is just one of the many things you can learn in the newest course in Mac to School’s Virtual Classroom, Tips for Microsoft Word. To gain access to the entire course and all of the other great video lessons, join the classroom!

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Maps vs. Google Maps in iOS6

It’s true. The new Maps app in iOS6 DOES include turn by turn directions but it does NOT include mass transit or walking directions. BUT you can still use Google maps!

1. Open Safari

2. Go to maps.google.com

3. Tap the Share button and choose to save it as an icon to your home page