how-tos Archives - here's the thing https://heresthethingblog.com/category/how-tos/ Making sense of gadgets and technology Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:18:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://heresthethingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FB_icon_500x500-copy-130x130.jpg how-tos Archives - here's the thing https://heresthethingblog.com/category/how-tos/ 32 32 iOS tip: 4 ways to change the sound of Siri’s voice https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/05/22/change-sound-siri-voice/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/05/22/change-sound-siri-voice/#comments Tue, 22 May 2018 16:10:07 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=21061 The post iOS tip: 4 ways to change the sound of Siri’s voice appeared first on here's the thing.

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Not only will the ever-loyal Siri—you know, Apple’s voice-activated digital assistant for iPhone and iPad—cheerfully read your email, set alarms, deliver weather reports and generally be at your beck and call, she’ll even change the sound of her voice if you ask her to. In addition to changing the gender of Siri’s voice, you can also give her a different accent, teach her a new language or even ask her to keep quiet unless you’re using a headset.

The first step: tap Settings, Siri & Search. You can also ask Siri to “change the sound of your voice”; when you do, she’ll give you a shortcut to her voice settings.

1. Change the gender of Siri’s voice

Want to change the sound of Siri’s voice from female to male, or back to female again? Tap the Siri Voice setting (Settings, Siri & Search, Siri Voice), then pick “Male” or “Female” under the Gender heading.

Siri language and accent settings

You can change the gender of Siri’s voice or even give her a new accent.

2. Give Siri a new accent

You’ll probably find the Accent setting just above the Gender heading; I say “probably” because not all of Siri’s known languages offer different accents. In English, for example, you can choose between American, Australian, and British accents. If Siri’s speaking French, though, there won’t be any alternate accents to choose from.

Related: 5 tasks that Siri does better than your fingertips can

3. Ask Siri to speak a different language

Speaking of languages, Siri is fluent in everything from Arabic and Chinese to Russian and Turkish. Just back up to the main Siri screen (under Settings, Siri& Search), tap Language, and pick one.

4. Decide how much Siri gets to speak

By default, Siri will speak aloud at all times, even when your device is switched to silent mode. Want to make a change? No problem.

iOS Voice Feedback setting for Siri

Set Siri’s Voice Feedback setting to “Hands-Free Only” if you want Siri to be quiet most of the time.

Just tap Voice Feedback from the main Siri settings screen, You’ve got three settings to choose from: Always, meaning Siri will speak aloud whenever you talk to her; Control with Ring Switch, which will keep Siri quiet whenever the ring switch is set to “silent”; and Hands-Free Only, which means you’ll only hear Siri’s voice when you’re using a headset. If you want Siri to keep quiet most of the time, go for the Hands-Free Only option.

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How to get started with Apple Family Sharing for iPhone and iPad https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/03/02/ios-family-sharing/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/03/02/ios-family-sharing/#respond Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:21:25 +0000 https://heresthethingblog.com/?p=26809 The post How to get started with Apple Family Sharing for iPhone and iPad appeared first on here's the thing.

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Is your family having trouble sharing your iTunes and App Store purchases while also keeping your iMessages and other iCloud data separate? One of our readers shares his story, and I’ve got some Apple Family Sharing tips that’ll help sort everything out.

Here’s a recent e-mail I received from Jan:

Hello Ben,

I just read some of your notes on using Apple IDs. This is a recurring source of headaches, irritation and disputes between me and my wife.

We share an iCloud Apple ID to share the Photo Library, Photo Stream, Contacts and Calendars, like you describe in one of your posts. We also use a shared iTunes Store Apple ID for music, apps, books, videos and another one for shopping in the U.S. stores. (Since we live in The Netherlands; some items are not sold in our local iTunes, etc.) All this similar to the setup you describe in another one of your articles.

So far, so good.

The pain is in a number of apps that store and/or use info that implicitly gets connected to the iCloud ID (I think), leading to all sorts of mix-ups. The most annoying in our experience:

iMessage: Messages link to phone numbers, iOS connects both our mobile numbers to the shared iCloud ID, effectively merging our message streams. This doesn’t work for us.)

Phone: Merging the logs of successful and missed calls—less annoying, but still confusing at times.

Health: All of our iDevices merge on the “sources” list [for Health-connected apps and devices] and cannot be separated out.

There may be more, but these three are sources for much discussion between my wife and myself.

Any suggestions on how to save this otherwise satisfactory marriage?

I feel Jan’s pain. Luckily, Apple’s Family Sharing for iOS feature makes it much easier than it used to be for families to share their calendars, photos, music and apps.

Here’s the easiest way to get started.

Activate the Apple Family Sharing feature

To access Family Sharing, tap Settings, then tap your name on the top of the screen to visit your Apple ID settings page.

First, make sure you’re logged into the right accounts. For starters, there’s your main iCloud account, but if you’re a longtime iPhone user, you may also have a separate iTunes & App Store account under a different e-mail address. Nowadays, there’s no need to have separate accounts for iCloud and iTunes, but those of us who’ve been using iPhones since the beginning had to create iTunes accounts before iCloud arrived on the scene. And no, there’s no easy way to combine an iCloud account with an old iTunes account.

Now, scroll down a bit, tap Set Up Family Sharing, follow the prompts, then tap Add Family Member. You can add up to six people under the Apple Family Sharing feature.

In my case, my wife and I used to share a single account for iCloud. When we set up Apple Family Sharing in our home, my wife created her own iCloud account. I then went ahead and added her as a family member.

Start sharing iCloud, iTunes and App Store data & purchases with your family

Once you’re done adding family members, you’ll need to choose which iOS, iTunes and iCloud features you’d like to share.

For example, tap Purchase Sharing to add a credit card that all your family members can use to pay for App Store and iTunes purchases. You can also tap Apple Music to share your Apple Music subscription (if you have one—I don’t). Meanwhile, iCloud storage lets you pool your online iCloud storage (particularly handy when it comes to storing photos in iCloud Photo Library). Last but not least, Location Sharing keeps track of where you all are via iOS’s Location Services feature (not to be confused with iOS’s Find my iPhone feature).

Setting up Apple Family Sharing will also automatically set up a shared Family album in the Photos app (look under the Shared tab), and you’ll also get a shared Family calendar in the Calendar app, too.

Any apps that you purchased under a shared Apple ID or iTunes account should be downloadable for any members under your Family Sharing umbrella.

Start sharing your contacts

OK, but what about all those contacts your were sharing in your single iCloud account? Don’t worry, you can still share contacts even with separate iCloud accounts.

Note: The method I’m about to describe involves sharing your iCloud password with someone else—ideally, a trusted partner, spouse or family member with whom you may have already been sharing a single iCloud account. I do not recommend sharing an iCloud password (or any password, actually) with anyone besides a close family member.

For example, my wife and I used to store all our contacts under my own iCloud account. Once we switched to iOS Family Sharing, she accessed our pool of shared iCloud contacts by tapping Settings, Accounts & Passwords, Add Account. She then signed into my iCloud account, checked the Contacts option, and left everything else unchecked.

Meanwhile, I went ahead and did essentially the same thing; I logged into her iCloud account and checked Contacts only. (Of course, we could also have shared Mail accounts, Reminders and Calendars, too; we simply chose not to do it.)

Now, whenever one of us searches for a contact on our respective iPhones, we’re searching the contacts in both of our iCloud accounts. That essentially means we have a shared pool of contacts again.

Sorting out the pain points

In his e-mail message, Jan noted a series of pain points when it comes to sharing a single iCloud account. For example, messages through iMessages were jumbled, phone logs were messed up, and data in the Health app is scrambled together.

The good news is that setting up Apple Family Sharing should sort out those iMessage, phone history and Health problems. Just check your iMessage and Health settings and make sure they’re both signed in using your own iCloud account.

For iMessages, you’ll also want to double-check that you’re not getting any messages from the wrong phone number or Apple ID. Tap Settings, Messages, Send & Receive, then uncheck any numbers or email addresses that shouldn’t be there.

Still need help?

Have other Family Sharing questions I didn’t quite answer? Just post a comment or drop me a line. You can also check out Apple’s support page or check out this article.

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How to boost the size of the mouse cursor on a Mac or Windows PC https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/02/16/mac-windows-boost-size-mouse-cursor/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/02/16/mac-windows-boost-size-mouse-cursor/#respond Fri, 16 Feb 2018 16:00:28 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=18468 The post How to boost the size of the mouse cursor on a Mac or Windows PC appeared first on here's the thing.

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Updated! Having a hard time spotting that itty-bitty mouse cursor on your PC or Mac display? You’re not the only one. Indeed, as computer displays get bigger and sharper, on-screen mouse pointers keep getting tinier and tinier. Will they eventually shrink down to nothing? Good question.

Well, there’s an easy way to save both your eyesight and your sanity: by dipping into your system settings and boosting the size of the mouse pointer. Here’s how to do it.

Boost the size of the mouse cursor on a Windows 10 PC

First, let’s head for the Settings screen by clicking the Start button, then click the Settings icon (the one that looks like a gear). Once you’re on the Setting screen, click Devices, click Mouse in the left column, then click the blue “Additional mouse options” link (under the Related Settings heading). Doing so will open the Mouse Properties window.

Windows mouse cursor scheme settings

Next, click the Pointers tab, then click the drop-down Scheme menu to reveal your cursor options. Among them: Windows Standard (a white cursor with a thin black outline), Windows Black (a black cursor), and Windows Inverted (a black cursor that inverts its color as it passes over windows, icons, and other items on the screen).

Related: How to find a hidden mouse cursor on your desktop

Each cursor scheme comes in three sizes: regular, large, and extra large. Pick the cursor you like (the bigger the better), then click the Apply button.

To make the cursor even more obvious, try clicking the “Enable pointer shadow” checkbox.

Boost the size of the mouse pointer on a Mac

Open the Apple menu (just click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the page), then select System Preferences.

Mac mouse cursor size setting

Click the Accessibility icon, select Display in the left column, then try moving the Cursor Size slider; when you do, the mouse cursor will start to grow, and grow, and grow. Satisfied? Just close the window.

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10 awesome Windows tricks you can perform without touching your mouse https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/02/09/10-awesome-windows-keyboard-shortcuts/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/02/09/10-awesome-windows-keyboard-shortcuts/#respond Fri, 09 Feb 2018 16:02:20 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=26419 The post 10 awesome Windows tricks you can perform without touching your mouse appeared first on here's the thing.

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I love the feeling of whizzing around my Windows 10 desktop, opening and closing windows, trashing files, renaming folders and more, all without touching a mouse. Read on for 10 ultra-handy things you can do using Windows keyboard shortcuts.

1. Open the File Explorer

Windows keyboard shortcut: Windows key + E

Easily the most valuable utility on your PC, the File Explorer (formerly known as Windows Explorer) lets you view, sort, and inspect all the files and folders on your system, as well as any connected or networked drives. Launch File Explorer in a flash with this simple keyboard shortcut.

2. Minimize all open windows

Windows keyboard shortcut: Windows + M

Got a bunch of open windows cluttering your Windows desktop? Use this keyboard shortcut to make them all hide in the Windows taskbar (the bar that sits at the bottom of your Windows desktop).

3. Peek at the desktop

Windows keyboard shortcut: Windows key + comma

Just want to take a quick look at what’s behind your open desktop windows? Press and hold the Windows key plus the comma to take a peek. When you release the keys, your open windows will instantly reappear.

4. Lock the screen

Windows keyboard shortcut: Windows key + L

Need to step away from your PC for a moment? Here’s a keyboard shortcut that lets you quickly shield your desktop from prying eyes.

5. Open Settings panel

Windows keyboard shortcut: Windows + I

You can tweak everything from your lock screen password to your screensaver by diving into the Settings panel, and you don’t have to click to do it.

6. Rename a file or folder

Windows keyboard shortcut: F2

Nope, no need to right click a file or a folder to give it a new name. Instead, just select the file, then tap a single function key.

7. Put an item in the Recycle Bin

Windows keyboard shortcut: Control + D or just press the Delete key

Want to toss a file or folder into the Windows Recycle Bin without having to drag and drop? Just select it, then use this keyboard shortcut.

8. Delete the selected item immediately

Windows keyboard shortcut: Shift + Delete

Here’s a clever trick you might not know: rather than putting a file or a folder in the Recycle Bin for future deletion, you can instead wipe it instantly off your hard drive. All you have to do is use this simple keyboard shortcut.

9. Launch an app in the Windows taskbar

Windows keyboard shortcut: Windows key + a number key

Want to open or launch a pinned item in the taskbar using only the keyboard? Just press the Windows key, then press the number key that corresponds to the order of the taskbar item, counting from left to right (and not counting the Task View button, which sits immediately to the right of the search box.)

10. Move the cursor quickly between words and paragraphs

Windows keyboard shortcut: Control + right arrow, left arrow, down arrow, or up arrow

Here’s a powerful shortcut that’ll let you zoom around a document with ease. By pressing Control + the left arrow, you’ll zip the cursor to the beginning of the next word. Press Control + right arrow to move the cursor to the previous word. Control + up arrow sends the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph, while Control + down arrow make the cursor jump to the beginning of the next paragraph.

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Forget the junk drawer! Turn your iPhone into these 5 handy household tools https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/02/02/turn-iphone-household-tools/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/02/02/turn-iphone-household-tools/#respond Fri, 02 Feb 2018 16:42:37 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=26212 The post Forget the junk drawer! Turn your iPhone into these 5 handy household tools appeared first on here's the thing.

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No need to dig through the junk drawer to find a flashlight or a tape measure. In just a few taps, you can turn your iPhone into a variety of everyday household tools, from a ruler or a level to a magnifying glass or even a compass.

How to turn your iPhone into a magnifying glass

Having trouble reading the tiny text on, say, a medicine bottle or a cereal box? I know the feeling. Luckily, there’s a handy iPhone feature that’ll give your squinting eyes a break.

Turn your iPhone into a magnifying glass

Tap Settings, General, Accessibility, Magnifier, then flip on the Magnifier switch. Now, just triple-click the Home button, aim your iPhone’s camera lens, and behold the the magnified image on the screen. Use the slider control to boost or reduce the magnification, tap the flash button for some extra light, or tap the shutter release to take a snapshot. All done? Press the Home button to exit.

How to turn your iPhone into a compass

Go west—or north, or east, or south, all with the help of a nifty iOS app that’s already sitting on your iPhone.

Turn your iPhone into a compass

All you have to do is open the Compass app (if you can’t find it, keep swiping from left to right on your home screen until the search bar appears). When you do, a digital compass will appear on the screen, complete with your current bearing (based on whatever direction the top of your iPhone is pointing in), as well as your elevation, latitude and longitude.

How to turn your iPhone into a level

Want to make sure that shelf you just installed is perfectly flat? If you’d rather not dig a level out of your toolbox, your iPhone can do the job.

Turn your iPhone into a level Head back to the Compass app, swipe the screen from right to left to reveal the level screen, then set the edge of your iPhone on a flat surface. If the surface is level, the bottom half of the screen should turn green, and the angle measurement in the middle should read zero degrees. You can also set your iPhone down flat on its back to see a surface is level in all directions.

How to turn your iPhone into a flashlight

Whether you’re trying to find your car keys at night or trying to read the menu in a dimly lit restaurant, your iPhone’s camera flash makes for a convenient flashlight.

Turn your iPhone into a flashlight

Flick up from the bottom of the screen to open the iOS Control Center, then tap the Flashlight button to light your iPhone’s camera flash. To make the flashlight brighter or dimmer, press and hold the Flashlight button, then drag the slider up or down with your fingertip.

How to turn your iPhone into a tape measure

Need to measure your desk but no tape measure handy? Believe it or not, there’s an easy way to turn your iPhone into a virtual tape measure.

Turn your iPhone into a tape measure

While there isn’t a native Apple app that’ll take measurements, there are dozens of third-party ruler and tape measure apps on the iOS App Store. Personally, I’m a fan of SizeUp ($1.99, but there’s a free 30-day trial), an app that lets you measure rugs, tables, floors, and more by sliding your iPhone from one edge of the object to another.

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iOS tip: 4 handy iPhone Home button settings you need to try https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/01/12/4-iphone-home-button-settings/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2018/01/12/4-iphone-home-button-settings/#respond Fri, 12 Jan 2018 16:20:04 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=25195 The post iOS tip: 4 handy iPhone Home button settings you need to try appeared first on here's the thing.

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Ready to take charge of the Home button on your iPhone or iPad? Learn how to make it easier to double-click the iPhone Home button, change what happens when you hold the Home button, try some nifty triple-click tricks, and more.

Note: The following tips don’t apply to the all-new iPhone X, which lacks a physical Home button.

1. Change the iPhone Home button double-click speed

For those of us who no longer have the split-second reflexes, double-clicking the iPhone Home key (or the iPad Home key, for that matter) to switch apps can be harder than it sounds. Indeed, if you don’t click fast enough, you’ll simply wind up back on the home screen. Luckily, there’s an easy way to change the speed with which you need to double-click the Home key.

iPhone Home button change double-click speed

Tap Settings, General, Accessibility, Home Button, then pick a double-click speed: Default (the standard setting), Slow, or Slowest.

When you tap a new option, your iPhone will “buzz” three times to give you an idea of how quickly (or slowly) you need to double-click.

Related: 3 nifty iPad gestures you need to try

2. Skip pressing Home when unlocking your iPhone

Got a Touch ID-enabled iPhone? If so, you may have noticed that when you wake your handset by clicking the Power button and rest your finger on the Home button to unlock your iPhone, you still have to press Home again to get past the iOS lock screen. (Thanks, iOS 11.)

iPhone Home button rest finger to unlock

Want to skip that final Home button press? Click Settings, General, Accessibility, Home Button, then scroll all the way down and flip on the “Rest Finger to Open” setting.

Now, if you click the Power button and simply rest your fingertip (one you’ve registered with Touch ID, of course) on the Home button, your phone will unlock itself immediately, no additional button presses needed.

3. Keep Siri from beeping when you press and hold Home

By default, you’ll enable Siri—you know, Apple’s tireless, voice-activated digital assistant—when you press and hold the Home button. All well and good, but if I had a nickel for every time I activated Siri by mistake, well…you get the drift.

If you’re tired of turning on Siri by accident whenever you hold the Home button down for too long, there’s a way to turn the shortcut off.

iPhone Home button turn off Siri

Tap Settings, General, Accessibility, Home Button, go down to the Press and Hold to Speak section, then pick a setting: Siri, Voice Control, or Off.

If you pick Voice Control, pressing and holding the Home button will turn on iOS’s old Voice Control feature, which lets you do basic things like dial a number of play music via voice command. If you ask Voice Control a more complex question—like “Should I bring my umbrella today?”—you’ll get little more than a confused beep.

If you don’t want anything at all to happen when you press and hold Home, pick the “Off” button. Doing so will disable Siri altogether, unless you dig into your Siri settings (Settings, Siri & Search) and turn on the “Listen for ‘Hey Siri'” option.

4. Turn on the Home button’s triple-click shortcut

You probably already know that double-clicking the iPhone Home button lets you quickly switch between apps. What you may not know, however, is that you can triple-click the home button, too, and you can set the triple-click gesture to do some nifty tricks.

iPhone Home button three-click accessibility shortcut

For example, you can triple-click your way to a “smart” invert colors feature that acts as a de-facto dark mode, perfect for reading on your iPhone or iPad at night in a dim room.

There’s also a zoom feature that lets you pinch to zoom your iPhone or iPad’s screen, a “color filters” mode that switches your screen to black and white, and a “voiceover” feature that reads aloud any text on the screen.

To start triple-clicking the home button, tap Settings, General, Accessibility, scroll all the way down to the Accessibility Shortcut setting, then pick a feature. If you choose only one, it’ll switch on automatically when you triple-click the home button. If you pick more than one, triple-clicking Home will let you choose which of your selected Accessibility options you’d like to use.

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Mac tip: 6 essential Safari toolbar buttons you need to install https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/12/14/mac-6-essential-safari-toolbar-buttons/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/12/14/mac-6-essential-safari-toolbar-buttons/#respond Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:59:00 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=24960 If you haven’t tried customizing the Safari toolbar buttons on your Mac yet, you’re in for a treat. Find out how to drag new buttons into the Safari toolbar, as well as which buttons to pick. First things first, though… What’s the Safari toolbar? Basically, it’s the big wide bar along the top of the […]

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If you haven’t tried customizing the Safari toolbar buttons on your Mac yet, you’re in for a treat. Find out how to drag new buttons into the Safari toolbar, as well as which buttons to pick.

First things first, though…

What’s the Safari toolbar?

Basically, it’s the big wide bar along the top of the Safari web browser. Inside the toolbar, you’ll find a series of buttons, including the Back and Forward buttons, a button that opens the Safari sidebar (where you’ll find your bookmarks and saved web pages), the address bar (for URLs and searching), the Share button, and the Tabs button.

But here’s the thing: you don’t have to settle for the “default set” of Safari buttons. If you like, you can pick new buttons to add, remove ones you never use, or rearrange the buttons as you see fit.

How to add or remove Safari toolbar buttons

To get started, open Safari, click View at the top of the screen, then select Customize Toolbar. When you do, you’ll see a menu of new Safari toolbar buttons to choose from.

See one you like? Just drag it into the toolbar, or drag an existing button out of the toolbar. You can even rearrange toolbar buttons or “flexible” spacers with your mouse.

The 6 Safari toolbar buttons you need to try

OK, now that you know how to add, move and rearrange buttons in the Safari toolbar, read on for six of my favorite toolbar buttons, starting with…

Safari toolbar buttons iCloud tabs1. iCloud tabs

Want to quickly see which Safari tabs you have open on your other iCloud-connected Macs, iPhones and iPads? Just add this toolbar button and click it to view active Safari tabs on your other iOS devices, then click a tab to open it.

Related: An easy way to save your open Safari tabs in a bookmark folder


Safari toolbar button Home2. Home

Believe it or not, the venerable Home button isn’t among the default set of Safari toolbar buttons. Drag it in and click it to visit your favorite Home page. To set a new Home page, click Safari, Personalize, General, then edit the Homepage field.

Related: How to set multiple Home pages for your web browser


Safari Toolbar buttons Zoom3. Zoom

Having a hard time reading the tiny text on a web page? You can boost the size of everything on the page by clicking View, Zoom In—or, even better, just drag the Zoom button into the toolbar.

Related: How to zoom the entire screen of your Mac


4. History

What was that web page you were visiting the other day? Just drag the History button into the Safari toolbar for an exhaustive (and searchable) list of your recent browsing activity.

Related: 7 ways to make the most of Safari for iPhone and iPad


5. Favorites Bar

Just below the main Safari toolbar is the Favorites bar, a thin stripe that contains buttons for your very favorite websites. If you want to hide the Favorites bar until you really need it, drag the Favorites Bar button into the Safari toolbar, then click the button to toggle the Favorites bar on and off.

Related: Missing the Favorites Bar in Safari? Here’s how to get it back


Safari toolbar Print button6. Print

From recipes to receipts, there are plenty of reasons to print from web—and if you’re a Safari user, you don’t have to click File, Print to do it. Just drag the Print button into the Safari toolbar to open the Print menu with a single click.

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Windows 10 tip: 4 handy Windows Recycle Bin tricks you need to try https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/12/07/windows-recycle-bin-tips/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/12/07/windows-recycle-bin-tips/#respond Thu, 07 Dec 2017 16:00:20 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=19283 The post Windows 10 tip: 4 handy Windows Recycle Bin tricks you need to try appeared first on here's the thing.

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When was the last time you gave the trash can on your Windows desktop any thought? Not recently, I’m guessing. But if you take a closer look, you’ll find the humble Windows Recycle Bin has a few cool tricks up its sleeves.

Read on for four gotta-try Windows Recycle Bin features, from making the recycle bin empty itself automatically to putting trashed files back where you got them.

1. Delete files from the Windows Recycle Bin immediately

When you toss a file in the recycle bin, it doesn’t actually get deleted right away. Instead, it’ll sit in the trash—and take up space on your hard drive—until you empty it manually or until it hits a preset limit (which I’ll cover in a moment).

Windows Recycle Bin delete files immediately setting

Just change a single setting to make the Recycle Bin delete files the moment they’re trashed.

Of course, keeping trashed files on your system temporarily is a good idea in case you change your mind later. But if you’re positive you want to ditch a file right away, you can skip the recycle bin and delete it immediately.

One way to do it is to right-click it, hold down the SHIFT key, and then select “Delete” from the pop-up menu.

Want all the files you delete to be trashed permanently and skip the can? Right-click the recycle bin, select “Properties,” then click the “Don’t move files to the Recycle Bin” option.

2. Set a size limit

Let’s say you do want to temporarily keep deleted files in the recycle bin. That’s fine, so long as you remember to take out the trash once in a while. But who wants to bother with that? Me neither.

Windows Recycle Bin set maximum size

The recycle bin will empty itself automatically once you set a maximum size.

Well, you can always set a size limit for the recycle bin. Once the total size of your deleted items hits the limit, the recycle bin will automatically toss the oldest files.

Here’s how you do it:

  • Right-click the recycle bin, then select “Properties.”
  • Make sure the “Custom size” option is selected, then choose a maximum size—anything up to the total size of your hard drive.
  • Click the “Apply” button, then click “OK” to close the settings window. You’re done!

3. Put trashed items back where you found them

So, you dumped a bunch of files in the recycle bin but you’re having second thoughts. Now what?

Windows Recycle Bin restore all items

You can restore everything in the Recycle Bin to their rightful place with a single click.

You could just open the recycle bin, pluck the items out and drop them onto your desktop. A handy alternative, though, is to let Windows send the file back to its original location.

Just open the recycle bin, select the file you want to “un-delete,” click the Manage menu at the top of the recycle bin window, then click the “Restore the selected items” button. You can also click the “Restore all items” button to put everything in the recycle bin back where it was.

4. Hide the Windows Recycle Bin from your desktop

Don’t want the recycle bin icon cluttering up your desktop? You can hide it in just a few clicks.

Hide Windows Recycle Bin icon from desktop

Just check or uncheck the box to reveal—or hide—the Recycle Bin from your desktop.

Click the Windows button in the bottom-left corner of the screen, then click Settings (it’s the icon on the side that looks like a little gear), Personalization, Themes (look in the left column), scroll down to the Related Settings heading, then click “Desktop icon settings.”

Now, see the Recycle Bin checkbox? Uncheck it, then click the Apply button; once you do, the Recycle Bin icon will disappear from your desktop.

To get the Recycle Bin back (and remember, it’s not really gone, just hidden from your desktop), check the Recycle Bin box, then click Apply again.

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https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/12/07/windows-recycle-bin-tips/feed/ 0 Windows Recycle Bin delete files immediately setting Just change a single setting to make the Recycle Bin delete files the moment they're trashed. Windows Recycle Bin set maximum size The recycle bin will empty itself automatically once you set a maximum size. Windows Recycle Bin restore all items You can restore everything in the Recycle Bin to their rightful place with a single click. Hide Windows Recycle Bin icon from desktop Just check or uncheck the box to reveal—or hide—the Recycle Bin from your desktop.
iOS tip: 10 easy ways to boost your iPhone battery life https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/11/29/boost-iphone-battery-life-tips/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/11/29/boost-iphone-battery-life-tips/#respond Wed, 29 Nov 2017 17:00:21 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=18434 The post iOS tip: 10 easy ways to boost your iPhone battery life appeared first on here's the thing.

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Is your iPhone’s battery gauge typically buried in the red before dinnertime? Join the club. So what’s going on? Is there a power-draining bug in iOS or something?

Well, I’m guessing some of the blame for low iPhone battery life lies with iOS’s niftiest and most power-hungry features, from those groovy animated wallpapers to apps that can refresh themselves in the background.

Also, never underestimate the strain that the iPhone’s LTE antenna can put on its battery. In my experience, Wi-Fi data doesn’t demand nearly as much battery power as cellular data does.

Read on for 10 easy ways to boost your iPhone battery life, starting with…

1. Prioritize your background app refresh settings

Thanks to iOS’s so-called Background App Refresh feature, many of the apps on your iPhone—like Dropbox, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and the like—have the ability to refresh their data in the background, even when you’re not using them.

iOS Background App Refresh settings

While the Background App Refresh feature means you’re never far from your latest tweets or Gmail messages, it can be hard on your iPhone battery life, particularly if your iPhone is struggling to refresh app data in a spotty cellular area.

You can make life easier on your battery by paring down the number of iOS apps that take advantage of background refreshing.

Tap Settings, General, Background App Refresh, then scroll down the list of apps. See any apps refreshing themselves that aren’t a high priority to you? If so, switch their switches to the “Off” position.

You can also set iOS’s Background App Refresh setting to only work when your iPhone is on Wi-Fi. Or you can even turn this feature off completely. Your call. Just tap Background App Refresh at the top of the main “Background App Refresh” setting screen, then pick an option: Off, Wi-Fi, or Wi-Fi & Cellular Data.

Related: 8 easy ways to lock down your iPhone or iPad

2. Keep an eye out for battery-hogging apps

Few things will drain your iPhone battery life as quickly as a misbehaving app. Luckily, there’s an easy way to spot them.

iPhone app battery usage

First, check your iPhone’s Battery Usage meter. Tap Settings, Battery, scroll down to the Battery Usage heading, then check out the list of apps. You can see an app’s battery usage in the past 24 hours and the past week.

Now, some apps may be at the top of the Battery Usage list because you simply use them a lot, like Mail or Facebook. But if you see any surprises on the list—say, a rarely used app that’s gobbled up 25 percent of your battery life over the past week—you might want to think about uninstalling it.

3. Turn off cellular usage for data- & power-hungry apps

Wondering why your favorite iOS app is such a battery hog? Maybe it’s gobbling up too much cellular data—and as we know, heavy cellular use puts a strain on an iPhone’s precious battery life.

iPhone Cellular Data usage

Tap Settings, Cellular, then scroll down until you see the list of apps under the “Cellular Data” heading.

Check out the list and look for any apps that are using an inordinate amount of cellular data—more than, say, 100 MB (megabytes).

Did you find one? If so, is it an app that doesn’t really matter to you when you’re away from Wi-Fi range? If so, go ahead and flip its switch to the “off” position.

Doing so won’t delete the app, nor will it permanently prevent it from accessing the Internet. Instead, all you’re doing is keeping the app from chewing up big bites of cellular data, while draining your iPhone’s battery in the process.

Related: What does the iOS “Enable LTE” setting do?

4. Turn off cellular data for automatic iTunes & App Store downloads

By default, iOS automatically downloads updates for all your installed apps. Also, if you install a new app, buy an iBook, or purchase some iTunes music on your iPad, iOS will download your iTunes and App Store wares to your iPhone, too.

iOS iTunes and App Store automatic downloads settings

Here’s the thing: unless you’re careful, your iPhone may try downloading app updates and purchases from the App Store or iTunes using battery-draining cellular data when you’re out of Wi-Fi range, and that could put a serious dent in your iPhone battery life.

Do yourself a favor and tap Settings, iTunes & App Store, then switch the Use Cellular Data setting to “off.”

From now on, your iPhone will wait to download app updates (as well as “automatic” app, music, and iBooks downloads from iTunes purchases made on your other iDevices) until you’re back in Wi-Fi range. Not only will you save yourself from data overages, you’ll also preserve your iPhone battery life.

5. Turn off cellular data for iCloud Photo Library

Are you using iCloud Photo Library to store all your iPhone snapshots and videos in iCloud?

iCloud Photo Library cellular data setting

If so, don’t be surprised if snapping pictures or shooting video while you’re out of Wi-Fi range chews through a big chunk of your iPhone’s remaining battery life.

Why, you ask? Because by default, iOS tries to upload your latest photos and videos to iCloud, even over a cellular connection, and that makes for a huge battery drain. You may also feel your iPhone getting red-hot.

If you’re an iCloud Photo Library user, change this setting, pronto: tap Settings, Photos, Cellular Data, then turn off the Cellular Data setting.

Related: 6 iOS 11 tricks that even an older iPhone or iPad can do

6. Fetch new email, calendar events, and other account data less often

Do you really need to know the moment you get a new mail message or a calendar invite? If you can handle the idea of checking your email or getting calendar and contact updates less frequently, you’ll regain some precious iPhone battery life.

iOS Mail Fetch settings

Tap Settings, Accounts, then scroll all the way down and tap Fetch New Data. Scroll down to the Fetch section, then pick an option—and remember, the longer the frequency, the more data you’ll save.

Pick “Manually” if you only watch new mail, calendar, and other updates fetched when you specifically open, say, the Mail or Calendar app, or choose “Automatically” to only check for data updates over Wi-Fi or when your iPhone is plugged into a power source.

Now, your iPhone’s “Fetch” settings only apply to accounts (like Gmail and Yahoo!) that don’t support iCloud’s “Push” feature, which automatically “pushes” data updates to your iPhone. To save even more iPhone battery life, toggle off the “Push” switch at the top of the “Fetch New Data” settings screen. Once you do that, you’ll still get mail, calendar and other data updates from iCloud, but only according to the “Fetch” schedule you just chose.

7. Turn down screen brightness

The backlighting on your iPhone’s eye-popping display also happens to be one of the biggest drains on its battery.

iPhone screen brightness setting

Flick up from the bottom of the screen to activate the Control Center, then dim the brightness control a bit. If I were you, I’d keep the slider somewhere a little lower than halfway.

No, you probably won’t see a major improvement in battery life just from dimming the display, but hey—every little bit helps.

8. Turn off motion effects

Ever notice how the app icons on your iPhone seems to float above your wallpaper, especially when you tilt your iPhone this way and that?

iOS reduce motion setting

That illusion comes courtesy of a clever combination of software and motion-sensing technology that essentially fools your eyes into seeing depth on a flat touchscreen.

Pretty neat, right? Unfortunately, all the visual trickery (which needs the assistance of your handset’s motion sensors and cameras) takes a small but definite toll on your iPhone’s battery.

If you’re willing to live without iOS’s motion (or “parallax”) effects, tap Settings, General, Accessibility, Reduce Motion, then flip the switch to the “on” position.

9. Use static wallpaper

iOS dynamic wallpaper

Another nice piece of iOS eye candy is its support for animated, “dynamic” wallpaper. Indeed, iOS lets you choose between a variety of groovy wallpapers with soft, ethereal bubbles that gently float across the screen.

While I love how iOS’s dynamic wallpapers look, they demand extra work on your iPhone’s part, and your battery life will suffer for it.

If you want to optimize your iPhone’s battery life as much as possible, tap Settings, Wallpaper, Choose a New Wallpaper, and pick a “still” wallpaper instead of a dynamic one.

10. Turn on Low Power Mode

If all else fails and your iPhone’s battery is about to die, engage iOS’s “Low Power Mode” as a last resort.

iPhone Low Power Mode setting

Low Power Mode disables such iOS features as flashy visual effects, background app refresh, automatic email fetching. It’ll also dim the screen and pare down other iOS non-essentials.

You can turn on Low Power Mode by tapping Settings, Battery, then flipping on the Low Power Mode setting. There’s also a Lower Power Mode available for iOS’s flick-up Control Center.

Low Power Mode will turn itself off once your iPhone’s battery is charged up to 80 percent or more. Unfortunately, there’s no way to set Low Power Mode to automatically turn itself on once your iPhone’s battery life falls below a certain percentage.

Bonus tip: Replacing your iPhone’s battery

Over time, your iPhone battery life will slowly begin to dwindle. According to Apple, your battery will keep about 80 percent of its capacity through about 500 complete charging cycles. After that, it’s all downhill, and you may even see a message on the Battery settings screen warning that it might be time for a new battery.

If your iPhone is out of warranty, Apple will replace the battery for $79, although you may find third-party iPhone repair shops that’ll give you a better deal.


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iOS tip: 6 iOS 11 tricks that even an older iPhone or iPad can do https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/11/02/ios-11-tricks-old-iphone-ipad/ https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/11/02/ios-11-tricks-old-iphone-ipad/#respond Thu, 02 Nov 2017 18:13:03 +0000 http://heresthethingblog.com/?p=24245 No “Live” photos, 3D Touch or Face ID? Me neither, and indeed, compared to the all-screen iPhone X or the lightning fast iPhone 8, my old iPhone 6 is looking decidedly long in the tooth. The good news, though, is that some of the best new features in iOS 11—from one-handed typing to the ability […]

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No “Live” photos, 3D Touch or Face ID? Me neither, and indeed, compared to the all-screen iPhone X or the lightning fast iPhone 8, my old iPhone 6 is looking decidedly long in the tooth.

The good news, though, is that some of the best new features in iOS 11—from one-handed typing to the ability to quickly scan receipts—will still work on older iPhones and iPads, including the iPhone 6 (circa 2014), the iPhone 5S (from 2013) or even the four-year-old iPad Air. (Click here to see exactly which iPhones and iPads are compatible with iOS 11.)

Read on for 6 new iOS 11 tricks that’ll work on your older iPhone or iPad, starting with…

Scanning QR codes

QR codes—you know, those blocky-looking digital squares that, when scanned, generally refer you to a URL—aren’t quite as ubiquitous as they used to be (although according to some, QR codes are on the way back). However, you’ll still occasionally find them stamped on billboards, magazine ads, movie posters, and other random places.

iOS 11 tricks scan QR code

Thanks to iOS 11, the iPhone’s camera now boasts a built-in QR code scanner.

Until recently, the only way to scan a QR code using your iPhone was with a third-party QR scanner app. With the arrival of iOS 11, though, scanning a QR code with your iPhone or iPad has become much easier.

Instead of scouring the App Store for a QR reader, just fire up your iPhone’s camera and point the camera lens at the QR code. Within a second or so, a “Website QR Code” notification should appear, prompting you to open the URL the code is referring to.

Related: 4 ways to take charge of the new iOS 11 Control Center

Getting help in an emergency

If you’re in distress and you’ve got your iPhone on you, there’s a new and easy way to call an ambulance or the police, assuming you’ve updated your handset to iOS 11.

iOS 11 tricks emergency 911 call

Need to dial 9-1-1? Just click the iPhone’s power button rapidly five times.

The trick: click your iPhone’s power button five times in quick succession. When you do, a trio of sliders will appear on your iPhone’s lock screen: swiping the first will turn off your phone, the second will call up your Medical ID information (which you can fill out in the iOS Health app), while the third and final one will dial 9-1-1.

If you wish, you can add one or more “emergency contacts” who will automatically be notified if you make an emergency call on your iPhone. To do so, launch the iOS Health app, tap the Medical ID tab, tap Edit, scroll down to the Emergency Contacts section, then tap the green “+” button to start adding contacts.

Last but not least, you can set your iPhone to automatically dial 9-1-1 the moment you click the power button five times. Tap Settings, Emergency SOS, then switch on the Auto Call setting. Of course, you might want to think twice about enabling the Auto Call setting if you’ve got an iPhone-obsessed little one.

Scanning receipts or other documents

I’m a little obsessive-compulsive when it comes to saving my receipts, but I also hate littering my desk with little scraps of paper. That’s why I’ve been scanning all my receipts with my iPhone, but until recently, I’ve had to use a third-party scanning app (Scanbot, in my case).

iOS 11 tricks scan receipts

The Notes app for iOS 11 makes it easy to scan receipts and other documents.

With iOS 11, though, your iPhone or iPad—and yes, even an older one—can scan receipts and other documents without the help of a non-Apple app.

Just open the Notes app, start a new note or open an existing one, tap the “+” button at the bottom of the screen, then tap Scan Documents.

Next, aim your iPhone’s (or iPad’s) camera lens at the document you want to scan. Once the Notes app “sees” the document, it’ll automatically snap a photo and crop the image. You can then tap the Action button (the square one with the upward arrow) to save the scan to your device or your favorite cloud-based service (like iCloud Drive, Dropbox or Google Drive).

Related: How to mark up a web page in Safari for iOS 11

Typing on your iPhone with one hand

I’m still disappointed that the stock iOS keyboard has yet to support gesture typing, which lets you type words by swiping the keyboard rather than tapping it.

iOS 11 tricks one-handed typing

Wish it were easier to type on your iPhone with one hand? Just enable iOS 11’s new one-handed typing feature.

With iOS 11, though, Apple has at least embraced one-handed typing—a feature that squishes the keyboard to the left side or the right, making it easier to typing with a single thumb.

To start typing with one hand, open the iOS keyboard (just open any app that supports the keyboard, or tug down on the iOS home screen to reveal the Spotlight search box), then press and hold the globe key or the emoji key. (Don’t see either? Tap Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards, then make sure there are at least two different keyboards listed. If they’re aren’t, tap Add New Keyboard to add one.)

Once you press and hold the globe or emoji button, a Keyboard Settings pop-up will appear, and at the bottom, you’ll see a trio of little keyboard buttons. Tap the left one to squish the keyboard to the left, tap the right one to make it scoot to the right, or tap the center button to return the keyboard to two-handed mode.

Easily typing numbers and symbols on the iPad’s keypad

While the iPad lacks the iPhone’s one-handed mode in iOS 11 (although who needs it, given that you can split the keyboard), it gets another keypad-oriented feature that’s among my favorite iOS 11 improvements.

iOS tip: 6 new iOS 11 tricks that'll work on older iPhones and iPads

Just flick a letter key to type a number or a symbol on the iPad’s new QuickType keyboard for iOS 11.

The new “QuickType” keyboard boasts shortcuts to numbers and symbols on the standard letter keys, and it lets you type a number or a symbol by simply swiping down on the appropriate letter key, no Shift key required. That means, for example, you can swipe down on the “Q” key to type the number 1. Pretty neat, once you get the hang of it.

Related: 3 things to know about the new iPad dock in iOS 11

Sharing your Wi-Fi passwords

So, let’s say a friend is visiting you at home, they’ve got no cellular signal on their iPhone and they ask if they can jump on your Wi-Fi network for a minute.

iOS 11 tricks share Wi-Fi password

Want to share your Wi-Fi password with a friend? Just open your Wi-Fi settings and bring your iOS devices close together.

Normally, you’d have to go through the business of digging up your Wi-Fi password and reading it to them, one digit at a time—a tedious chore, particularly if you’ve created a strong Wi-Fi password (as you should).

Thanks to iOS 11, though, you can now quickly share your Wi-Fi password with any of your iPhone- or iPad-toting friends, provided they’re nearby and listed in your iOS contacts.

First, make sure your iOS device is connected to the Wi-Fi network you want to share. Next, ask your friend to open their iOS Wi-Fi settings (tap Settings, Wi-Fi) and tap the name of your Wi-Fi network. When they do, iOS will prompt them for your password.

Now, move your iPhone or iPad near their iOS device. With a second or so, a prompt asking whether you want to share your password should appear. Just tap the “Share Password” button to proceed.

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https://heresthethingblog.com/2017/11/02/ios-11-tricks-old-iphone-ipad/feed/ 0 iOS 11 tricks scan QR code Thanks to iOS 11, the iPhone's camera now boasts a built-in QR code scanner. iOS 11 tricks emergency 911 call Need to dial 9-1-1? Just click the iPhone's power button rapidly five times. iOS 11 tricks scan receipts The Notes app for iOS 11 makes it easy to scan receipts and other documents. iOS 11 tricks one-handed typing Wish it were easier to type on your iPhone with one hand? Just enable iOS 11's new one-handed typing feature. iOS 11 tricks iPad QuickType keyboard Just flick a letter key to type a number or a symbol on the iPad's new QuickType keyboard for iOS 11. iOS 11 tricks share Wi-Fi password Want to share your Wi-Fi password with a friend? Just open your Wi-Fi settings and bring your iOS devices close together.