How to Create Shortcuts to Increase Productivity

Although there are apps that allow you to create shortcuts by typing a few letters to create a complete sentence, phrase, etc., there is also a built in way to do this as part of the iOS. The best part is that the shortcuts are universal – they apply no matter which app you are using.

Here’s how to add shortcuts.

In the Settings app, tap on General > Keyboard.

 

From there, you have a couple of choices on editing and creating your shortcuts.

You can tap on “Edit” in the top right or tap on “Add New Shortcut…” at the lower part of the screen.

 

You can now enter shortcuts. One you may want to enter is your email address.

 

In the “Phrase” section, type in your email address. For the short cut, type eml. Tap “Save.”

Now, open notes or any other app and type “eml.” Your email address will replace the phrase eml.

Of course, you can add phrases you may frequently use when sending an SMS or email like:

btm – be there in a minute or

brt – be right there.

You can even add a sentence like:

gsy – Good seeing you today. I enjoyed discussing

and leave it blank so you can fill it in when you are in your mail app.

Obviously, you will need to pick a short cut that is not part of the beginning of words you may use because you will never be able to type those words without the shortcut kicking in.

Add a few phrases and see if your productivity increases!

 

 

iPad How to Videos Posted by Apple

Apple recently posted video/screencasts on using the iPad in one convenient location.

These can be viewed in iTunes or from within a browser and are free. The topics range from collaboration on projects, to marking up PDF documents, to creating diagrams and charts using Grafio.

The current topics, release date and links are shown below. If you click on the View in iTunes link, you will be taken to the Apple page so you can download or view the videos.

Name	Description	Category	Released	Price
1	Share 3D Model Information	SAP VE Viewer	12/17/12	Free	View In iTunes
2	Markup and Complete PDF Documents	PDF Expert	12/3/12	Free	View In iTunes
3	Create Diagrams and Charts	Grafio	11/5/12	Free	View In iTunes
4	Collaborate on Projects	Syncspace	10/22/12	Free	View In iTunes
5	Edit PowerPoint Presentations	Keynote	10/8/12	Free	View In iTunes
6	Convert Handwritten Notes to Text	MyScript Notes Mobile	9/24/12	Free	View In iTunes
7	Stay Connected with Colleagues	Salesforce Chatter	9/10/12	Free	View In iTunes
8	Manage Project Checklists	iAuditor	8/27/12	Free	View In iTunes
9	Collaborate on PDFs	PDF Cabinet	8/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
10	Organize and Send Invoices	Invoice2go	7/30/12	Free	View In iTunes
11	Create the Perfect Chart	iPad in Business	7/16/12	Free	View In iTunes
12	Clearly Communicate Ideas	iPad in Business	7/2/12	Free	View In iTunes
13	Track and Manage Projects	iPad in Business	6/18/12	Free	View In iTunes
14	Manage Your Construction Punch List	iPad in Business	6/4/12	Free	View In iTunes
15	Access Your Company Contacts	iPad in Business	5/21/12	Free	View In iTunes
16	Talking Is the New Typing	iPad in Business	5/7/12	Free	View In iTunes
17	Securely Access Board Documents	iPad in Business	4/23/12	Free	View In iTunes
18	Close and Manage Sales for Your Store	iPad in Business	4/9/12	Free	View In iTunes
19	Find Meeting Times Worldwide	iPad in Business	3/26/12	Free	View In iTunes
20	Present Business Intelligence Data	iPad in Business	3/12/12	Free	View In iTunes
21	Track Work Hours and Expenses	iPad in Business	2/27/12	Free	View In iTunes
22	Organize Business Assets	iPad in Business	2/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
23	Keep Track of Business Meetings	iPad in Business	1/30/12	Free	View In iTunes
24	Capture and Manage Data	iPad in Business	1/16/12	Free	View In iTunes
25	View Sales Dashboards	iPad in Business	1/4/12	Free	View In iTunes
26	Manage HR Requests	iPad in Business	12/19/11	Free	View In iTunes
27	Work with Signed Documents	iPad in Business	12/5/11	Free	View In iTunes
28	Manage Corporate Expenses	iPad in Business	11/18/11	Free	View In iTunes
29	Draft Apps and Websites	iPad in Business	11/7/11	Free	View In iTunes
30	Take Better Notes	iPad in Business	10/24/11	Free	View In iTunes
31	Share 3D Product Models	iPad in Business	10/10/11	Free	View In iTunes
32	Work on Excel Files	iPad in Business	9/27/11	Free	View In iTunes
33	Host Online Meetings	iPad in Business	9/20/11	Free	View In iTunes
34	View and Markup CAD Drawings	iPad in Business	9/13/11	Free	View In iTunes
35	Work on Word Files	iPad in Business	9/6/11	Free	View In iTunes
36	Create Incredible Charts	iPad in Business	8/29/11	Free	View In iTunes
37	Manage ZIP Files	iPad in Business	8/15/11	Free	View In iTunes
38	Import Photos	iPad in Business	8/1/11	Free	View In iTunes
39	Manage PDFs	iPad in Business	7/18/11	Free	View In iTunes
40	Deliver Amazing Presentations	iPad in Business	7/4/11	Free	View In iTunes
41	Process Sales Transactions	iPad in Business	6/20/11	Free	View In iTunes
42	Access Documents on SharePoint	iPad in Business	6/6/11	Free	View In iTunes
43	Manage Meeting Agendas	iPad in Business	5/23/11	Free	View In iTunes
44	Manage iOS Devices	iPad in Business	5/9/11	Free	View In iTunes
45	Access Business Intelligence Data	iPad in Business	4/25/11	Free	View In iTunes
46	Create and Share Diagrams	iPad in Business	4/3/11	Free	View In iTunes
47	Access International Keyboards	iPad in Business	4/3/11	Free	View In iTunes
48	Annotate PDFs	iPad in Business	4/3/11	Free	View In iTunes
49	Send and Receive Calendar Invites	iPad in Business	4/3/11	Free	View In iTunes

Similar videos are posted for iPad at Work

	Name	Description	Released	Price
1	Presentations: Introduction	iPad at Work: Presentations	11/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
2	Presentations: Airplay Mirroring	iPad at Work: Presentations	11/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
3	Presentations: Keynote and other Presentation Apps	iPad at Work: Presentations	11/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
4	Presentations: Jordan Winery Profile Video	iPad at Work: Presentations	11/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
5	Presentations: Jordan Winery Interview 1	iPad at Work: Presentations	11/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
6	Presentations: Jordan Winery Interview 2	iPad at Work: Presentations	11/13/12	Free	View In iTunes
7	Presentations: Wrap-Up	iPad at Work: Presentations	11/13/12	Free	View In iTunes

How to Sync Safari Between Mac and iPad

If you have a favorite set of websites that you have assigned on your Safari browser, you can sync them to iCloud. Once that is done, on your iPad, you can open Safari and see the same tabs and shortcuts.

If you have to suddenly rush away from the browser open on your computer, you can continue your work with the same open tabs and window on your iPad via iCloud.

Here’s how…First, you have to make sure iCloud is set up to sync the Safari settings.

To set up your Mac, follow these instructions:

1. Install OS 10.7.4 or later, including 10.8.x.

2. Turn on iCloud in System Preferences.

3. Check Safari to enable the iCloud syncing of your Safari information.

 

4.  Your bookmarked Safari folders and sites will be synced to iCloud.

To set up your iPad or iPhone, follow these instructions:

1. Install the latest iOS.

2. Tap Settings > iCloud.

3. Turn on Safari.

 

Now, on you computer, you can surf the web and open up various tabs for different sites. Your favorites and current tabs will be available and show up on your iPad via iCloud. (of course, both will need an internet connection).

On your iPad, open Safari. Tap in the browser where you would enter the web site and the various tabs will drop down and appear.

If you tap on the iCloud icon, you will be presented with a list of the open tabs you had on your Safari browser.

You can read more about how to set up iCloud and tab syncing here.

How to Get Emoji Keyboard on iPad

Want to use those little emoji smiley face symbols to send friends messages or emails? You can modify your iPad keyboard to accomplish that. Make sure you are using the latest iOS.

Go to Settings > General > Keyboard. Tap on Add New Keyboard.

You will be presented with a list. Tap on Emoji.

Now, open an app, any app that uses a keyboard. You will be presented with a reminder and a new icon will be next to the spacebar. It looks like a globe.

Tap on the globe and you will be presented with all kinds of symbols and choices. Tap on the various icons at the bottom to choose a set and scroll through the set from right to left to see how many pages of icons you have.

Tap an icon and tap the globe symbol to get back to the regular keyboard.

You can read more at the Apple support article.

Pages – How to Create Folders to Organize Documents

Do you have a bunch of Pages documents and don’t like to scroll forever to find them? What if you could create a folder to organize the documents? Using this tip, you can sort and store Pages documents into folders.

First, get to the Documents screen. If you are editing a document in Pages, tap the Documents button on the top left to take you to a screen similar to the one seen below.

To create a folder, much like creating a folder for apps, tap and hold on a document.

The various documents will then begin jiggling like what happens when you tap and hold an app to rearrange the apps on the screen.

You will then be able to tap and drag a document onto another document and create and name a folder.

Tap on the x and rename the folder. Tap done and voila, a folder has been created.

You can then tap and hold folders to drag them into an order  you like.

 

Short Cut Typing – A Real Time Saver

A new feature in iOS 5.x that cuts down on the time it takes you to type words, phrases or whole sentences is available.

Tap Settings > General > Keyboard and scroll down until you see “Shortcuts.” Tap on Add New Shortcut.

In the Phrase section, type something like “I will be there in 5 minutes.”  In the shortcut section, enter the shortcut letter combination that you want to use for that phrase like “bt5″  Tap on save to save that combination.

You can then add others like “Thank you very much” and “thx” then tap Save.

Open an app like Mail, Pages or even text messaging that accepts text and type your new shortcut.  You will be presented with the option to add your text phrase. Type space to accept it and you just saved yourself a lot of typing.

Some common or potentially useful shortcuts include:

phn – a phone number you want to provide without having to retype it.

ophn – an office phone number

hadr – your home address (the short cut won’t do paragraph returns so the 3 line address will be 1 line)

oadr – your office address

eml   anemail@email.com - This can be used for you to provide an email address without having to type it.

cttk – I can’t talk right now, I’ll get in touch with you later. – this can be a real time save when someone texts you.

bt5  - I will be there in 5 minutes.

Start using this useful feature and save time.

How to Organize Your iPad Apps

So you’ve bought a bunch of apps, perhaps its a good time to organize them. There are many ways to do this. A couple include using iTunes or physically dragging apps around on your iPad.

iPad to Organize

To rearrange apps on your iPad, touch an app and hold down until the app icons jiggle. Then, arrange the icons by dragging them. Press the home button to save your arrangement.

If you have many apps, you can arrange and create up to 11 screens or pages. The dots above the Dock show the number of screens you have and the white one shows you the one you are currently viewing.

For apps you use frequently, you can create a shortcut by making those apps available on every page. Tap and hold an app. When they start to jiggle, drag the app or folders of apps to the bottom of the screen (dock). This will allow you to find an app quickly, no matter which page you are on. To drag a folder into the dock, you will have to create it first on the screen, then drag it to the dock.

iTunes

You can organize your apps via iTunes if you prefer. Launch iTunes and connect your iPad. Select your iPad and tap Apps.

You will see your apps and the different pages on which they appear on your iPad. Select an app and drag it to a different page to move it to that page.

You can create folders the same way by dragging an app into another app. iPad automatically names a folder when you create it based on the icons used to create the folder. You can change the folder name by tapping the x and typing a new folder name. You can put up to 20 icons in a folder.

To get rid of the folder, drag the apps out to the desktop.

Organizational Methods

There are many ways you can arrange your apps including by location, alphabet or categories.

Alphabetical

To arrange your apps alphabetically, on your iPad, tap Settings > General > Reset > Reset Home Screen Layout. This will make your first page default to the original Apple apps. Beginning on the second page, your apps will appear alphabetically. You will have to do this each time you add an app to keep it in order or you can rearrange them after buying new apps.

Categories

Apple has currently listed 20 categories of apps. Perhaps you can create a folder for each category and arrange your apps accordingly. The 20 categories (in alphabetical order) are: Books, Business, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Games, Healthcare & Fitness, Lifestyle, Medical, Music, Navigation, News, Photography, Productivity, Reference, Social Networking, Sports, Travel, Utilities, Weather.

Conclusion

There are many ways to organize and make your iPad your own. When you have begun accumulating apps, take a little bit of time to organize them. A little time spent organizing can well save time and increase your productivity.

Automatic Downloads and Syncing for iPad – How To

Apple has updated iTunes again. This iTunes update is designed to help sync your music in all of your iOS devices, automatically. You will need to have an iTunes account and need to turn this feature on in both iTunes and your iOS devices.  Here’s how.

First, download the latest version of iTunes (currently 10.3.1 you may need to use the Software Update). Next, open iTunes. In iTunes preferences, go to the store and turn on the things (Music, Apps, Books) you want to sync.

Next, on your iOS device, go to Settings and tap Store.

You will see Automatic Downloads. Switch the settings to on to initiate the automatic downloads. Note that you can turn on Cellular to use the cell system if Wi-Fi is not available. However, unless you have an unlimited plan, you may incur additional costs.

Pages and Keynote – Remotely Access Your Files

Do you want to access, create and store your Pages, Numbers, Keynote and other documents with your iPad without syncing to iTunes? If you have a MobileMe account or access to any standard WebDAV server, you can. (you can also share your documents using Apple’s iWork.com which is still in BETA status.)

WebDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) allows you to edit and manage files located on a remote server. By linking to a WebDAV location from your iPad app, you can easily copy, edit, and delete documents to and from a remote server or web service without having to sync with a cable with your computer.

Other apps may allow you to use services like Dropbox to store and access your files but, Apple does not currently have a direct way to link your Dropbox account for purposes of storing Pages and Keynote documents.

A prior post on using Dropbox with your iPad is here.

Apple has an article on using a WebDAV service, most of which appears below.

Link to a WebDAV server in your iWork for iPad app:

1. In the My Documents view, tap  and then tap “Copy to WebDAV.”
2. Enter the server address (web address or URL), your user name, and password into the appropriate fields.
3. Tap Sign In in the upper-right corner of the window.

After you’ve signed in to a WebDAV server, you can copy documents to and from the server without signing in again (see the instructions below for details). You’ll remain signed in to the server until you tap Sign Out in the upper-right corner of this same window.

You can sign in to a different WebDAV server by signing out of the current server and linking to another one.

Copy a document to a WebDAV server: 

1. In My Documents view, tap  to copy the document you’ve centered the view on.
2. Tap Copy to WebDAV, then tap the document format you want to export to: Pages, Microsoft Office, or PDF.
3. In the list of folders, tap the one in which you want to save the document. Tap Copy in the upper-right corner of the window.

Copy a document from a WebDAV server:

1. In My Documents view, tap .
2. Tap Copy from WebDAV. (If necessary, navigate to the document you want to copy by tapping the folder in which its located. If no files or folders are listed, the server is empty.)
3. Tap the name of the document you want to copy. The document downloads and opens in your iWork for iPad app.

Delete a file from a WebDAV server:

1. Access a list of files on a WebDAV server according to the instructions above.
2. Swipe your finger across the name of the file you want to delete.
3. Tap the Delete button that appears. You can’t delete folders this way, only files. This action can’t be undone.

Notes and Font Selection

Apple has a built in app called Notes. This app lets you type notes on whatever topic or idea you may have. If you have a mobileme account, you can sync your notes between Macs, iPads, iPhones and the Web.

With the new iOS 4.3 update, you now have a choice of 3 fonts to use on your iPad with Apple’s Notes App. (Noteworthy, Helvetica and Marker Felt). This is up from 2 with Noteworthy being the new addition.

To change your font settings in Notes, tap on Settings (the app with the gears). Then, in Settings, tap on Notes. On the far right column, you will see the choice of fonts available. Tap on the one you want to use.

Once you make a selection, all type in Notes will be that font. Apple does not let you mix and match fonts in Notes…at least not yet.