INTERFACE TRICKS
Use a keyboard or Apple Pencil to boost your productivity
ONE OF THE things that really >>> differentiates using an iPad from using an iPhone is keyboard shortcuts. If you connect an external keyboard to your iPad, then it makes the experience much more like using a Mac. For example, to search for something, instead of swiping down on the Home Screen and typing a search query on the on–screen keyboard then tapping a result, you can press Cmd+Spacebar, the same as Spotlight on the Mac, type the query, then press Return on the keyboard. In iPadOS 14, you can now even handwrite the search query with an Apple Pencil.
1
ADD A SMART STACK
TO THE TODAY VIEW
Tap and hold on any free space on the Home Screen. Tap “+” in the top–left corner. The widgets drawer will appear, with Smart Stack at the top. Tap Smart Stack and swipe left or right to choose the size you want. Tap Add Widget.
2
USE ASSISTIVE TOUCH TO ACCESS UNIVERSAL SEARCH Accessing Universal Search from within an app usually requires an external keyboard, but you can also do it by customizing the floating Home button displayed when Assistive Touch is active. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Assistive Touch and toggle the switch to turn it on. Then tap one of the Custom Actions and choose Spotlight.
3
USE SPLIT VIEW
Tap on one of the apps you want to view in Split View. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to show the Dock. Tap and hold on the other app you want to view until the contextual menu disappears. Drag its icon to the left or right of the screen. To view the second app as an overlay on the first, tap and hold the bar at the top of its window and pull it down over the first app. To get rid of it, tap and hold on the bar on the bottom until the window shrinks, then swipe up over it.
4
SET DEFAULT EMAIL
AND BROWSER APPS
For your email and browser, you can now choose third–party apps as your default option. Launch Settings and locate the app you want to use as your default, for example Chrome. Tap on it and tap Default Browser App, then choose it from the list. To set a default email app, locate the mail app and tap Default Mail App. As of iPadOS 14.5, you can choose
your audio app too — ask Siri to play some music or a podcast and it will ask you which app to use rather than picking the Apple default.
5
USE SCRIBBLE
Using Scribble is as simple as tapping in any text box with an Apple Pencil. You’ll see a pencil icon appear, which means you can start writing and your handwriting will instantly be converted to text.
6
COPY HANDWRITING IN NOTES AS TEXT
Open a note that has handwriting in it and double–tap on a word to select it. Then simply drag the selection handles over all the words that you want to select. In the menu that appears, choose Copy as Text. You can now paste it as text in any app.
7
DRAW ACCURATE SHAPES IN NOTES
This one works equally well with either an Apple Pencil or just your finger. Draw a shape then, when you’re finished, hold your finger or the Apple Pencil on the screen for a few seconds and the shape that you have drawn will be turned into a perfect version.
8
TRANSLATE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IN SAFARI
Launch Safari and navigate to a web page that’s written in a language other than your iPad’s native language. Tap the “AA” button to the left of the address bar and choose Translate to English (or whatever your iPad’s native language happens to be). You might see a pop–up box asking you to confirm your choice. If so, tap Enable Translation.
9
DISABLE SHARE SHEET SUGGESTIONS
When you tap on a Share Sheet in iOS 14 or iPadOS 14, it displays contact suggestions based on conversations that you frequently have. In iPadOS 14, you can turn that off. Simply go to Settings > Siri & Search, and then toggle the switch located next to “Suggestions while Sharing” to off.
10
DISABLE PRIVATE ADDRESS FOR WI–FI NETWORKS iPadOS 14 introduced a feature called Private Access for Wi–Fi Networks which is switched on by default. It replaces your iPad’s MAC address with a randomized version to prevent your device being tracked while you use public Wi–Fi. However, if you regularly access Wi–Fi networks that identify permitted devices by MAC address, you may want to turn the feature off. Go to Settings > Wi–Fi and tap the “i” next to the network you’re on, then toggle Private Address to the off position.