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Updated: 75 really useful iPad tips and tricks: "
Running two apps at once will be the ultimate iPad timesaver, but until Apple releases iPhone OS 4.0 later this year the iPad can't multitask third-party applications.
Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't lots of neat time-saving tricks hidden away in the iPad just waiting to be discovered.
Here are our favourite 75 iPad tips, and because the iPad runs the same OS as the iPhone you'll find that many of these tips will work just as well on that device, too.
1. Quick volume mute
Unlike the iPhone, there's no dedicated mute button on the iPad. However, you can still cut the sound in a hurry if you need to pretend you're doing something serious instead of watching the latest YouTube viral. Simply keep the 'Volume down' button depressed and the sound will mute.
2. Add extra apps to your tray
There are four apps in the iPad's Dock (the shelf along the bottom of the Home Screen) by default, but you can have up to six apps here for quick access. Press and hold any icon on the Home Screen until the icons start to wobble, then drag two more apps to your Dock.
3. Save time using Spotlight
Instead of wading hopelessly through your music library looking for that one song you want, or endlessly hacking through your Contacts. It's much quicker to make use of the Spotlight search - it can search both iPod and Contacts. Flick right on the Home screen to access Spotlight search, or press the Home button. It also works for launching apps.
4. Redefine your iPad Home button
Double-clicking the Home button takes you to the home screen by default, but you can redefine its action in General - Home. To help save you time you can set it to bring up Spotlight search or the iPod application.
5. Make use of suggestions
As you type you'll notice that the iPad guesses at the word you're typing. To choose this suggestion simply stop typing the word and tap the space bar. If you're typing a lot of text then this can be a real time saver.
6. Enable Autofill
Save time filling out web forms in Safari by making use of Autofill. In Settings choose Safari - AutoFill, then select Use Contact Info to autofill information from the Contacts app, or Names & Passwords.
7. Add a web page to the iPad home screen
If you visit a web page frequently then save time ponderously locating it in your Safari bookmarks by adding it as an icon to your Home screen. Tap the + icon in Safari then tap 'Add to Home Screen'.
8. Quicker websites
Save time typing web addresses in Safari by using the iPad's '.com' key when typing in a URL. A little-known timesaver is that if you hold down the .com key you get access to a menu that offers a .co.uk option, too.
9. Turn iPad caps lock on
To type a capital letter on the Onscreen Keyboard you first tap the left or right shift key, then the letter. If you need to type a whole word in caps this can be painful. Save time typing in caps by turning the caps lock on. To do this double tap on either shift key.
10. Use the magnifying glass
You're entering text but you realise you've made a mistake a couple of lines back. You either fumble about with your finger trying to get back to the exact place, or you use the magnifying glass. Touch and hold your finger in the right area and the magnifying glass appears, enabling you to fine tune your insertion point.
11. Use a custom wallpaper
Like the iPhone, you can use a custom wallpaper. First, use Safari to find the image you want. (Try Interfacelift.com, which has iPad-sized images.)
View the image, then press and hold on the screen and select Save Image. Now, go to Settings, Brightness & Wallpaper. Flick to the right, go to Saved Photos, and select the image. Press the Set Lock Screen or Set Home Screen option, or Both.
12. Control iPad notifications
Have you ever played Tap Tap Revenge on the iPhone? Good, then you know how annoying notifications can be. These messages pop up on the iPad as well. but you can control them. Go to Settings, Notifications, and configure which alerts (and accompanying sounds) will appear.
13. Read iPad books in portrait
You may be tempted to read e-books in landscape mode - with the Apple iBooks app, you'll have a few more on-screen aids and a book spine. The spine, though, has this fuzzy pattern that actually draws your eyes away from the words and ruins the immersion of the e-book. Go portrait instead.
14. Password protection
You can password-protect apps like iTunes so that a family member can't buy every U2 record with your credit card. Go to Settings, then General, then Restrictions. Press Enable Restrictions and type a password, then turn on the restrictions you want for the apps available. Note that this password is different from your iTunes password - you'll need to tap in both.
15. Keep a cloth handy
Despite the iPad's oleophobic coating to keep smudges from accumulating on the screen, they still build up. Keep a cloth handy to wipe off grime, or use a kit like the one from Griffin.
16. Charge at night
It might seem obvious, but the best way to charge the iPad is overnight - it takes a good four to five hours for a full charge from near empty.
17. Use the Kindle reader
Amazon offers the free Kindle reader for iPad, and it is a welcome addition. All of your Amazon e-book purchases will be available immediately, and Amazon prices are much better than iBooks.
18. Use an Apple keyboard
Any Apple Wireless Keyboard will work with the iPad. In fact, you can prop up the device without the expensive dock, use the Pages app to type up long documents, or reply to emails.
19. Shake Facebook
The Facebook app loads in a 1/8 view, which is lame. But, it works the same as it does on the iPhone: you can shake the iPad (gently) to reload your Facebook page quickly.
20. Go full-screen with ABC
It might not seem possible at first, but the ABC Player app - which lets you watch TV shows on the iPad, but only from that network - starts in a vertical view. Once you play a show, though, you can turn the iPad horizontally and the show will play in full-screen landscape mode.
21. Touch differently
For those used to the iPhone, there is a new art to using the iPad. With the Photos app, for example, you can control your shots in new ways - try pressing with two fingers in the all photos view. You can then spin the photo and slide it around. (This works exactly like a Microsoft Surface table.)
22. Expand your Home
There are 11 home screens available, and you can drag icons to the right of the main Home screen at anytime, not just when you load new apps.
23. Re-install deleted apps
Once you buy an app, you can always re-install it even if you delete it from your device. Just go to the App Store and buy the app again. You will see a prompt that you have already bought this app and an option to re-install it without having to pay for it again.
24. Connect to an HD
You can connect the iPad to your television. You'll need the Apple iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter, which connects to the 30-pin port on the iPad and to the VGA port on your HD.
25. Use 802.11a for reliable streaming
If you want the most reliable Wi-Fi signal for streaming videos from, say, YouTube.com, use a router that supports 802.11a, which does not have the best range but does not conflict with the 802.11g signal used by microwave ovens, baby monitors, and other wireless devices.
26. Set your EQ
Be sure to set the EQ for the iPad, which makes the sound quality much more listenable. Go to Settings, then iPod, then EQ. Select the style of music you listen to most often.
27. Switch search engines
You do not have to use Google for searching from the Safari browser. To switch to Yahoo, go to Settings, Safari, Search Engine, and then select Yahoo.
28. Adjust your email signature
Using the default 'sent from my iPad' signature line for every email makes you look cool, but also tells your email recipients that you do not know how to change it. Go to Settings, then Mail, Contacts and Calendars and select Signature. Type in any text you want.
29. Group your icons
Savvy iPhone users have learned to group icons according to categories - business apps, video and music, games, etc. On the iPad, this is even more important because the screen is much larger and it is easier to get lost in app confusion. You can even group icons in their own screen.
30. Shuffle your slides
The iPad is a great picture frame, although we're still waiting for an app that streams live pictures from, say Flickr. For now, you can easily shuffle your photos when you use the slideshow mode in the Photos app. Go to Settings, Picture Frame, and enable the Shuffle option.
31. Go VPN
The iPad supports a VPN connection. To configure it, go to Settings, then General, Network. Select the VPN and move the slider to On, then add a VPN configuration with your server and account details.
32. Use widescreen for some movies
Depending on the movie you watch, widescreen mode might work better. To use it, go to Settings, Video, and enable the Widescreen option.
33. Get free e-books
The iPad supports the ePub format, and you can load these books simply by e-mailing them to yourself. Search on the Web for 'epub' to find book collections. Some libraries let you check out ePub books.
34. Type fast
The soft keyboard on the iPad does not work like the inaccurate keypads on a smartphone. You may be tempted to type slow and methodically, but no worries: you can actually type your normal speed and the iPad, using its Apple A4 processor, keeps up rather nicely.
35. Start a slide show while locked
Once you save your first photo to the device, you will see an option on the unlock screen to start a slideshow. Just click it and the slideshow will start. Under Settings, you can adjust slide timing.
36. Download podcasts
You can search for and subscribe to podcasts so they are downloaded automatically to your iPad. Go to iTunes, then click Podcasts at the bottom of the screen. Search for the one you want and select it, then select Free next to the episodes you want. Note: to subscribe to podcasts, you need to use a PC and sync with the iPad. Why this is true we have no idea.
37. Quick browser scroll
You can scroll to the top of any web site by double-tapping on the top of the title window.
38. Copy and Paste
You can quickly copy and paste text by holding down, then tapping Copy, then going to a different window, and holding down and tapping Paste. To select a paragraph of text tap four times.
39. Turn off email alert chimes
You can turn off the chime for new e-mails. Go to Settings, then General, then Sounds and disable the chimes. You can also adjust the sound level here.
40. Perform a hard reboot
You can reboot the iPad by holding down both the Home and Power button for a few seconds until the device reboots.
41. Take an iPad screenshot
Like the iPhone, you can take a screenshot by pressing Home and then the power button. Images are saved automatically in the Photos gallery. Here, you can view or email them.
42. Increase iPad battery life
The iPad battery can last for up to 10 hours, but you can squeak out a bit more usage. Drag the brightness slider (under Settings, Brightness) as low as you can stand, turn off both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (under Settings), don't play and videos or music, and avoid gaming apps.
43. Save space for more music
When you connect your iPad to iTunes, there's an option under summary that, when enabled, will automatically convert all songs to 128 kbps, which will save space on the device.
44. Turn off duplicate names for Wi-Fi nets
The iPad has problems if you use a dual-channel router (one that supports both 802.11a and 802.11n at the same time) if the networks use the same name. Change the SSID to different names.
45. Avoid USB docks
The iPad does not charge when you connect it to some USB docks. Instead, plug in the cord directly to a USB port. Note that, on some PCs, USB port son the front of the computer may not work either (these are considered part of a USB dock) so you will need to plug into one on the back.
46. Look for dead pixels
When you first buy an iPad, make sure you look closely for any dead pixels. You can run iBooks and flip to an empty page to help. Dead pixels are tiny dots in white or black. If you find one, be sure to go back to your retailer and exchange it for one without dead pixels.
47. Use a protective cover
The iPad does not scratch easily, but it still scratches. Apple offers an iPad case to protect the device, as does Tom Bihn and iLuv.
48. Use headphones or connect to a stereo
The iPad has great audio quality - if you use earbuds. The speaker is not exactly robust, but you can connect the iPad to a stereo using a 3.5mm mini-to-mini cable.
49. Replace a word
When you hold down on a word to copy it, you will see a new option: replace. Here, you can paste in a word (one you copied before) that replaces the currently selected word.
50. Get even more dim
You can lower the brightness setting down to a low level using the Brightness option under Settings. But the iBooks app has its own brightness slider, which you can use to lower the level down even more.
51. Watch web video full screen
You can watch web videos in full screen. Just flick with two fingers. Flick back to return to browsing.
52. Zoom in on web sites
You can zoom in on any web site by flicking out with two fingers on the screen. This also makes it easier to select words and tap links. To zoom out again, just spread out two fingers.
53. Watch the heat
Despite what we hear from Apple, the iPad does get quite hot after long periods of watching a movie or playing games. Grab a magazine as a buffer tray between your lap and the device.
54. Remove The Elements
Here is one quick way to save tons of space: if you bought The Elements app, you can save about 1.5GB of space by removing the app. It also makes iPad back-ups when you connect to iTunes takes forever.
55. Access the iPod
Like the iPhone, you can access an iPod pop-up by double-pressing on the Home button.
56. Hidden apostrophe key on the keyboard
This is a great tip for any app, like Notes, Pages or Mail, that you type into using the iPad's virtual keyboard. Rather than having to go to the second screen of the keyboard every time you want to type an apostrophe (which is a real pain) just tap and hold on the ! key and a hidden apostrophe option will appear - then just slide your finger up to access it.
57. Add a full stop
Another great keyboard tip for typing in Pages, Notes or Mail is to double-tap the space bar at the end of a sentence. This adds a full stop and a space for you, which can be enormously time-saving when you're writing long articles, like this one!
58. Turn off keyboard clicks
Distracted by constant clicking sound as you type on your iPad's keyboard? You can turn this off in the Settings app. In Settings tap on Sounds, then change Keyboard Clicks to OFF. Alternatively, you can just turn them down by using the volume slider.
59. Get a better background
We all know that it is possible to change the background wallpaper of the iPad in the Settings app (just tap on Brightness & Wallpaper) but Apple only supply a meagre selection. You can use your own photos of course, but these rarely look good as iPad backgrounds.
If you want something really arty and original then check out the free selection of backgrounds at poolga.com, they're stunning. Just open up Safari, go to Poolga.com and find an image you like, tap on the iPad version then tap and hold the image once it's loaded full size then choose Save Image. You can now select this image in Settings as a wallpaper.
60. Add a Google Calendar
Want to add your Google Calendar to the iPad's Calendar app? No problem. In Settings open Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Add an account and tap on Other. Tap on Add CalDAV Account and enter your Google Account credentials (the Server is www.google.com). Exit the Settings app and tap on the Calendar app and all your events should appear. By default all calendars are displayed, but you can tap on the Calendars button to choose which ones are shown.
61. Change days
There's no way to swipe to change between days in the Calendar app, but don't forget the navigation bar along the bottom of the screen - this can be used to switch to different days (or weeks/months, depending on the view you've chosen). The current day is always shown in blue, or you can just tap the Today button to return to the current day.
62. Add photos to contacts
You can add photos to your contacts in the iPad's contacts app. Its easy - go to the Contacts app and pick a contact. Tap Edit then tap 'add photo'. You can then move and scale the photo easily, so it fits perfectly. Once you're happy just tap Use. Alternatively, you can use the Photos app as your starting point for assigning a photo to a contact. Open the Photos app, find a photo and tap the Options button then tap Assign to Contact.
63. Street View in Maps
The Maps app running Google's Street View is one of the coolest features of the iPad, yet accessing it is so confusing few people even know it's there. To access Street View you need to have dropped a red pin on the map (which happens when you do a search). You then tap the red and white icon of a person to enter Street View.
64. Directions in Maps
There's no free sat nav for the iPad, but directions in Maps are a substitute if you're walking, driving or bus. Just tap Directions on the top left of Maps and the iPad even works out where you are right now, then takes you through each stage of the journey step-by-step.
65. Create playlists
You can create playlists on the iPad itself in its iPad app. Just tap on the + button at the bottom left of the screen and give your new playlists a name. You then add songs by simply clicking on them in your music library. You can't remove songs here, instead you have to tap Done, then you get the option of removing songs.
66. Sign into the App Store using a different account
It can be useful to have a UK and a US account for the App Store, since it gives you access to apps (like the BBC News app) that aren't available in your country yet. To sign in using a different account tap on Settings, then Store and Sign Out. You can now log in again.
To get a US iTunes account the easiest way is to open the iTunes Store on a PC or Mac and change the country to US (at the bottom of the screen). Then buy an app that is free and set up a new account. You will need a US address for this.
67. Sign in to YouTube
You get so much more out of the iPad's YouTube app if you sign in with your YouTube account - these are free, but you have to register via the YouTube.com web page. In the app just click on Favorites to get the sign-in options. Once you're signed in you can now see your Favorites, Subscriptions and videos you've uploaded right in the app. The History button is also great for quickly finding videos you've already watched.
68. Go full screen in YouTube
When you're watching a YouTube video in portrait orientation, the iPad displays the video in the top half of the screen, with information about it underneath. You probably already know that if you turn your iPad into landscape orientation you get a full screen video, but it doesn't fill the iPad's screen - usually there are black spaces at the top and bottom of the screen. However, if you tap the double-tap the video it will zoom to fit the whole iPad screen.
69. Display PDFs
Your iPad can now display PDFs natively, without any third party apps thanks to an update to iBooks. After you've updated your iBooks app to the latest version (via the App Store) there are two ways to display PDFs on your iPad - you can either email them to your iPad, in which case you get a new Open in iBooks button appear, or you can sync PDFs from your Mac or PC via the Books tab in iTunes.
To do this just drag and drop the PDF into iTunes, then when you sync your iPad click on the Books tab and select the PDFs you'd like to sync. In iBooks you click on PDFs in your library to see the PDFs you have ready to display.
(NB You must have updated iTunes to version 9.2 for PDF syncing to work, and PDFs have also display natively in the Safari browser on the iPad.)
70. Preview more of your emails
The iPad's Mail app defaults to previewing two lines of each email before you click on it. Sometimes however it would be handier to be able to see more of an email before loading the whole thing in, especially if you are on a slow connection. To do this open the Settings app, then click on Mail, Contacts, Calendars and change the Preview options to add more lines.
71. Turn off push
Most mail accounts default to Push as a delivery mechanism, if available. This automatically 'pushes' any new emails your way as soon as they are available.
If you find this annoying or distracting you can set your Mail accounts to check for new messages at intervals, or manually so they only check for new messages when you tap the Refresh button. To turn off Push select the Settings app and Mail, Contacts, Calendars and choose Fetch New Data, then turn Push on or off.
72. Turn on Bookmarks bar in Safari
We all know you can tap the bookmarks icon in the Safari toolbar to access your bookmarks, but you can significantly cut down the number of taps it takes to get to them by turning on your Safari Bookmarks Bar permanently. In the Settings app tap Safari, then turn Always Show Bookmarks Bar to ON.
73. Clear browsing history in Safari
Need to cover your tracks online? You can delete your Safari browsers history in a flash. Just open the Settings app, then tap Safari and tap on Clear History. Note you can also wipe your Cookies and clear your Cache here too.
74. Open Safari links in a new page
You can open links in a new Safari window, rather than always opening them in the current one. Just click and hold on the link and a pop-over menu appears giving you the option to open the link in a new page.
75. Watch Flash video on an iPad
You can watch Flash video on the iPad, so long as you convert it to something that isn't Flash first. There are plenty of apps that will do this for you, and they're mainly free or donationware. For example, on a Mac there are apps like YouTube Grabber which can download .flv files and convert them to file formats that will play on an iPad.
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