Joe Hutsko

Article / Updated 10-15-2020

For information about you such as name and address that remains constant, you iPhone’s Safari app’s AutoFill feature automatically fills in common fields with your personal information with a single tap instead of requiring you to fill in those fields individually. Safari can also keep track of user names and passwords and credit card information. What's more, when you create a new account on a website, Safari asks if you want it to generate and memorize a password for you. To turn on Safari's AutoFill feature and options, tap Home, and then tap Settings➪Safari ➪Passwords & AutoFill to display the AutoFill settings screen. Here's how each option works: Use Contact Info: Tap On and Safari fills in online forms with your personal information. That personal information is pulled from your information in Contacts. You should see your own name in the my Info option field. When you are filling in a form, tap AutoFill on keyboard and Safari copies the information you have saved in the name, address, phone number, and e-mail address fields of your own Contacts card and pastes those bits of information into the appropriate fields. If you don't see your name in the my Info option field, tap that field to display your Contacts, and then locate and tap your own Contacts card name to select it as the card you want to use for the my Info option. Names and Passwords: Tap the option On if you want Safari to remember any user names and passwords you type to access certain web pages. The first time you type your name and password on a web page that requires that information, Safari displays a pop-up message, asking if you'd like to save the password. Tap Yes if you would, Never for This website if you never-ever-ever want to save the password for the web page, or Not Now, if you don't want to save the password right now, but you want to keep your option of saving the password open the next time you visit the web page. Saved Passwords: Tap to see a list of websites for which you have a saved name and password. Tap the disclosure arrow to the right of the website to see the user name and password spelled out. To delete any of the websites, tap Edit in the upper right corner. Tap the radio button to the left of the website you want to delete; a check mark appears. Tap the Delete button in the upper left corner. Always Allow: Tap on to override websites that prefer passwords not be saved. You have to have Passcode Lock turned on to enable this option and if you don't, when you tap it on, you're automatically led through the steps to create one. If you turn off Passcode Lock, a dialog asks if you want to continue to use AutoFill in Safari since without the security of a Passcode, anyone who uses your iPhone could access any AutoFill information you keep in Safari, including your stored credit card information. Use AutoFill without a Passcode only if you keep your iPhone chained to your body. Some websites have a Remember Me option for usernames and passwords that works if you accept cookies, in which case Safari doesn't ask if you want it to remember because the website takes care of that. Credit Cards: If you shop frequently online, this feature can be a real timesaver. Tap on and then tap Saved Credit Cards➪Add Credit Card to add your cardholder information to Safari. When you purchase something online, tap in the credit card field and then tap AutoFill Credit Card. Safari will automatically fill in the credit card information. If you have information for more than one credit card saved, a list of the last four digits of the card appear. Tap the card you want to pay with. If you sync Safari with iCloud, all your auto-fill information is available on all devices and computers that sync with iCloud. Tapping the Upload button on sites like Flickr or eBay opens two choices for uploading photos: Take Photo or Video, which opens the Camera app and uploads the image directly from Camera to the website, or Choose Existing, which opens Photos allowing you to select the image you want to upload.

Article / Updated 01-06-2020

When you first turn on your Mac (or install an upgrade to the operating system), a series of questions and prompts appear, including a prompt to sign in to your Apple ID account or create a new Apple ID. An Apple ID identifies you and your devices in all things Apple that you do: registering new products, purchasing media and apps from the iTunes Store, the Book Store, and the App Store, as well as signing in to your iCloud account. iCloud is Apple’s remote syncing and storage service. You might already have an Apple ID. You can use the same Apple ID for everything, iCloud and Apple Music included, or create separate Apple IDs for separate accounts. Note: If you’ve used Apple products long enough that you still have one of the very old Apple IDs that isn’t an email address, you do have to set up a new account to use iCloud. In this article, we explain two ways to create an Apple ID. If you don’t have an email address or want to create an @icloud.com email as your Apple ID and use it for all your Apple interactions, set up a new Apple ID from within iCloud in System Preferences, not during the Mac setup. When you set up an Apple ID during the Mac setup, you must use an existing non-Apple domain email address — because if you have an Apple domain email address, that is your Apple ID and you use that to sign in. How to create an Apple ID during Mac setup When you first turn on your Mac, the onscreen dialog prompts you to sign in with your Apple ID or create a new one. Read through these steps to see what to expect: 1. Click one of the following on the opening screen: Sign In with Apple ID: Type in your existing Apple ID and password and then click Continue. Create Apple ID: The Apple ID website opens. Type the information requested in the fields on the form: Use an existing email address as your Apple ID, choose three security questions and answers, and provide your date of birth and an optional rescue email that’s different than your Apple ID email. Complete the form with your mailing address (so the products you order online can be shipped to you), select your preferred language from the pop-up menu, select the email you want to receive from Apple, type the Captcha word, select the check box to concede your agreement to the Terms of Service, and finally, click the Create Apple ID button. Use Separate ID for iCloud and Apple Music: The iCloud icon is highlighted in the center of the screen. Enter the Apple ID you use with iCloud or click Create Apple ID, which takes you to the Apple ID website as we explain in the previous bullet. Click Continue. The iTunes and App Stores icons are highlighted; type in the Apple ID you use with them or click Create Apple ID and repeat as above. (Using separate Apple IDs is not necessary.) If you want to create an Apple ID with an @icloud.com suffix, click Don’t Sign In and confirm your choice by clicking the Skip button in the dialog that appears. Go to the next section to create an Apple ID and email address in iCloud. 2. If you sign in with an existing Apple ID, you are prompted to do the following: Turn on Find My Mac, which we suggest you do. Choose three security questions and answers. Agree to the Terms of Service. The message in the window lets you know your Mac is being set up, and then the Desktop appears. Use two-factor authentication Online security is a bigger concern than ever these days. There are three highly recommended techniques for keeping yourself safe online: You can use yourself (that is, your fingerprint or face). This is called biometric security. Touch ID, which is available on the latest MacBooks, can implement a biometric feature. Devices with cameras that support FaceID can use your face for login. Two-factor authentication requires you to use two devices to log in. It is highly secure, and don’t panic: You don’t need two Macs (but they will work). If you happen to have your iPad or iPhone nearby, you can use it for authentication. This means that you need to authenticate yourself to your iPhone and your Mac. To set up two-factor authentication, you need to provide the alternate device information to be used during login. If you’re using the same Apple ID on both your Mac and your iPhone or iPad, the Apple ID is used automatically. You can also provide the phone number of your phone. Here’s what two-factor authentication looks like after you’ve established two devices with the same Apple ID or provided your phone number and turned the two-factor authentication on when you’re setting up your iCloud account. This is an example of a case in which you’re logging into your Mac and using your iPhone as the second factor (the process is the same if you log into your iPhone and use your Mac as the second factor). 1. Log into your Mac with your Apple ID as usual. You receive an automated message on your iPhone, as shown in this figure. It contains a six-digit verification code that can only be used once. (This code is sent either to your Apple ID devices or to your phone.) 2. On your Mac, enter the code that appeared on your phone, as shown here. If you want an alternate verification code, you can ask for it by clicking Didn’t Get a Verification Code, as shown. 3. If you’re asked if you trust the browser, click Trust. How to create an Apple ID in iCloud We find creating and using an @icloud.com email address as your Apple ID convenient because you need remember only one password for all your interactions with Apple, and we like to think there’s added security for the information you sync across devices using iCloud when using an Apple domain rather than Google mail, Yahoo!, or one of the other email service providers. If you use the iCloud email only for exchanges with Apple, notifications about product updates or invoices don’t get lost in the shuffle of myriad messages in a more active email account. Here we show you how to create an Apple ID with iCloud and then segue into managing your iCloud preferences in the next section. 1. Choose Apple→System Preferences or click the System Preferences icon on the Dock. Then click the Internet Accounts button. The Internet Accounts window opens. 2. Click the iCloud button in the left column The iCloud preferences window opens. 3. Click Create Apple ID. 4. Enter your Date of Birth, and then click Next. The Create an Apple ID window opens, as shown. 5. Select the Get Free iCloud Email Address link. This appears right below the “This will be your new Apple ID” Message. 6. Type in your email address, first name, last name, and password. Your password must be at least eight characters and contain at least one number, one uppercase letter, and one lowercase letter. 7. (Optional) Select the Email Updates check box for Apple news and update information. 8. Click Next. If someone else already uses the name you chose, you’re prompted to type an alternative. It may take a few tries to find an unused name. 9. Select three security questions and answers from the pop-up menus that appear on the next window. 10. Type in a rescue email, which is different than the iCloud email address you just created. Apple uses this address to communicate with you in the event you completely forget your iCloud email address and password. There are various services that let you create an email address that is free like Gmail; however, check that “free” doesn’t mean that you’re allowing access to your data in exchange for the email account. 11. Click Next. 12. Select the check box to confirm that you read and agree to the Terms of Service, and then click Continue. 13. The iCloud activation screen opens, as shown. Leave both check boxes checked. 14. Click Next. You’re asked to provide security features for your account. These features change from time to time as Apple tightens security. Among the options you may be asked for are passphrases you can use, as well as a device that you can use to confirm access (known as two-factor authentication). This figure shows some of the security mechanism in use at the time of this writing. 15. When requested, type a mobile phone number that will be used to send approval codes to your mobile phone when you access iCloud Keychain from another device. This adds additional security to iCloud Keychain access. 16. Click Next. iCloud opens, as shown in the following figure. A list of Apple apps that work with iCloud appears, and check marks indicate which are active. The data in checked apps can sync across all devices — computers, iPhones, iPads, iPod touches — that sign in to the same iCloud account. Some apps have options that you can use to refine what is or isn’t allowed for that app when it interacts with iCloud. Your legacy Apple ID New Apple IDs take the form of an email address. If you have an Apple ID that you created several years ago, it may be in the form of a name, such as barbaradepaula. If your Apple ID isn’t an email address, you can continue to use it for iTunes, App, and iBook Store purchases, though. Just know that you have to create a different Apple ID for iCloud because that service requires the email address ID format.

Article / Updated 01-06-2020

iCloud remotely stores and syncs data that you access from various devices — your Mac and other Apple devices, such as iPhones, iPads, and iPods, and PCs running Windows. Sign in to the same iCloud account on different devices, and the data for activated apps syncs; that is, you find the same data on all your devices, and when you make a change on one device, it shows up on the others. iCloud works with the following Apple apps and the data within them: Contacts (known as Address Book in earlier versions of Mac OS X) Calendar (known as iCal in earlier versions of Mac OS X) Reminders Mail Notes Safari bookmarks, reading list, tabs, and viewing history Photos from both iPhoto and Aperture iTunes music and television shows iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) Preview TextEdit Keychain GarageBand iCloud also works with third-party iCloud-enabled apps, such as iA Writer. Here are some situations where iCloud can make your life easier: You want to back up the songs you add to the Music app and TV show collections. You use both a Mac and an iOS device, such as an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You want to access Contacts, Calendar, and Mail from more than one computer — Mac or Windows — say, one for work and one at home. You keep a calendar that other people need to see and maybe even edit. You want to activate Find My Mac to keep tabs on your Mac’s location and re-locate it should it be lost or stolen. The initial setup on your Mac or the creation of an iCloud Apple ID activates your iCloud account and places a copy of the data from Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Reminders, and Safari from your Mac to the cloud (that is, the Apple data storage equipment). Here, we show you how to work with the iCloud preferences, sync devices, and sign in to and use the iCloud website. If you use a Windows PC in addition to your Mac, you can download the iCloud Control Panel 3.0 for Windows, which enables iCloud storage and syncing in Windows. You then access the iCloud apps through iCloud.com and Microsoft Outlook. How to configure iCloud preferences You can choose which apps you want to use with iCloud and how they can be used. For example, you may want to keep Contacts and Calendars synced across all your devices but prefer that Notes stay separate because you use Notes on your iPhone for shopping lists that you don’t need on your Mac. Here’s how to customize how you work with iCloud: 1. Choose Apple→System Preferences and then click the Internet Accounts button. The Internet Accounts window appears. 2. If you haven’t signed in to iCloud, click the Sign In button, enter your Apple ID and password, and click Sign In. 3. Click iCloud. The iCloud window appears displaying your iCloud account information. 4. Click the Options button that is to the right of the iCloud Drive icon. The iCloud Drive options window appears. This window enables you to choose which documents are stored in iCloud. 5. Specify which documents you want to store in your iCloud drive. Click the check mark that corresponds to each app that contains documents that you want to store in your iCloud drive. 6. (Optional) Click the Manage button in the lower right to see the data that occupies your allotted iCloud storage, as shown. Click each item in the list on the left to see the files for each. Backups (top of this list) keeps the backups of your iOS devices — not your Mac. iCloud keeps documents and data for iCloud-enabled apps but does not back up your entire Mac. 7. (Optional) Click the Buy More Storage button. A free iCloud account gives you 5 gigabytes (GB) of storage — but songs purchased from the Apple Music Store or up to 25,000 tracks in iTunes Match (if you’re subscribed) plus photos in PhotoStream don’t count toward that amount. In PhotoStream, iCloud stores up to 1,000 photos from the last 30 days. You can purchase additional storage for a yearly subscription fee if necessary, as shown. If you decide to purchase additional storage, click the desired storage amount and then click Next. Follow the onscreen instructions to add your personal and payment information. 8. Click Done. 9. Click the Close button in the upper left to quit System Preferences. Syncing with your other devices The only reason this topic has a heading is so it stands out because it couldn’t be simpler. To sync iCloud app specific documents, such as Pages documents, and data from apps such as Calendar and Contacts with your iOS devices, do the following: 1. Tap Settings on the Home screen of the device you want to sync with iCloud. 2. Tap iCloud. 3. Sign in to your iCloud account. 4. Tap the apps you want to use to the on position. The data in each app is automatically synced between your Mac and your iOS device. You must have an Internet connection to use iCloud. Using the iCloud website To manage your data on iCloud, you can go to the iCloud website. Follow these steps: 1. Click the Safari icon on the Dock or from Launchpad. 2. Type www.icloud.com in the URL field in Safari. The iCloud website opens with the sign in fields. 3. Type in your Apple ID or the email you used when you set up your iCloud account, and then type your password. 4. (Optional) Select the Keep Me Signed In check box if you want to stay connected to iCloud even when you go to other websites or quit Safari. 5. Press the Enter key or click the arrow button. Your name appears in the upper-right corner, and icons that take you to your activated services appear in the window, as shown. 6. Click any of the icons to go to the app you want. 7. From the app window, click the cloud button in the upper-left corner to return to the opening iCloud web page. 8. Click the arrow to the right of your name and choose Sign Out to close iCloud.com. Note that when you sign out, you have the option to trust the browser you’re using and won’t need to trust the browser the next time you sign into the iCloud website.

Article / Updated 01-06-2020

Safari and iCloud have terrific built-in features that help you remember user names and passwords and credit card information. And Safari has security and privacy features to keep that personal information to yourself — or to your Mac. Here, we tell you how to use AutoFill so Safari remembers passwords for you, and then we explain how to keep your information safe. AutoFill track passwords and more If you don’t share your Mac and you visit a lot of websites that require usernames and passwords, Safari can remember and automatically fill in the username and password for you when you open those websites. Safari can also automatically fill in forms with your name and address, credit card information, and information you’ve completed on an online form in the past. Safari encrypts this information, so even though it’s remembered, it’s safe. In the following steps, we also show you how to add credit card information to Safari’s brain trust. After adding card information, when you’re making an online purchase and reach the credit card information fields, a drop-down field lets you choose which credit card you want to use from those you entered. To use the AutoFill options, as shown, do the following: 1. Choose Safari→Preferences and click the AutoFill button on the toolbar. 2. Select the Using Info from My Contacts Card check box. Safari presents pre-filled drop-down fields in website forms that request information such as your address and telephone number, which will be taken from Contacts. Click Edit to open Contacts and view the information that will be accessed. 3. Select the User Names and Passwords check box. The first time you visit a website that requires a username and password, Safari asks whether you want it remembered. If you choose Yes, your username and password are filled in automatically the next time you visit the website. 4. (Optional) Click the Edit button next to User Names and Passwords. The Passwords Are Locked dialog appears. 5. Enter your admin password. The Passwords Preferences dialog opens showing you a list that is divided into three columns: Websites, Username, and Password. The first column shows each website you’ve visited that require a password. If you’ve allowed Safari to save your password for the site, a name or email address appears in the Username column and the password used is hidden by asterisks. After the Passwords Preferences dialog opens, you can do the following: Deselect AutoFill User Names and Passwords and Safari will not auto-fill usernames or passwords, nor will you be prompted by Safari to save website usernames and passwords. This also deselects usernames and passwords in AutoFill preferences. Click a website, and then click Details to display the username and password Safari saved for that site. Click a website (or Control-click multiple websites) and then click the Remove button to eliminate those usernames and passwords from Safari’s memory. Click the Add button to open a dialog box into which you can enter a URL and the username and password required to access the site. Then click the AutoFill button to return to the AutoFill Preferences. 6. Select the Credit Cards check box and then click Edit. The Credit Cards Are Locked dialog appears. 7. Enter your admin password and then click Unlock. The dialog box refreshes showing information for any credit cards you have saved. 8. To edit a credit card, select it and then modify the information. You can edit the cardholder name, card number, expiration date, and cardholder name, or click Remove to delete the card information. 9. Click Add to add a card to the list. A dialog appears in which you fill in the card description, card number, expiration date, and cardholder name. If you choose to use AutoFill for names, passwords — and especially credit cards — we highly recommend setting up your Mac to require a password whenever it is turned on or wakes from sleep. 10. Select the Other Forms check box, which will remember what you enter the first time you fill in a form and use it if the same website asks for the same information again. Click the Edit button to see, and remove, websites for which AutoFill has been enabled. If you turn on the Keychain option in iCloud, the information you let AutoFill manage is available across all devices signed in to the same iCloud account with Keychain activated. Protect your web-browsing privacy Safari encrypts your web browsing to help avoid Internet eavesdropping and potential digital theft. And, instead of letting websites access your information automatically when you fill out forms, Safari detects forms and presents your information in drop-down fields so you can choose which information to insert. As a rule, Safari keeps track of your browsing history, but if you use Safari on a public Mac, perhaps in a library, you may not want to leave a trace of where you’ve been. Choose File→New Private Window and Safari keeps your browsing secrets safe. When you enable Private Browsing, a new Safari window opens, and the Search or Enter Website Name field has a black background. In a nutshell, turning on the Private Browsing keeps your web-browsing history usage private by Not tracking which websites you visit, which means they don’t show up in History Removing any files that you downloaded from the Downloads window (Window→Downloads) Not saving names or passwords that you enter on websites Not saving search words or terms that you enter in the Search and Address field In other words, when you open a private window, Safari gets a case of amnesia, making Safari mind its own business until you close the private window. You know when Private Browsing is active because the Search or Enter Website Name field has a dark gray background. You can use the navigation buttons during the session, but when you close Safari, or close the private window, your viewing history is erased. In short, opening a private window is an excellent solution when you’re surfing for your husband’s anniversary present. After you close a private window, Safari goes back to thoughtfully keeping track of the websites you visit and the terms you type into the search box so you can easily return to those sites or searches later. In addition to surfing with a private window, Safari offers Security and Privacy preferences. Do the following to set these up: 1. Choose Safari→Preferences and click the Security button on the toolbar. 2. Select the check box next to the options you want to activate: Fraudulent Sites: When you open a website that Safari finds suspicious, you receive a warning that requires you to confirm or cancel opening the page. Safari uses Google Safe Browsing to determine if a site is fraudulent. Web Content: JavaScript is a language used for buttons, forms, and other website content; if this check box is left clear, some website functionality may be lost. Pop-up windows often contain advertising, so you may want to leave this check box clear. That said, some website functionality may be lost if you don’t enable this feature. In both cases, if necessary, you’ll receive a message from the website prompting you to activate the feature. 3. Click the Privacy button on the toolbar to open Privacy preferences, as shown. 4. Protect your privacy by accepting the default Prevent Cross-Site Tracking. This option makes it harder for companies to track your browsing across multiple websites. We strongly suggest you do not deselect this option. 5. Tighten your web-browsing security by clicking the Block All Cookies check box. If you select this option, Safari warns you that websites may not work if you enable this option. When this option is not selected, which is the default state, Safari keeps a list of websites that have stored data that can be used to track your browsing. You can click the Manage Website Data button and see who’s tracking what, and then select specific sites you would like to remove, or remove all. To enable quick surfing without interruptions, do not block all cookies, but visit the Privacy preferences frequently, click Manage Website Data, and remove suspect sites. Cookies are pieces of information about you that websites you visit use to track your browser usage. Cookies may also be used for user authentication or specific information. When you sign up with a website, that site gives you a cookie so that the next time you go to that website, it recognizes you because it sees you have one of its cookies. 6. Accept the default Apple Pay and Apple Card option. With the default option enabled, Safari lets you make purchases on the web with Apple Pay and Apple Card using your iPhone or Apple Watch to confirm payment. If you have none of the previously mentioned Apple baubles, feel free to deselect this option. 7. Click the Close button.

Article / Updated 01-06-2020

Many people consider passwords to be less than ideal for security. To begin with, you have to remember them. The only sure way to make sure you don’t forget or lose your password is to write it down and keep that piece of paper (or whatever you wrote on) safe. There’s a better way if you have a current MacBook Pro or MacBook Air that supports Touch ID. Instead of using a password, use yourself: your fingerprint with Touch ID. Touch ID will work to unlock your Mac, but it’s secure enough to give you access to Apple Pay and other Apple services that involve money. Touch ID is not a total replacement for passwords, so don’t get your hopes up. After your restart your Mac, you’ll need your password. After you’ve logged in with your password, you can then use Touch ID. To use Touch ID, you need to set it up (usually a one-time process) and then be prepared to use it when you want. How to set up Touch ID Setting up your Mac for Touch ID is a fairly quick one-time process that takes just a few steps. Wash your hands and dry them. Wet hands don’t work well with Touch ID. Choose Apple→System Preferences. The System Preferences window appears. In the System Preferences window, click Touch ID. Click + to add a fingerprint. You’re asked to enter your password. Enter your password. Choose the Touch ID features you want to use on your MacBook. Your choices are: Unlocking your Mac Apple Pay iTunes and App Store Follow the instructions to register your fingerprint. You need to gently place your finger on the Touch ID button and keep it there until it has registered and you are instructed to move to another finger. You will need to register several fingerprints to complete the process. How to use Touch ID If you have set up Touch ID, you’ll be prompted to use it to unlock System Preferences, the Passwords section in Safari, or password-protected Notes in the Notes app. You can use either Touch ID or a password in these cases. If you’re traveling, you may want to disable Touch ID so that if security needs to turn on your Mac they can do so. In general, when planning a trip check with the authorities or Apple Support because rules and technologies vary and change.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

When you make presentations at client meetings or conferences, you may use an electronic slideshow to support your spoken words, and that slideshow is more than likely projected on a large monitor or projector screen connected to your computer. Download the appropriate app, and you can use your iPhone as the remote control. The advantage of the iPhone as remote control is that you can see the upcoming slide, so even if you walk away from your computer, perhaps to be closer to your audience or handle a 3D prop, you can still see your presenter notes — okay, maybe juggling your iPhone and a 3D prop wouldn’t be all that easy, but you get the point. Here's how to work with a presentation created in Keynote on your Mac or iPad and controlled with Keynote Remote on your iPhone. First, create your presentation in Keynote and download Keynote Remote from the App Store. Follow these steps to set it up: Connect both your Mac and your iPhone to the same Wi-Fi network. Open your presentation in Keynote from your Mac; it can be a file that you keep remotely on iCloud or locally on your Mac. If you are projecting your presentation from your Mac to another display or video projection system, you can still use your iPhone as the remote controller. Tap Keynote Remote on your iPhone. A dialog (shown in the following figure) asks if you want to allow Keynote to accept incoming connections. Click Allow. Tap Settings in the upper left corner to open the Keynote Remote settings, as shown in this figure. Tap Presenter Notes to the On position. Tap Done. Tap Play Slideshow in your iPhone, as shown in the following figure. Your presentation appears on your iPhone, as shown in this figure. Swipe across the iPhone screen to move from one slide to the next. If you have builds or animation in your presentation, each movement appears singly on your iPhone, and the next one is activated when you swipe. (Optional) Tap the Options button to jump to the first slide, end the slideshow, or open the Settings screen, as shown in this figure. When you end your slideshow from either your iPhone or your Mac, it closes on the other device. Although you can import your PowerPoint presentations into Keynote, i-Clickr PowerPoint Remote gives you another option. The lite version is free and the full version costs $9.99. This app turns your iPhone into a multiplatform, multiapp slideshow remote control. It works with Macs and Windows computers, as well as with PowerPoint, Keynote, Open Office, and PDF files. Pretty cool!

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

You configure your e-mail account directly on your iPhone with a series of taps. Apple has been kind enough to insert the technical stuff needed to access some of the most used e-mail services. For the following e-mail services, you need to have your e-mail address and password handy: iCloud MS-Exchange Google Mail Yahoo! AOL Outlook.com How to set up an iCloud account on your iPhone Follow these steps to set up your iCloud e-mail on your iPhone: Tap Settings on the Home screen, and then tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars. You have to scroll down — it's right below iCloud. If you have no e-mail account, the Add Account screen opens directly. If you see iCloud in the Accounts list and Mail is listed beneath it, you are good to go! If you see iCloud but Mail isn't listed or you don't see iCloud at all but want to add it, tap Add Account and go to Step 3. Tap iCloud. iCloud recognizes the @icloud.com, @me.com, or @mac.com e-mail address domains. Type in the e-mail address and password associated with your Apple ID and then tap the Next button. If you don't have an Apple ID, click Get a Free Apple ID and follow the on-screen instructions to set one up. Your account is verified. The iCloud screen opens. A message asks if you want iCloud to use the Location of Your iPhone On the screen shown, you have a series of options and toggle switches that turn those options on. Turning an option on means that the information in that app is shared between your iPhone and iCloud and any other devices you access iCloud with, such as an iPad, Mac, or Windows PC. Any time you make changes to one of them on one device, the changes go up to the iCloud and rain down on the other device. Tap Mail On. Turn this on and you receive your iCloud mail on your iPhone. How to set up Google Mail, Yahoo!, AOL, and Outlook.com accounts on your iPhone Apple has already put the incoming and outgoing server information for the most popular e-mail providers on iPhone. If you use Gmail, Yahoo!, AOL, or Outlook.com, do the following: Tap Settings on the Home screen, and then tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars. You might have to scroll down — it's right below iCloud. Tap Add Account. The Add Account screen opens. Tap the name of the account you use; for example, Google Mail, also known as Gmail. The Google Mail (or Yahoo! or AOL or Outlook.com) screen opens. Filling in the Name field is optional (Windows Live Hotmail doesn't even have one). Type your e-mail address in the Address field and your password in the Password field. Tap the Next button in the upper right corner. Your account is verified. The Google Mail (or one of the others) screen opens. You have a few options to consider turning on or off, depending on the services you use. For our purposes, turn on Mail. This connects you to your e-mail account so that messages download to your iPhone in the Mail app and you can send messages from your e-mail account in Mail. Tap Save. Your account is added to the Accounts list of Mail, Contacts, Calendars settings. How to set up Microsoft Exchange on your iPhone Microsoft Exchange is often used in a corporate setting where a company-specific server manages the employees’ e-mail. If you use Microsoft Exchange, you might need to ask your network administrator for the server name, and then follow these steps to set up a Microsoft Exchange account on your iPhone: Tap Settings→Mail, Contacts, Calendars→Add Account→Microsoft Exchange. The first Exchange screen opens and requests your e-mail address, password, and a description, which is optional. Fill in the information requested and tap Next. The second Exchange screen opens. Fill in the requested fields. You may have to ask your network administrator for some of the details. Tap Next. If Microsoft Auto Discovery didn't fill in the server address, type it in. It will be something like exchange.company.com. The Exchange account opens with options for Mail, Contacts, and Calendars. Turn Mail on to have e-mail from your Exchange account accessible from your iPhone. Turn on Contacts and Calendars as well if you want to access that information from your Exchange account. How to set up other IMAP and POP accounts on your iPhone If you or your company uses another e-mail provider, it's probably an IMAP — Internet Message Access Protocol or POP — Post Office Protocol account. iOS 7 is pretty clever at finding the account and setting it up based on just your e-mail address and password: Tap Settings on the Home screen, and then tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Tap Add Account. Tap Other at the bottom of the list. Tap Add Mail Account, the first button on the screen. A New Account screen opens. Fill in your name, address (your e-mail address), your password, and a description if you want something different than what is automatically entered. Tap Next. Mail looks for your account and veri-fies it. Your iPhone automatically recognizes if it's an IMAP or POP account and presents the appropriate choices. Tap the options, such as Mail or Notes, to the On position to have that data accessible from your iPhone. Tap Save. The account is added and appears in the list of accounts in Settings→Mail, Contacts, Calendars.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Now, you're ready to connect your iPhone to your computer and iTunes. You can set up a daily wireless sync, which is called iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, or you can physically connect your iPhone to your computer with the USB connector cable and run the iTunes Sync feature. However, even if you plan to use iTunes Wi-Fi Sync, you must connect your iPhone to your computer one time. The first time you connect your iPhone to your computer, iTunes opens and you can set up and perform your first automatic sync. This article will go through those initial operations and then explain manual syncing. It will also look at establishing the criteria for future syncing operations. These instructions are for iTunes 11.1 (126), which you can download for free from the Apple website. iTunes is available in both Mac and Windows versions. Click either the Get iTunes for Windows or Get iTunes for Macintosh link (although it's highly unlikely you would have a Mac without iTunes) and then click Download Now. The download begins automatically. Follow the on-screen instructions to install iTunes on your computer. To begin syncing your iPhone with your computer, follow these steps: Connect your iPhone to your computer with the USB connector cable, using a port that is on your computer rather than one on the keyboard or hub (unless you have a powered hub). iTunes opens. If iTunes doesn't open, open it manually. If this is the first time you connect an iPhone to iTunes, you probably want to choose Set Up As New iPhone. However, if you backup an iPod touch or iPad to iTunes, you can put that data on your iPhone. Click Get Started on the next screen. The iPhone Summary window appears. In subsequent connections, select your iPhone from the pop-up device menu at the top right of the window. If iTunes doesn't recognize your iPhone, make sure the USB connector cable is firmly seated in both your iPhone and computer ports and that your iPhone is turned on. If iTunes still doesn't see your iPhone, choose iTunes→Preferences on a Mac or Edit→Preferences in Windows. Click the Devices icon at the top of the window that opens. Deselect the box next to Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from Syncing Automatically. Click OK to activate the new setting. Choose one of the following in the Backups section: iCloud: Select this choice to use iCloud as your backup destination. This Computer: Select this choice if you want to keep your iPhone backup on your computer. You have a subchoice of Encrypt iPhone Backup. Type a password in the dialog that appears. When you restore a backup to your iPhone, you'll be asked to enter the password. Select from the following in the Options section: Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected: Automatically launches iTunes and begins syncing when you connect your iPhone to your computer with the USB connector cable. When this box is not checked, you sync manually by clicking the Sync button in the bottom right corner. If the Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from Syncing Automatically option in the Devices pane of iTunes Preferences (iTunes→Preferences on a Mac; Edit→Preferences on a PC) is checked, this option appears dimmed and unavailable. Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi: Your iPhone syncs with iTunes once a day when both your computer and iPhone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, and iTunes is open on your computer. Apple recommends that your iPhone is connected to a power source. Although you can sync without power, it significantly drains the battery. Sync only checked songs and videos: Only songs and videos that you manually check are synced. If you sync a playlist that contains unchecked songs and sync the playlist, the unchecked songs are not included in the sync. This means going through your iTunes library and manually selecting or deselecting all the songs and videos you have stored on your computer. Prefer standard definition videos: Standard definition videos occupy less memory than high definition videos, so you may prefer to sync SD videos to your iPhone. Convert higher bit rate songs to 128/192/256 kbps: iTunes automatically creates smaller audio files so you can squeeze more music onto your iPhone. Manually manage music and videos: Select this if you want to click and drag music and videos from iTunes to your iPhone. If you want to limit the music or videos stored on your iPhone, this may be a good option to choose. Reset Warnings: Click this button if, in the past, you've asked iTunes to stop showing you purchase and download warnings but you would like to see those warnings again. The Configure Accessibility button: Click this button to turn on the various Universal Access functions, such as VoiceOver and Speak Auto-Text. Click Apply. You can override the automatic syncing on an as-needed basis by launching iTunes before you connect your iPhone to your computer. Press and hold Command+Option (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl (PC) and connect your iPhone. Hold the keys until your iPhone appears in right end of the navigation bar below the toolbar. Your iPhone won't sync automatically, but the settings you previously established remain unchanged.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

By now, you're probably familiar with the Settings app on your iPhone. It's where you turn the features for the other iPhone apps on or off. The settings for Messages let you personalize the way iPhone alerts you that you have messages and offers some options for composing messages. To open Settings for messages, tap Settings→Messages. You'll have to scroll down because Messages is a little way down the list after iCloud. iMessage: Tap this toggle switch on to activate the iMessage service, which lets you exchange messages with other iOS devices, such as iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, as well as Macs running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, or OS X 10.9, Mavericks, over Wi-Fi or the cellular data network without cutting into your SMS allotment. Send Read Receipts: When turned on, people who send you messages will be notified when you read their sent message. Send As SMS: If iMessage is unavailable, your message is sent as an SMS text message. Your cellular service plan may charge an extra fee for SMS. Send & Receive: Add additional e-mail addresses where you want to receive iMessages (in addition to your mobile phone number). Tap Send & Receive. The iMessage screen opens. Tap Add Another Email. The keyboard appears where you can type in the e-mail address you wish to add. Tap Messages at the top when you finish. Scroll down to see the last five choices: MMS Messaging: With this feature on, you can send and receive photos, video, and voice memos and insert a subject line in the text field. You may have to enter information from your cellular service provider in the MMS section of Settings→General→Cellular→Cellular Data Network, and there may be an additional charge to send MMS. Group Messaging: If you turn this on, you can send one SMS/MMS message to several people, although responses come back only to you. This option isn't available in all areas. Show Subject Field: With this switch on, a subject line appears before any text messages that you write — just like e-mail. This turns an SMS (Short Message Service) into an MMS (Multimedia Message Service). If you're sending to someone who doesn't have MMS capabilities, they may not receive your message. If you leave the subject field blank, it remains an SMS, or you can just keep this setting off. Character Count: Turn this switch on in conjunction with Show Subject Field and a character counter appears to the right of the text-entry field in the New Message screen so you can keep an eye on the length of your message. iPhone conveniently splits messages longer than 160 characters into multiple messages so people with phones that have limited text capabilities can still receive messages from you. The kicker is that each section of the message counts as one message, meaning one three-part message is billed as three messages. Blocked: This function lets you insert phone numbers you don't want to receive calls, messages, or FaceTime from. If you set up blocked numbers from the Phone settings, they appear here as well. Change switches from on to off, or vice versa, with a simple tap. No swiping needed.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

While you're engaged in an active call on your iPhone, you can make a second call, or you can answer an incoming call. If you have a GSM (Global System for Mobile)-model iPhone, you can also initiate a conference call that lets you speak with up to five people at once. How to make a second call on your iPhone While on an active call, you can make a second call by doing the following: Tap Add Call to display your iPhone Contacts. Scroll to find and tap to choose the contact you want to call. You can tap the Favorites, Recents, and Keypad buttons at the bottom of the screen to use any of those options to add your second call. When your second call is established, the active multiple calls screen appears. On a GSM phone, switch between your callers to speak privately with one or the other by tapping the caller's name at the top of the screen. CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) phones only allow you to switch between calls if the second call was incoming. Tap End Call to hang up on the caller you're currently speaking with. Your other caller becomes your active call, and you can press End Call when you're finished conversing with that caller. How to answer a second incoming call on your iPhone If a second call comes in while you're engaged in another call, you see the screen below. Respond to the incoming call screen by doing one of the following: Tap Hold Call + Answer to put your current call on hold and answer your second incoming call. When you choose this option, the active multiple calls screen appears. End Call + Answer to disconnect with your current call and answer your second incoming call. Your iPhone responds differently depending on whether you have a GSM (AT&T, T-Mobile) or CDMA (Verizon, Sprint) iPhone. GSM: Tap End Call + Answer. CDMA: Tap End Call, and when the second call rings again, tap Answer. How to make a conference call on your iPhone You initiate a conference call by making or answering a second call as described previously. After your second call is established, the multiple active calls screen appears. To turn your two calls into a conference call, and even add more callers to your two calls and turn those calls into a conference call, do the following: Tap Add Call to add a second person to a call you initiated and then choose the person you want to add from Contacts, Favorites, or Recents. Or tap Hold Call + Answer to add an incoming call. On A GSM phone, you may have up to five people on your conference call. Repeat step one to add the third through fifth person to your current group call. Tap Merge Calls to combine your two (or more) calls into a single Conference Call in which everyone can speak and hear everyone else. To merge calls on a CDMA phone, you must place the second call in order to merge with the first one. The conference call screen appears, the names of the people on the call scroll across the top of the screen. How to manage a conference call on your iPhone When a conference call is underway, you can use the conference call screen to manage your conference call by doing the following: Tap the Info button at the top of the screen to display a list of the people on the call. Tap the End button under a caller's name or number to disconnect that caller from the conference call. To speak privately with one caller in your conference call, tap the Private button under the caller's name to speak that caller; your other callers are put on hold while you speak privately with a single caller. Tap the Back button to return to the Conference call screen.