Ingenious tips and tricks for using your tablet
Get more from your tablet with the following tips, tricks and shortcuts.
1. Create folders
This is a good idea for those who have loads of apps on multiple pages – it allows you to organise, group and categorise your apps. To create a folder, tap and hold onto the app until it starts to shake. Next, drag it on top of another app and release. The tablet will create a folder containing those apps. To add more apps to the folder, simply drag apps into the folder (if it doesn’t work, hold down your app again until it shakes. This indicates it can be moved.) You can rename the folders to your liking as well.
2. Multi-touch gestures
The sensitive touchscreen of tablets makes it fun to swipe, tap and zoom (pinch in our out with thumb and fingers). But once you’ve mastered those, there are many more shortcuts to learn.
For iPad only, go to Settings > General > Multi-tasking gesture.
Now you can add these to your repertoire:
- Place four fingers on the screen and swipe upwards to reveal the multitasking bar. Swipe down to close it again.
- Swipe left or right with four fingers to switch between apps.
- Pinch four fingers together to close the running app and return to the homescreen.
3. (Grand)parental controls
We’re guessing your grandkids love spending hours playing on your tablet. While there are some great apps for kids, there’s also plenty of reasons you might want to enable the parental controls.
For iPads only, head to Settings > General > Restrictions menu. There you can choose which apps you want to restrict your grandkids from. Once set, the Restrictions settings are pin-protected so only you can change them.
4. Copy and paste text
See something you like and want to share it? To copy text double tap (or tap and hold) on the area you would like to copy. A highlighted word will appear with “anchors”. Adjust the anchors to the portion you’d like to copy. Tap Copy and move to the app where you want to paste the text. Double tap the screen until a pop-up menu appears. Click Paste.
5. Find something specific
Rather than wading through all your apps, music, movies, contacts or text when you’re looking for something specific, just search for it.
For iPad only, access the Spotlight Search by swiping down on the screen when you’re on the homescreen (not in an app). Just be careful not to swipe down from the very top of the screen as that will bring up the Notification Centre rather than Spotlight Search. Type in what you’re looking for and it will bring up all relevant searches.
6. Lock screen orientation
Tablet screens continually rotating between portrait and landscape can be annoying when you don’t need it too! Luckily, locking it to one view is easy.
For iPad, go to Settings > General > Lock rotation
For Android tablet, go to Setting > Device > Display > Uncheck “Auto-rotate screen”