Tips & Things
Need to Back Up or Export a Messages Conversation? Try PDF or iMazing
Occasionally, we hear from a client who needs to document a Messages conversation with timestamps, perhaps as part of a lawsuit. The only way to do that on an iPhone or iPad is to take a series of screenshots, but if you have a Mac, there are additional options. The...
Find Devices and People from Your HomePod
This feature evokes one of those “living in the future” moments for us. The recently released HomePod Software 16.3 now supports Find My, which means you can ask Siri to locate one of your devices or a friend or family member who shares their location with you. If you...
Quickly Put Lots of Files in a Folder with One Command
Imagine that you’re working with a bunch of files, and you want to put a set of them in a new folder. You could stop what you’re doing, make a new folder, select all the files, and drag them into the folder, like an animal. Or you could take advantage of a slick...
What’s the Difference between Removing and Deleting an App?
There are many reasons you might want to get rid of apps from your iPhone or iPad. To begin, touch and hold on a blank spot on a Home Screen to enter “jiggle mode.” Then tap the ⊝ icon for any app to see the question about whether to delete the app entirely or merely...
Six Ways of Making It Easier to Browse Your Favorite Websites
Everyone—or at least everyone reading this article—knows how to use a Web browser. But just because you can click links, search for websites, and type URLs doesn’t mean that you’re surfing the Web as smoothly and effectively as you could. We all have sites that we...
The Amazingly Convenient Way to Scan Documents Using Your iPhone or iPad
On occasion, we all need to scan a document—an invoice, a recipe, instructions from a book—but far more people have an iPhone or iPad than a hardware scanner. Luckily, Apple has built a scanning capability into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS for some years now. The next time...
It’s Time to Try Dictation in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16
Apple has long provided a microphone button in the keyboard to invoke dictation on the iPhone and iPad. But, it wasn’t always easy to hit, and you had to switch back to the keyboard to fix the inevitable mistakes. (Apple’s dictation is a huge timesaver but far from...
What Is Google Web & App Activity, and Should You Leave It Enabled?
Earlier this year, some of our clients received an email from Google reminding them that they have Web & App Activity turned on. Those with a healthy dose of caution were concerned that it might be a phishing attack, but no, it’s legitimate. Their next questions...
Use Quick Look to Preview Spotlight Results in Ventura
When you search using Spotlight on the Mac, it provides a decent amount of information about each result, including name and other metadata. But what if you want to see what’s behind the search result? In macOS 13 Ventura, Apple added Quick Look support to Spotlight...
You Can Use Face ID in iOS 16 on Newer iPhones When You’re Lying on Your Side
If you’ve ever tried to use Face ID to unlock an iPhone while lying on your side in bed, you may have noticed that it didn’t work. That’s because Face ID used to require that the iPhone be upright, in portrait mode. In iOS 16, however, Apple has improved Face ID so it...