January 09, 2017 by RSS Feed
Many of us use Safari on our iPhones to browse the web, watch videos and stay on top of the latest news. It is a feature-rich browser that offers most of the essential features that a normal user would need.
There are times that you accidentally close a tab in Safari or you want to check something from a webpage that was closed recently. Luckily, Safari offers a handy feature that allows you to view and open the tabs that you recently closed. Using it is pretty simple once you know where to find it.
Step 1: Open the Safari app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Press the tabs icon located in the bottom right corner.
Step 3: Tap and hold on the + button.
Step 4: A list of all your recently closed tabs will be displayed. To open a specific webpage, simply tap on it.
Step 1: Launch Safari on your iPad.
Step 2: On the top right corner of the app, you’ll find a + button for opening a new tab. Tap and hold on it.
Step 3: You’ll see a list of all the tabs that were closed recently. Tap on any one of the tabs that you want to open.
That’s all you need to do to view your recently closed tabs and re-open them if needed. Pretty simple right? Keep in mind that if you close Safari from the App Switcher, the list of recently closed tabs will be cleared.
Now that you’ve learned this, you may want to check out other interesting tips for Safari:
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January 09, 2017 by RSS Feed
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January 08, 2017 by RSS Feed
Editorial ($4.99) by omz:software is a plain text editor for the iPad that comes with powerful automation tools and support for John Gruber’s Markdown syntax. If you’re looking for a complete writing solution on-the-go, then this is definitely the app to check out.
I’m writing all the time — whether it’s for AppAdvice, my own personal blog, or just random journaling in Day One, I’m always writing something, somewhere. I’ve always used mainly my MacBook Pro for the task, with a bit of jotting down while I’m out-and-about with my iPhone. I always carry my iPad with me, but it is not used frequently. However, I believe that with Editorial in my arsenal, this is all about to change.
So what exactly is Editorial? First and foremost, this is a text editor, you know, for writing, that comes with Markdown support right out of the box. It also has Dropbox syncing, and has plenty of tool panels and menus for document preview (Markdown to HTML), a Python console and scratchpad, document viewer, and even a built-in web browser for researching purposes. Basically, think of a Swiss Army knife for writing, and this is what you end up with.
The first thing I recommend doing with Editorial is to link it up to your Dropbox. I really like that it is also not restrictive on the folder of where you will save in, either. By default, of course, Editorial will make an “Editorial” folder in your Dropbox’s “Apps” folder, but you can change the sync location to whatever you please. Personally, I opted to go for the root /Dropbox (this is done by putting a / in the Sync Folder setting), so I have access to any plain text or Markdown file in my possession. Editorial was able to load up and sync all of my files fairly quickly, and I did not encounter any errors during this initial download.
Besides being incredibly useful, Editorial looks great and is quite intuitive. Your folders and files are accessed via a side panel, at which point you are able to access the editor when selecting a compatible file (plain text and Markdown only). From the editing screen, you can access the side panels with the “hamburger” button, settings with the gear button, and even search for keywords throughout your document with the search feature. To access the Markdown Preview, Python console, or in-app browser, just tap on that “side panel” button in the top right, and then select the view you want. This is also where you want to go if you need help with Editorial, as it contains the Editorial Documentation with all of the basics to understanding workflows and Python. You can also swipe horizontally to quickly navigate through all of the various views.
As you write, Editorial will also have a keyboard extension that features a row of shortcut buttons for commonly used characters. Like other text editors that feature keyboard extensions, it will take some time to get used to, but in the end you will appreciate the time that it saves, as you don’t need to switch the keyboards anymore. There is also a button for indenting your paragraphs, should you need it. Two buttons at near the right edge of this extension allow you to view and edit your current text snippets, as well as undo and redo your last edit.
The Snippets feature is great, and will help you save a lot of time with more use. If you already have TextExpander Touch on your iPad, then you will be pleased to know that there is full support for it in Editorial. However, with iOS 7, Apple has changed the API that TextExpander needs to share snippets with other apps, so at the moment, I cannot get this feature to work. Creating new snippets will consist of the text you want, and the abbreviation that will expand into the full text. The snippet editor will include useful shortcuts on the keyboard, including a button to indicate selected text, Editor (file name, extension, browser title, browser URL), Date (various formats for year, month, and date), Time (different formats for hour, minute, seconds, and a.m./p.m.), and Clipboard, which will just paste in whatever you currently have copied on your iPad.
When you start typing out the beginning of one of your snippets, Editorial will bring up some bubbles in the bottom left corner of the screen that show the first two letters of what you’re typing and the snippets that you’ve assigned to these abbreviations. This is a great way to bring up the snippets that you may have added but can’t recall, as it refreshes your memory. By default, Editorial will only bring these popups up when you type the first two letters of a snippet, but you can change it to the first letter. While this may seem like a nuisance at first, it can be a good way to bring up snippets that you have created that start with a semicolon, for example. There’s surely a use case for such a feature.
Now, the more complex parts of Editorial lays in the workflows and Python. I’m actually rather new to the automation process, and I’ve been trying to dip my toes into this stuff thanks to this app. To create a new workflow or view existing ones (the app comes with some by default), tap on the wrench in the top right, adjacent to the side panel button mentioned earlier. Workflows consist of various actions that are used together to create an automated process. If you are familiar with AppleScript, then these workflows work in a similar fashion. You can choose from Editorial’s Action Library, which will be split up into six categories: Special (conditions like If this, Then that, generating text, running a Python script, setting different variables, and more), Editor (get bookmark URLs, document content, replace selected text, and more), Interaction (compose email, console output, request text input, etc.), Text Filter (extract URLs, find/replace, remove duplicate lines, and more), Utilities (math, set clipboard, etc.), and Web Browser (evaluate JavaScript or open URL). Creating these workflows can be tricky, especially if you are completely new to it. I highly recommend checking out the Editorial documentation for a guide on how this works, as well as Federico Viticci’s in-depth review and tutorial of Editorial over at MacStories. All of your workflows can be assigned their own icon for easier recognition once you start building up a respectable collection of workflows.
When you select a workflow to use, the wrench icon will change to the spinner to let users know that it is processing and working. If it does nothing, then the workflow did not work. I do wish that Editorial would be a bit more clear on whether or not something works when you create it, as well as showing indicators of what went wrong in the process so it can be easily fixed.
The magic of Editorial doesn’t end there. The app sports two different themes, which can be toggled in the app’s settings. The normal theme will be light, and for the night owls, or those who just prefer less bright screens, there is a dark mode available. This night theme reminds me a bit of Daring Fireball, except it’s a tad darker. Users can also customize their line spacing and text width to their own preference, making it easier to write and read in Editorial. Spellcheck, auto-correction and auto-capitalization can also be toggled to make the writing process even more streamlined. The snippets and abbreviations have an option to ignore case, as well as display the suggested completions with one letter or two, or have it completely off. Markdown can be tweaked to display inline previews, as well as have a different font (10 available choices) and size for text, heading, code, and even plain text. Advanced options bring the ability to change the formatting character opacity, compatible file format extensions, and default extension for newly created documents in Editorial.
I have to say that this single app is making me use my iPad more than ever before. I have not had any problems with my writing while using Editorial for the past couple of days, and I’m pretty much in love with everything about it. While I may have only been really using this as a simple writing app (it excels even if you don’t use the more complicated stuff) with quick reference thanks to the built-in browser, I am planning to dive more into the workflows and perhaps even Python scripting in the very near future.
The possibilities are quite endless with Editorial, and it’s one app this year that will be playing a crucial part in my workflow from now on — sorry Byword. In fact, I’ve already moved it into my iPad’s dock, so it will always be ready to go.
If you are planning to do a lot of writing, and want to lighten your load with just your iPad, then you need to consider adding Editorial to your writing toolkit. You can get Editorial for your iPad in the App Store for $4.99 (requires iOS 6).
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January 08, 2017 by RSS Feed
After years of waiting, Microsoft's Office for iPad is here. In celebration, I'd like to take a deeper look at the three new additions to the App Store: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, and I've decided to start with what will probably be the most popular of them all. Now that Microsoft Word for iPad (Free, requiring Office 365 subscription) by Microsoft Corporation is actually here, questions are rising everywhere. How does it compare to Apple's Pages? Can it really make an impact in the mobile office space after it's arrived this late to the game? And, most importantly, is it worth $99 a year?
In my day-to-day experiences of making simple documents, I've run into and had to find ways around the sea of limitations that Pages comes with. Want to change the page orientation? Can't do that. Want to skip lines when creating a numbered list? Can't do that. Want to change the header and footer on each page? Can't do that. And those are just the simple things, all of which Microsoft Word for iPad can do just as well as it does on the desktop.
Other winning features over Apple's document editor include more advanced formatting options when it comes to bullets and numbering, a boss of a ruler, a plethora of adjustable parameters for tables and shapes, and a whole tab dedicated to adjusting “Layout” options that is full of features Pages is missing. Finally, even those well-known fonts that are exclusive to Word have been ported over. I could spend an eternity preaching about how Word on the iPad has many more robust editing options than Pages does, but I think you get the idea.
Beyond the app's strengths, however, is one obvious drawback. This doesn't involve document creation and editing, but rather, it has to do with sharing and exporting. Users can import documents into Word from other apps using iOS' native share sheets, so clearly Microsoft knows the functionality exists. However, when getting a document out of the app, the only options available are through a link to the OneDrive file or via email.
Despite how awful sharing documents from Microsoft Word for iPad is, the app's abilities are far beyond that of Pages or any other mobile office app, so I'm more than willing to deal with the issues. Also, while $99 a year sounds crazy for an Office 365 subscription, you're getting a lot more than you think. In the end, you get what you pay for, and the pricing of Apple's iWork in contrast to Office on iOS is a prime example of that. Microsoft has been extremely diligent in including almost every feature the desktop version has, and it becomes obvious as you use the app. If you're remotely serious about creating and editing documents on your iPad, you'll go for Word, which is available in the App Store for free.
Needless to say, I'm thrilled that I won't be turning my head sideways to edit a document's settings ever again. All of my Pages users will know what I'm talking about.
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January 08, 2017 by RSS Feed
CARROT Fit - Talking Weight Tracker ($1.99) by Grailr LLC is the third installment of the CARROT series of apps. If you need a little more motivation behind losing weight, how about a robot who will do this by judging you every step of the way?
I’ve been a longtime fan of CARROT since her other two apps, CARROT To-Do and CARROT Alarm. So when I heard that there was going to be a third CARROT app, this time dealing with fitness and health, I was pretty excited.
CARROT Fit features a beautiful and simplistic interface that you will instantly recognize if you’ve used her other apps. You’ll find hilarious chubby avatars to choose from to represent yourself, amusing animations of CARROT’s punishments when you gain weight instead of lose it, easy-to-read text, and of course, CARROT’s sinister, GLaDOS-like voice as she makes commentary on your progress. If you do well, she will reward you with a bit of confetti and such, you know, to make you feel special.
When you launch CARROT Fit for the first time, you’ll be asked to input your base weight, and then choose an avatar. You will have the basic chubby man or woman, but there are additional, amusing options like Gentleman and Brony.
Once this is set up, CARROT will ask that you return once a day to record your weight and earn points, depending on whether your gaining or losing. Each day, when you launch CARROT Fit, just tap on the “Record Weight” button to input your current weight. You will earn points for your weigh-ins, but only once a day, so you can’t just cheat the system. If you lost weight, CARROT will cheer, and perhaps even give you some workout tips. However, if you gained weight, you’ll make CARROT angry, and she will punish your avatar and make you cry.
As you use CARROT Fit more over time, you’ll want to check The Log for your progress. You’ll be able to get a graph of how your weight has been for the past month, three months, or even the entire year. You will also see your current weight and how much you’ve gained or lost, and you can also set your weight goal, which will then show you how many pounds you have remaining to lose. And if you input your height, CARROT Fit will also be able to give you a BMI reading.
Just like with the other CARROT apps, the more you use CARROT Fit, eventually you will “level up” and earn rewards, like the workout tips, cat facts, and hey, you could even watch your friend eat a bag of potato chips. I haven’t made enough progress in my weight loss goal to get these fabulous rewards, but I’m sure that it will be worth it.
I’m liking CARROT Fit so far, as it reminds me in some ways of Weightbot, but with the twisted personality of CARROT. I was kind of hoping that CARROT Fit meant that she would have some sort of rigorous exercising regime in store for you, and if you slacked off, she would put you to shame through her sharp words. However, it’s just another weight tracker, but maybe that can be another CARROT app in the future. Still, CARROT Fit is a nice way to get some motivation towards your weight loss goals, though I’m not so sure she should be cheering if you input an unhealthy weight like 25 lbs. or something. But that’s part of CARROT’s charm, I suppose.
If you’re looking for a slick weight tracker app with a dash of motivation, then I recommend giving CARROT Fit a try. You can get it in the App Store for your iPhone for $1.99.
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