We recently went over a few basic tips for take better advantage of the iPad to play, but the Apple tablet can also be a very useful tool to work with if we decide to give it a try and take some time to get used to the peculiarities of working with a laptop. We review the basic recommendations for this.
Choosing a good keyboard
For more creative work, the essential accessory is probably the Apple Pencil, which you already know can now also be used with the iPad 2018, but for most the fundamental thing is to get a good keyboard. The smart keyboard is one of the most comfortable to use thanks to the smart connector, but it is not the only one that makes use of it, and depending on how much we take the iPad out of the house, it may be a good idea to even get a wider keyboard for greater comfort , as we discussed when we talked about what is best keyboard for iPad Pro. We also have no problem finding between the best accessories for the iPad Pro 2018 (which are also valid for the iPad 2017) interesting options, and very affordable. It is very worthwhile, in any case, to dedicate some time to the choice and make sure that we get a with whom we are going to feel comfortable.
Get familiar with keyboard shortcuts
Yes, indeed, we are going to work with him iPad with a keyboard we are going to appreciate getting familiar with the keyboard shortcuts, so it is also worth taking time to get to know all the ones that we will use regularly and force ourselves a little to use them although at first they are not very intuitive, because in the long run it is very noticeable when working that you do not need to be constantly going to the touch controls for most basic tasks, such as going to the home screen or switching applications, or to work with text. We also have at your disposal a small guide where we review the keyboard shortcuts for iPad fundamentals and we explain how to discover the specific for each app.
Get familiar with all multitasking options
El iPad has come a long way in recent times in the field of multitask and it is very important to handle these functions with ease if we want to work with it more efficiently and comfortably. You have to think that we can have up to 4 applications open (and all in operation if we are on an iPad Pro) thanks to the slide over, the split view and the picture in picture and it is interesting to know how to handle them all easily and quickly to take advantage of them , for which you can take a look at our guide to working with multiple apps on iPad. The application bar will also be very useful and we also have a video guide to show you how to use the dock if you have any doubts (which also shows us the corresponding keyboard shortcuts as well). Finally, we recommend that you also consider getting some of the apps to get more out of drag and drop that we have recommended (there are free options), which will save us a lot of trips between some apps and others.
Take advantage of the full potential of the files app
La files app that was introduced with the latest version of iOS came to fill a quite notable gap in iOS and in the iPad becomes a fundamental tool to work with, to the point that we can almost turn it into the reference app, especially if we spend a little time configuring the section on favorites with all the folders, shared or not, with which we work most often to access them quickly. Its use is quite intuitive, but in our guide to using the iOS 11 files app We review all the functions you need to know. And it is worth remembering, because it will often be useful to us as well, that, thanks to it (indirectly), we can now also access the recent documents in many apps directly from the home screen, with a menu that opens simply by pressing and holding on its icon.
Adjust search options and get used to using it
Another way to make it easier to navigate between apps, documents and files of all kinds is to use the search function, especially if we are working with the keyboard, since we have a shortcut to access it quickly and navigate with the keys through the results that it dumps us is easy and fast. The only thing we may want to consider is that we are probably interested set search options first, because by default every app that we install will be included (something interesting in other cases, but not when what we want is to focus on certain content and not waste time). Doing so, in any case, is quite simple: we just have to go to the corresponding section in "general”In the settings menu and disable the apps that we do not want to be taken into account, leaving enabled the option to simply open the app when we search for it.
Use the option to write to Siri
Another recently introduced function that we must not forget is there if we are working with a keyboard is that there is no longer any reason to talk to Crab, but we can simply write, and for convenience, many keyboards include a key that calls you directly. To use it, all we have to do is activate it by entering "Crab”From the section of“accessibility" and "general”In the settings menu. We can use it for translations, calculations, set reminders and the like, and if there are tasks that we perform frequently we can go even faster if we use the text replacement function, included in our collection of iPad keyboard tips and tricks (Which, by the way, we encourage you to take a more complete look at it if you are one of those who do not depend so much on a physical keyboard to work or, simply, to be somewhat more comfortable when we need to write more but we are caught without it at hand).
Use web apps
One last suggestion, before finishing, that works quite well for many intensive users and that in some cases it is to ignore mobile apps and instead use the web versions, which not only brings us closer to the experience of using laptops, but it is true that they often give us more options (the Word app, for example, has direct access to more functions on the toolbar). We remind you, by the way, that to force a website to open in desktop mode, in Safari just press and hold the update button, which directly opens the corresponding option. It goes a bit in taste and, logically, it is more comfortable in the models with larger screens and depending on how much we use touch control, but we mention this possibility because it is something that is true that many recommend and that, after all, you it may be worth at least trying.