Our iPhones and iPads are amazing devices with capabilities many of us have never explored. We are going to introduce you to some of these under-utilized features over the next couple of days. Read on and become more efficient as you master additional skills with your iPhone and/or iPad.
The Notes App
The Notes AppThis fabulous app allows you to…
- Type
- Write with your finger
- Draw
- Scan
- Add pictures
- Share with other people
- Make a chart
- Dictate
Best of all—if you have multiple Apple devices, what you put in Notes on your iPhone will show up in Notes on your iPad and/or Mac computer. You can set that feature up in Settings; just make sure Notes is turned on under the iCloud setting. You need to tap on your name on the first screen in Settings and new screen will appear with the iCloud option. Also, you can use the “Hey Siri” function to add items to a particular note. “Hey Siri, add dog food to my grocery list in the Notes app.”
Let’s look at the specific features of Notes.
The image above shows the list of notes on an iPhone; your list will be different or non-existent if you have never used the app. If you want to add to an existing note, you just tap it. To start a new note, tap on the square with the pen in the lower right hand corner (red arrow).
This screen will appear. The keyboard and cursor are already for you to type. But, you have so many more options. Look at the menu across the center of the screen. Starting on the right hand side you see a circle with a picture of a marker tip. Tap it.
Up pops a screen that will allow you to use your finger to sketch or take notes.
Moving toward the left in the menu, you see a + sign. Just look at the options it provides.
The + sign allows you to take a photo or add one from your photo library to a specific note. You can also scan a document. — great for keeping a record of receipts or shorts bits of information about a product. Finally, if you have created a sketch in another app, you can also add that. Please note, if you have an Apple pencil, it will not work on your iPhone, only on your iPad.
If you refer back to the image above of a new note with the menu across the middle, you will also see a microphone in the lower right hand corner. Tapping the mic allows you to dictate the text you want in the note. Picture yourself in a plant nursery, hardware store, or grocery store. Seeing a product you might want to buy in the future, just open a new note and dictate what you want to remember. That way you don’t have to fumble with the keyboard when you are in a hurry.
It’s easy to use bullets like the ones you see above. There are two options.
- Tap on the circle with a check mark that’s in the middle of the menu. An empty circle will appear. This option creates a “To Do” list. When you finish a task, just tap in the circle and check mark appears.
- If instead you tap on upper/lower case A’s, the screen below will appear that provides several text options as well as traditional bullets.
Perhaps you are a person that likes orderly notes that are easy to read. It is easy to create a chart by tapping the icon on the far left of the menu we have been referring to all along. A blank chart will appear, and you adjust the size of the chart by tapping on the boxes to the left of the chart and at its top.
There are three more features we need to look at. Scroll back up and look at the image with the arrows. The blue one points at an arrangement of four tiny boxes. If you tap that icon, you will immediately see all of the images and attachments you have in your Notes App. You can easy find a picture you are looking for.
Below is a repeat image from above and please note the icons at the top of the screen shot.
Toward the right you see a square with an arrow pointing straight up. That’s the “Share” button. This icon allows you to share directly to social media (if you have social media accounts on your device), email or text a copy of the note, and print. Very convenient!
The other icon to check out is of a person’s head and + sign. This button gives you the option to invite folks to view a note and its updates. Think how helpful this feature would be for committee planning purposes.
The versatile Notes app provides a-one stop option for gathering information, making note of ideas and products you want to investigate, and keeping you organized. It’s almost like having a personal assistant at your fingertips.
Part 2 of this iPhone/iPad Sup Powers series is going to focus on shortcuts to use when Safari is open. Stay tuned!
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