5 iPad Features Most People Didn’t Even Know Existed
Credit: Daniel Korpai / Unsplash
With price points for every consumer and widespread adoption both in businesses and in schools, Apple's iPad is more than just a niche product. It's a productivity tool by day and an entertainment center by night. It's so versatile and chock full of features that you may only be scratching the surface of what you can do with an Apple tablet. We're here to help you take your iPad to the next level. Continue reading to learn five iPad tricks that most people didn't know existed.
Work with Two Apps at the Same Time
I exercise at home and like to watch YouTube on my iPad. At the same time, I need to have a timer to see how long I have to hold my wall sits. You can switch between the apps, but this pauses the YouTube video, which is quite annoying.
With the iPad, though, I can use Slide Over to keep both apps open at the same time with the clock app overlaying the YouTube window. This configuration allows me to reset my timer every 30 seconds and follow my YouTube video streaming without interruption.
Using Slide Over is simple:
- Place the app you want to overlay in the dock before you begin.
- Open your first app, so it fills the entire screen.
- Then swipe up to reveal the dock.
- Tap on the app you want to overlay and drag it to the left or the right side of your screen. The app will open in a small window that overlays the primary app.
Both apps will be available to you, and any media streaming will continue without pause. You also can swipe the window away and then swipe it back again when you need it.
Capture a Screenshot of an Entire Page, Save as PDF
You can capture the full length of a webpage and then save it as a PDF file that you can access in the Files app.
Take a screen capture, tap the thumbnail in the lower-left corner, then look for the options "Screen" and "Full Page" at the top to choose whether you want just the contents of the screen or an entire page.
This screen capture option works in Safari, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Mail, or Apple Maps.
Use a Trackpad to Control Your iPad
Before iOS 13.4, you could use your mouse or trackpad with your iPad, but the feature was limited. Now, the settings for your mouse and trackpad have a dedicated entry under General > Settings.
Connect your mouse or trackpad to your iPad using Bluetooth and open up the settings app to enable mouse support.
And this isn't some dumbed down feature. The iPad supports a wide variety of gestures that you commonly use with a mouse or trackpad. You can left-click, right-click, click and hold, click, hold and drag, and a whole lot more.
Jump to the Top of Any Web Page
This one is pretty basic but extremely useful. When you've scrolled to the bottom of a long web page and want to jump to the top, don't waste your time scrolling back upwards. Just tap the top of the title bar, and you'll be transported instantly to the top of the page.
Undo Mistakes with Three Fingers
When you want to undo a mistake in typing, you can use a few simple three-finger gestures to undo and redo your mistakes. If you need a simple re-do, you can quickly tap your three fingers on the screen and then select Undo. You also can use your three fingers to swipe left and then use a triple finger swipe right to redo.