A big announcement at WWDC 2019 was iPadOS. With support for external storage, new ways to multitask, and more.
productivity
iOS: How to Use Excel’s Insert Data From Picture to Scan Spreadsheets
Microsoft announced that its feature for Excel called ‘Insert Data From Picture’ is now available for its iOS app. Here’s how to use it.
How to Copy and Paste Actions Between Shortcuts
Andrew recently discovered a shortcut that lets you copy and paste actions between shortcuts, which is helpful when you’re making a shortcut with dozens of actions.
Psst...You can Turn off Autocorrect for iPad Hardware Keyboards
OSXDaily has been a lifesaver lately. I’ve been annoyed at my Logitech Slim Folio Pro keyboard, because the rigid rubber bumpers on the corner make it difficult to take a screenshot using the buttons. Then came this article saying you can take screenshots with a keyboard shortcut, something I should’ve known because it’s the same shortcut on the Mac. Oh well.
Then last night, I was annoyed with yet another typo in an article. I blame them entirely on iOS’s aggressive autocorrection, because the iPad Pro is my daily work machine now. Literally a couple hours later, the website published a tip saying you can turn off autocorrect for hardware keyboards.
This is because the iPad has separate settings for the software keyboard onscreen, and a hardware keyboard if one is connected to the iPad…
Which Push Notifications Should You Allow?
Apps demand our attention by sending us push notifications, but some are more important than others. David Nield has some suggestions.
One of the problems with turning your phone off, or putting it in airplane mode to avoid distractions, is that people won’t be able to reach you in an emergency. If you want to make sure certain contacts (like your kids) can always get through, you’ve got two options using the native features on your Android or iOS phone.
Photoshop for iPad Opens for Beta Signups
Adobe is officially inviting users to sign up for Photoshop for iPad as beta testers, via an email sent to Creative Cloud users.
Real Photoshop is coming to the iPad so you can create something unreal. All your familiar desktop tools and workflows are at your fingertips, from retouching and compositing to spot healing and blend modes. Layers? They’re all here. Resolution? No difference. Your PSDs are exactly the same, whether you’re working on your desktop or a mountain top.
Adobe has been emailing Creative Cloud customers, but you can join the beta program by filling this form.
News+: 9 Long Press Shortcuts for iOS
In the latest issue of Mac|Life, Carrie Marshall writes about nine long press shortcuts for iOS. These are especially useful on the iPad. Warning: This magazine is a PDF, and the article can be found on page 96.
We think long presses and 3D Touch are great, but we also think Apple has dropped the ball with them a little bit: there’s no way of knowing whether
a particular icon or keyboard key does anything until you actually hold a finger on it. Some apps use it, some don’t.
This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.
Summarize Articles With My AutoTLDR Shortcut
Andrew was inspired by Reddit’s TLDR bot to create his own shortcut to summarize articles and save them for later.
News+ Efficiency is Aesthetically Pleasing
In Wired’s latest magazine, Clive Thompson writes that for some programmers, efficiency isn’t just a way to make a job easier. It’s aesthetically pleasing.
Many of today’s programmers have their efficiency aha moment in their teenage years, when they discover that life is full of blindingly dull repetitive tasks and that computers are really good at doing them.
I’m not a programmer, but I’m a big fan of efficiency and optimizing my life. I don’t go as far as the “optimized self” movement, but I like to automate whenever possible. The less time you spend doing repetitive tasks, the more you can spend enjoying life.
This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.
How to Type the Escape Key on iPad Keyboards
iPad keyboards don’t tend to have an escape key, but OSXDaily tells you how to type it.
Depending on what keyboard is in use with the iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini, or iPad Air, you have several different options for typing the Escape key. Some of these keyboard shortcut options may work in some apps but not others, and some may work with some keyboards but not others, so try each option out on your own.
I can’t think of a reason why you would need to type the escape key on iOS, but here you go.
BBEdit Returns to Mac App Store after Four Years
Popular productivity app BBEdit left the Mac App Store in October 2014. Today it’s back. As the “go to” tool for web site designers, web application developers, writers, and software developers, this award-winning product provides an abundance of high-performance features for editing, searching, and manipulation of text, code, and HTML/XML markup. An intelligent interface provides easy access to BBEdit’s best-of-class features, including: grep pattern matching; search and replace across multiple files; project definition tools; function navigation and syntax coloring for numerous source code languages; code folding; FTP and SFTP open and save; AppleScript and Automator support; Unix scripting support; text and code completion; a complete set of robust HTML tools; and more. Mac App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)
5 Alternative Mac Mail Apps
A bunch of users are having trouble with Gmail on macOS Mojave 14.4. While we wait for a fix, here are five alternative Mac mail apps.
With This App You'll Be Journaling Like a Stoic
I’ve been interested in applying Stoic philosophy to my life for a while, although I haven’t quite taken the plunge yet. That’s why this app caught my eye. This Stoic journaling app gives you daily journaling, meditations, reflection, and mood tracking. It sets you up with morning and evening routines. Prepare in the morning, so that nothing can surprise you during the day; and reflect on your actions in the evening, get better every day, and iterate faster. You’ll learn reflective exercises like negative visualization: Discover how many things you have in your life that you should be grateful for. Things you take for granted. achievements that you forgot a long time ago. You are luckier and more privileged than you think. Quotes from philosophers are available, and see how your journal entries and mood change over time. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)
Be Safe on the Internet With This Security Checklist
The Security Checklist is an open source list of resources designed to improve your online privacy and security. Check things off to keep track as you go.
This website provides a beginner’s checklist for staying safe on the internet. This website is the result of a conversation started during a recent episode of the Design Details Podcast and a subsequent tweet by Michael Knepprath.
This is a great website that Kelly Guimont pointed my way. Even if you’re a techie and have a handle on your online privacy, you should check this out too.
Hey You, Stop Buying Microsoft Office 2019
In a weird new commercial Microsoft pit Office 365 against Office 2019 in an obvious ploy to sell more subscriptions.
Unsurprisingly, in the new ads, which give the
actorstwins various challenges to perform in the likes of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Office 365 beats Office 2019 every time. Yawn. The ads aren’t very good and you will cringe a few times…
Hint: You can directly buy Office 365 in the new Mac apps.
Over 50 New Today at Apple Sessions Available
Apple announced over 50 new Today at Apple sessions today, with three new formats: Skills, Walks, and Labs.
A List of macOS Touch Bar Apps
The Touch Bar on recent Macs doesn’t seem to get a lot of love, but David Nield writes about macOS Touch Bar apps that do make use of it.
We’re only going to limit ourselves to mentioning one Apple app in the list, but dig around, and you’ll find that pretty much every native macOS program includes some Touch Bar shortcuts you might find useful.
Personally I’m of the opinion that the feature is gimmicky and doesn’t add much functionality to Macs.
Thoughts About an iPad-First Workflow
Ryan Christoffel writes about key things to think about if you want to adopt an iPad-first workflow.
Software limitations aside, the iPad clearly has a lot going for it; the iPad Pro is a more attractive Mac alternative than ever before. But moving to the iPad still involves some growing pains. The longer you’ve used a traditional computer, the harder an iPad transition can be. There are a few key things, however, that can help make your iPad adoption a success.
I’m not fully iPad-first yet because I still need to get a keyboard for it. But once that happens then my transition will be complete.
Did You Know the IRS Offers Free Tax Filing?
Private tax companies don’t want you to know this, but if your income is below US$66,000 the IRS offers free tax filing software. If your income is above US$66,000 you can still file for free, but you’ll have to do it manually with fillable forms. However, thanks to the long government shutdown this year, tax returns will end up being late.
Goodnotes 5 is Out for $7.99
GoodNotes 5 is a major update to its predecessor GoodNotes 4. It includes many highly requested features, improvements to existing things and some special surprises.
What’s new in GoodNotes 5:
- New folder system: Create unlimited levels of folders and subfolders
- Text & handwriting search across all documents
- Flexible scrolling directions: Horizontal or vertical scrolling
- Favorites view: Shortcuts to important pages, documents, or folders.
- QuickNotes: The fastest way to start taking notes
- Optionally display documents as lists instead of thumbnails
- Improved ink algorithm: More precise and natural writing experience
And a whole lot more.
How a Designer Uses iPad Pro as the Main Computer
The next iPad-Pro-as-main-computer narrative comes from Hicks Design. Jon shared his reasoning and workflow, as well as shortcomings & workarounds.
It’s started slowly, but the platform has been maturing and I’ve been using it more and more as my main computer. There are limitations and issues, which I’ll come to, but I keep coming back to it as a my main design tool. There’s something very alluring about this light and portable thin slab of glass that can do (almost) everything I need it to.
M.G. Siegler's 2018 Homescreen and How it Changed
I love reading about how other people use their devices, and every year M.G. Siegler shares how his home screen evolves over time.
We all have our apps that we use on a daily basis. And for new ones to break in, they don’t just have to be better, they have to be so much better that they’re worth replacing another app. More specifically, the time you use another app.
Readers will know I’m a fiend when it comes to organization. So for my iPhone and iPad I keep my most-used apps on the home screen, and organize them all alphabetically.
Personal Information Management Part 1: Universal File Naming Scheme
Andrew has finally created a universal file naming scheme, something he has been working on for a while. Here’s how he did it.
Touch Twitter's Sparkle and Something Wonderful Will Happen
That’s not a euphemism, it’s Twitter’s terminology for the option to enable a chronological timeline, now available.