HOW TO: Protect you private Notes with a password

Got a secret you need to keep in your Notes on your iPad, iPhone or Mac? Or maybe just a place to store your not so super-secretive passwords and login details? There’s no need to download any fancy vault-keeping type app if you’re looking to keep a few simple notes private since in Apple’s Notes app you can assign a password to any individual note! There’s two ways to achieve this, so here’s how…

1. Locking notes on your iPhone/iPad:

1. Navigate to your Settings

2. Select Notes

3. Tap on Password (select the account you want to have a password on if you have multiple accounts)

4. Enter a password and be sure to give yourself a hint just in case you forget (you can also use Face/TouchID if you have a compatible device)

5. Tap on Done

2. Locking notes in the App

1. Navigate to Notes

2. Select the Action/Share icon

3. Select Lock Note

4. Enter a password and be sure to give yourself a hint just in case you forget (you can also use Face/TouchID if you have a compatible device)

5. Select Done

To learn a little more about it you can visit Apple’s Support page here.

Is your Macbook's battery healthy?

Recently my MacBook Pro’s battery hasn’t been the best. While doing some work my fans started running at high-speed and I was afraid my MacBook Pro was about to lift-off and head to space. Thankfully it didn’t, instead I had a little pop-up warning about the excessive energy being used. This prompted me to check my battery health. So how does one check the health of their battery?

Make sure that you’ve updated your OS X to the latest - Catalina 10.15.5. Navigate to your System Preferences, click on Energy Saver, then click on Battery Health.

For my Mac, I had an alert that my battery needed to be serviced. After a short call, a quick online diagnostic, I was able to book in a work appointment to my local Apple store and got my battery replaced under warranty! Happy days! I could get back to work.

Photo by iabzd on Unsplash

There is more that you can do to help preserve the life of your Macbook’s battery. You can find out more from the good folk here.

How To: Export your Pages document as a Word document.

Not everyone owns a Mac and when it comes to sharing documents it can become quite a hassle if you’re sharing it with someone who only has Microsoft Word. The good news is, Pages is Word friendly! Unlike Microsoft Word that can’t open Pages documents, Pages can both read and export .docx files! Here’s how you can export a Word friendly document for your Windows wielding friend thanks to the smart fellows at Cult of Mac.

Optimise your home internet set up

It’s not always our Internet Service Provider’s fault when it comes to slow internet at home. Sometimes it makes a big difference by making a little change, such as where you put your WiFi router in the house. Check out these tips from NBN Co. that may help you improve your internet at home.

1. Upgrade your modem

2. Check for objects that can interfere with your Wi-Fi signal

3. Connect to the right Wi-Fi band

4. Move your modem away from brick or complex walls

5. Assess the number of multiple connected devices

6. Use an Ethernet cable to connect your high definition television

7. Check your cabling

8. Consider upgrading older devices

9. Ensure your device is compatible

Photo by Stephen Phillips - Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash

To read more of the details of these tips, check out NBN Co’s article here as well as to read up on other things about your home internet.

iOS TIP: How to quickly nest your lists in notes

It’s not just ‘swipe right’ for a particular social app, but you can also use this handy shortcut to nest your lists in Notes! I love how quick and simple it is to keep my plans and thoughts organised. Here’s how easy it is to sort your list out with just a swipe…

1. Make your list in Notes as you would normally do, either using bullets, dashes or numbers, etc.

2. When you reach the line on the list entry you want to nest just do a quick swipe on the bullet-point, dash or number to the right!

3. Et voila! You’re now an organised, list-making pro

GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

We hope you enjoyed this quick tip! If you want more, just give us a follow on our Facebook page. Got bigger questions or would like to learn more about your Apple device? Give us a shout to see how we can help you!

HOW TO: Look good in a video call

Many of you may be finding yourselves working from home, posting all those selfies on social media with the hashtag #WFH (Working From Home). With social distancing having being implemented we find ourselves turning to virtual meetings via video calls. Despite not being able to be with one another physically, we do still want to look somewhat presentable! So here’s a fun article from Cult of Mac on 5 ways to look great on a video call. They bring up 5 tips to think about it…

1. Lighting

2. Camera Angle

3. Your background

4. Make-up?

5. How to dress

Check out their article here.

HOW TO: Video-call using Group FaceTime

With the whole community in isolation it’s no wonder many people are turning to video-calling apps to keep in touch with one another. We know that Apple has FaceTime where we can do video and audio calls to our loved ones, but did you know you can also do GROUP FaceTime video/audio calls? Here’s a helpful guide from Apple Support on how to use Group FaceTime on your iPhone, iPad or iPod. If you own a Mac, they also have a learning guide here too. So get together with the family with a virtual gathering via. FaceTime. There’s also many fun things you can do with the Camera Effects.

iOS Tip: Answer a message with a touch and tap!

Did you know that you can answer a text without having to type a whole reply out? Well, it depends what the text is, but iOS has the smarts to give you options for an appropriate answer. Here’s how!

In your Messages, tap and hold down on the conversation you’d like to reply. You’ll then see a pop-up with suggestions on what to apply. Tap on the reply you want to use. Voila! Done ☺️

We hope you liked that useful tip from Apple’s Genius Picks. You can like and follow our Facebook page for more handy tips!

Apple Tip: How to restore your contacts

Whether it’s absent mindedness or a slip of the finger, you may find yourself accidentally deleting a contact or two. No need to fear though if you’ve got backup enabled on your iCloud. Here’s how you can recover your contacts…

1. Log into your iCloud account using your Apple ID

2. Scroll down to where it says Advanced and click on Restore Contacts

3. Then select an archive of your contacts that was from a date before you had accidentally removed/lost the contacts

iOS TIP: Swipe to Type

We’re always looking for a little more efficiency in life and sometimes we don’t notice the subtle changes Apple makes to help us along the way. If you’ve kept your iPhone updated you may have noticed a little something-something has been added to your keyboard. It’s been a long time coming, yes, I complained a little that Apple’s iOS was sooooo behind on this feature that has been around on other phone operating systems for a while, but alas the patience has paid off. So while you’re holding that reusable coffee cup in your left hand you can now swipe-to-type on your iPhone in the other hand, or the other way around, coffee in the right and phone in the left. How you ask? Well, if you’ve updated to the latest iOS 13 there’s no need to enable anything as the update would have automatically enabled it by default.

Image by Jéshoots from www.pexels.com

HOW TO DO IT?

To begin swiping-to-type, just place your finger (or thumb) on your keyboard screen and swipe it across the letters of the word you want to type. For example, for the word “Okay,” all you have to do is drag your finger/thumb over the respective letters in order “O-K-A-Y” and the keyboard will predict the word you’re trying to input.

We hope you enjoy this nifty iOS 13 feature as much as us!