iPad User Guide for iBooks

Apple has made the iPad manual available for free through the iBooks Store. This freebie is literally a nice addition to your library.

iPad keyboard secrets.

The iPad keyboard is a clever little thing. It can make typing on your iPad a surprisingly smooth experience once you get the hang.


Turn to Landscape.
Once you get used to the fact that turning your iPad is part of its function, it ceases to become an annoyance. Most apps are designed so that you edit in Portrait mode and enter text in Landscape mode. When you turn to Landscape both the text and keyboard get bigger making typing allot easier. The keys are actually just a hair smaller than on a real Mac keyboard.


Have faith.
The keyboard corrects itself. Just type and don't worry about your mistakes. When you're finished, go back and you'll be surprised at how many have already been corrected for you.


What would you autosuggest?
With many words you'll get an Autosuggest popup with an x beside it. Tapping the spacebar accepts the suggestion. Tapping the x gets rid of it.


Autopunctuate.
Typing a double space after a word will insert a period, add a space and cap the first letter of the next sentence. You can turn off Auto Cap in Settings>General>Keyboard. Also, for most words that require an apostrophe, just type without it and iPad inserts it. We're doesn't work. If you want its, you'll have to tap the x on the popup.


A key of many characters.
When you hold down certain keys you'll get more options. If you want an é, just hold down the e key and tap it in the pop up. You'll find extras logically hiding under these keys: e y u i o a s l z x c n ! , . 0 - $ & @ ? ! % ' "

Note that the " key hides smart quotes and the - key hides an emdash.


Slide into numbers.
To quickly add a digit, hold the Shift key and slide up. The numbers keyboard appears and disappears when you release from your choice.


Unlocking Caps Lock.
In Settings>Keyboard>General you can enable Caps Lock. Once enabled, double tap the Shift key to turn it on and single tap to turn it off.


Scratch that.
The Delete key will backspace through single characters if you hold it. Keep holding and it will start deleting whole words. Careful, it get vicious. To quickly delete a single word, double tap on it and hit the delete key. To delete a whole paragraph, triple or quadruple tap on a word in the paragraph and hit the delete key. There are Undo and Redo keys on the second and third keyboards.


Netcuts.
In Safari and Mail holding the period key will give you .com and other options. Safari doesn't need a whole address in the URL bar. apple.com gets you there. apple will get you there too, since safari tries dot com as the first option.


It learns your style.
The keyboard actually learns how you type. After you've typed a word that's not in the Autosuggest list three times, it's added. When you've dismissed a word three times, it's removed. The more you use a word, the more likely it becomes an Autosuggest choice.You can seed your Autosuggest list by adding the words to the note field of any contact since Autosuggest uses Contacts as one of its databases. If you really screwed up the database the first few days you had your iPad you can reset it at Home>Settings>General>Reset>Reset Keyboard Dictionary.


Spellcheck.
Most apps have Spellcheck enabled. Red dots under a word means iPad questions it. Tap the word and you get suggestions. Even if the word is spelled correctly but not what you meant, it can change the word for you. Double tap a word and choose Replacement. You'll get a popup with suggestions.


Give your writing some definition.
iPad has the same sensible built-in dictionary that Mac does. Currently Pages is the only app that uses it. In Pages, double tap on a word, choose More, and choose Dictionary.


Go international. Or go crazy.
In Setttings>General>Keyboard you can enable the international keyboards. The Chinese keyboard even allows you to handwrite ideograms. One of nice features of a virtual keyboard is that iPad can easily do alternative keyboards, like Dvorak.


The option of no options.
Autocap, autosentence, autocorrect are all able to be disabled in Settings>General>Keyboard

These are the tricks I have discovered. If I find more I'll update this post.

Review: Brenthaven Switch Satchel

This appears to be the first satchel custom made for the iPad. The Switch is a little larger than you'd expect. It's seriously padded with a stiff foam for the best protection I've seen in a carrying case for iPad. The main compartment is oversized and zips shut. Since many of us have our iPad in a bumper shell, this makes slipping it in and out of the satchel easy.








There's plenty of storage space. The front has a zippered accessory pocket and a large open pocket with two pen slots, an iPhone slot and a key hook. There's also a velcro-sealed back pocket that makes a good newspaper, magazine or paperback holder. This bag can hold almost as many extras as a standard laptop bag.

The Switch gets its name from patented flap that's switchable to make it look like you can afford two cases. The flap closes with magnets, but they're nowhere as secure as Velcro, snaps or latches. The strap isn't padded, but is wide and comfortable. There's also an unobtrusive handle.

If you're looking for a bag to protect your iPad through the daily grid, this is rugged and well-built. Brenthaven gives their bags a lifetime guarantee, so your satchel will last for many iPads to come.

iPhone/iPad app confusion.

There are three types of apps that work on the iPad: iPad apps, iPhone apps and iPhone/iPad apps. They're all available exclusively at the App Store. So what's the difference? For the most part all these apps run fine. It's in the graphic interface where things get confusing.


iPad apps.
These are apps that have been written or modified exclusively for the iPad and won't run on an iPhone. They take full advantage of the iPad's larger screen interface. Almost all switch orientation when you turn the screen. Many apps for iPhone now have iPad versions that often offer new features. If you already own the iPhone version you'll still have to buy the iPad version. They will not install on the iPhone.


iPhone apps.
These are standard iPhone apps that run on your iPad. They can't really take advantage of the more precise iPad screen control. You have the choice of running them at native resolution or 2x, where every pixel is magnified by 4.


If you already own these apps, you don't have to buy them again. Just install them through the App Store or iTunes. When you download them through the app store it will appear you're buying them, but later you get a box telling you they're free. Note that the apps maintain separate data on the different devices, so can't usually sync the same data to both and iPad and an iPhone.


iPhone/iPad apps.
These have two interfaces, one for the iPhone and one for the iPad. You can run them on both your iPhone and iPad at the same time. Note that the apps maintain separate data on the different devices. If you have already paid for the iPhone version and it's updated to an iPhone/iPad version, mostly likely you won't have to buy it again. Just install it on your iPad.




These apps are noted by a plus sign in the corner of the price tag.


Caveat empty.
Unfortunately iPhone apps don't all work with iPad. They're supposed to, but that's not the case. I have noticed this with Tanzaku, Hindenberg and iPodcastudio. They have some severe issues with graphics. Tanzaku is an app that captures images of your written words and assembles them into a note. The function is fine, but the images are illegible. Both Hindenberg and iPodcastudio have issues displaying the visual audio timeline, making their core functions of audio editing difficult. iPodcastudio even loses some buttons making function impossible.

Most apps do work fine. It's just worth noting that there might be some frustration when you add some of your current iPhone apps to your iPad.

Review: LiteNotes is as simple as it gets.

While the native Notes app on your iPad is simple, there are a lot of complaints about the annoying yellow paper background and the Felt Marker Font. They were tolerable for the iPhone where they were readable on the small screen. But the bigger screen of the iPad reveals their true cheesiness.


Hello Helvetica.
LiteNotes uses Helvetica, the most popular print font in the world. Just watch the movie Helvetica and you'll realize its the font we live by and probably the most readable sans serif font. Arial, the most common web font, is a bastardization of Helvetica. LiteNotes also uses a plain white background that's easy on the eyes.


Zoom makes room.
LiteNotes offers you infinite font sizes for viewing. Just pinch the screen and you can shrink or enlarge as big as you want. But the cool feature is that the text is reformatted to fit the width of the screen so there's no annoying sideways scrolling. I find it nice to enlarge for writing and to shrink it for faster navigation.


Flip your notes.
In addition to the standard list and search functions for your notes, LitesNotes can flip through them. Swipe right right to go back a note. Swipe left to create a new one. This is especially handy in landscape more where the menu doesn't show.


It's okay it's only text.
Blessing or curse, there's no formatting. Notes can't change fonts or add colors on the iPhone either, but can in Mac Mail. Occasionally this formatting seems to get in the way when pasting to Pages and certainly can wind up confusing to look at. With LiteNotes, what you see is what you paste. LiteNotes at the moment offers no sync, but you can email your notes.

I find LiteNotes a nice little repository for text with full screen editing. The zoom feature makes it easy to highlight tiny or massive amounts of text. This one is a nice addition to your dock.

To protect and serve.

So. Do you protect your iPad or not? Here are some thoughts to consider:

• You're more likely to drop it than you are a laptop. We seem to hold laptops firmly when transporting. The iPad we don't. And we're more likely to be using an iPad as we walk. If a laptop falls, there's usually a plastic shell to protect the innards and screen. With the iPad there's a good chance you'll crack the glass or dent the aluminum. The iPad also is thin enough and slick enough (with the aluminum back) that it can slide out of your hands easier.


• it's heavier than an iPhone. The lighter weight of an iPhone allows it to be dropped and not seriously damaged. Were more likely to treat an iPad with the carelessness of an iPhone than we are a laptop. But the extra heft of the iPad almost guarantees damage if it falls.


• A silicone back is worth it. A screen protector is not. Even a thin silicone back offers protection from dents and scratches in a fall. Screen protectors are needed when you keep an iPhone bare in your pocket. You'll never find a pocket that big for your iPad. You'll probably carry it is a padded case intended for a laptop.

But if you're really paranoid you might go for the Otter Defender pictured above.

Review: Penultimate, jot this one down

For anyone who communicates visually, there's an app for that. By communicating visually, I mean sketching out a simple illustration to get an idea across. Penultimate is a no-nonsense app that does that elegantly well.


Ink with emphasis.
It's surprising that so few drawing apps take advantage of the ipad screen to control emphasis. Most offer a primitive, consistent-width line that gets very clunky when you move fast. Penultimate has no width setting. And doesn't need one. Just like a real marker on paper, draw slowly and the ink absorbs. Draw more quickly and the line gets thinner. There are no jagged curves, just a nice smooth stroke. It mimics ink so well that there are nice round blots at the beginning and end of each stroke. There are no colors. And that's fine. They'd just get in the way of quick expression.

Penultimate gets you to a blank page fast. If you've every tried to jot down a phone number with a painting app, you find you have to wait for the app to open, wait for a file to open, choose a pen and...you get the point. It's not quick or very convenient. In Penultimate you're quickly taken to your last entry. Tap the page number and start jotting.


Org and export.
You get an infinite number of notebooks with an infinite number of pages to help you organize your scrawls. This is how you'd organize real paper notebooks, so it feels natural. Tap the page number to go to the next page or the opposite corner to go back. In the Notebooks screen you can tap the cover of the notebook to close it for less distraction.

When you export a page, it's popped into an email as a PNG file. This allows you to quickly jot down an idea and send it off. When you export a whole notebook, it's saved as a PDF. The paper background is there for drawing reference and is not exported so you get clean black on white.


There's nothing fancy here. I see people whining on the App Store, wanting to make this a complex paint app. They don't get it. It's a pen and a notebook. And that's all it needs to be.