Sep 24, 2010

iPhone and iPad Tips of the Week - September 23, 2010

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/iphone_and_ipad_tips_week_folders_and_high_contrast_mode
This week we'll take a look at how handy folders can be in the iOS Dock, learn how to create a special Apple logo folder, and practice a few tricks that make iTunes 10 a bit more palatable, Plus, we'll teach you about the new iPhone Field Service test in iOS 4.1.How to Access More Apps in the Dock Using FoldersYou can create folders in iTunes 10 in your devices App panel or your iOS device running iOS 4 or higher by dragging one icon on top of another. A default name will be offered by iOS or iTunes 10 that you can accept or change afterwards. You can then add up to 12 different apps to any of these folders, available on any Springboard page. If you are making these changes in iTunes, make sure that you hit Apply to save your changes to your device.The result is shown in the picture below with the expanded version above showing the contents of the Books folder.Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS 4 or higher.How to Create an Apple Logo Folder in iOS 4.0Here's a handy little tip that will let you create a folder in iOS 4.0 that contains the Apple () Symbol. It will appear similar to this when you are done: 1. On your iOS device tap and hold any app and drag it on top of another app. This will cause iOS to create a folder containing the two apps.2. Change the default folder name to "AppleLogo", tap anywhere on the screen outside of the folder to close it, and press the Home button.3. Connect your device to your computer and perform a sync in iTunes 10.4. Select your device in iTunes 10 and then select the Apps tab for that device.5. Double-click on the folder you created in Step 2 to rename it.6. Select the text "AppleLogo", press Option-Shift-K to replace it with the Apple () Symbol. Then, you can add any other text if you want, and press Return to make the change.7. Click the Apply button to sync these changes to your device.Compatibility: iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS 4 or higher. How to Transform iTunes 10 into High Contrast ModeApple shocked millions of iTunes users by substituting low-contrast, one color icons in iTunes 10. Depending on your opinion, that change was one of the most unappealing updates made from iTunes 9 to iTunes 10. This hint will show you how to change the icon's appearance to give you a high-contrast side bar and listing pane (and, hey, change things up a bit). 1. Close iTunes 10 if it is open.2. Open the Terminal application located within the Applications/Utilities folder on your Macs hard drive.3. Enter the following command at the terminal prompt and press Return to turn on the high-contrast icons:defaults write com.apple.iTunes high-contrast-mode-enable -bool TRUE4. Launch iTunes 10 and check out the new icons. If you like them there isn't anything else you need to do, but if you don't like them go to Step 5.5. Enter the following command at the terminal prompt and press Return to go back to the low-contrast icons:defaults write com.apple.iTunes high-contrast-mode-enable -bool FALSECompatibility: Any Mac running iTunes 10.BeforeAfterBonus: Check Out Field Test Mode Returns in iOS 4.1There is a new limited version of the Field Test mode that has been reintroduced in iOS 4.1 after mysteriously disappearing in iOS 4.0. Simply launch the Phone app and dial *3001#12345#*, then press Call. Now you will see a number, representing the signal loss in dB, in the upper left side of the iPhone display.The signal bars on your iPhone will be replaced by a number. The higher the numeric portion of the negative number gets the worse your signal is. For example, -100 is worse than -79. If you tap on the displayed number the display toggles between displaying the number and the normal signal bars.The original field test mode in iOS 3.0 had a more robust set of features being reported, but signal strength is all you get in this version.Once you are done marveling over your signal strength press the Home button to exit. The signal strength bars will return momentarily.Compatibility: iPhone running iOS 4.1.Follow this article's author, David W. Martin, on Twitter.
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