iPad For Seniors For Dummies

From iPad For Seniors For Dummies, 4th Edition by Nancy C. Muir

The iPad is cool and perfect for many seniors because it provides a very simple, intuitive interface for doing things like checking e-mail and scheduling appointments. With the easy-to-use tables in this guide, you can get up to speed with various iPad settings. In no time, you’ll start mastering the skills you need to become a confident iPad user.

What Can You Do with iPad General Settings?

Use iPad's General settings to set up basic functionality for your everyday use. You access the General settings in the following table by tapping the Settings app icon on the Home screen and then tapping General.

Setting	Description
About	Information about downloaded content, apps, memory, iPad serial number and model, and your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth addresses, plus support, and legal and regulatory jargon.
Software Update	How frequently to check for updates to the iPad operating system.
Usage	Displays total iCloud storage, and battery usage and if you have a Wi-Fi and 3G/4G iPad model, shows data usage on the cellular network.
Sounds	Set volume level and turn on alerts for system functions such as new mail and keyboard taps.
Network	Configure and turn on and off virtual private and Wi-Fi networks.
Bluetooth	Turn Bluetooth (enabling you to connect to other Bluetooth devices) on/off.
iTunes Wi-Fi Sync	Settings for syncing with iTunes on a computer on a local network.
Spotlight Search	Access settings for what types of content the iPad search feature returns in search results and the order in which it is presented.
Auto-Lock	Set the amount of time for inactivity at which iPad automatically auto-locks the screen.
Passcode Lock	Set a passcode and turn the feature on to require a passcode to unlock iPad. Turn Picture Frame on/off. Set iPad to erase all data after ten failed attempts to enter the correct passcode.
Restrictions	Set restrictions on Safari, YouTube, and iTunes, as well as restrict installation of applications and location services. Specify allowed content for music, podcasts, movies, TV shows, and apps.
Lock Rotation/Mute	Set up the action taken when you move the Silent/Screen rotation lock switch on the side of iPad.
Date & Time	Choose 24-hour time and time zone and set the correct date and time.
Keyboard	Set correction features of the keyboard such as auto-capitalization and spelling check.
International	Specify the language for on-screen information and keyboard. Choose region format for date, time, and phone numbers.
Accessibility	Set features for using an iPad for people with visual, hearing, or dexterity challenges.
Reset	Reset all settings or selected settings to factory defaults, such as network or keyboard.

iPad Mail, Contacts, Calendars Settings

For the social and organizational parts of your brain, iPad makes available Mail, Contacts, and Calendar apps; the settings for these apps are covered in the following table. You access the settings listed here by tapping the Settings app icon on the Home screen and then tapping Mail, Contacts, Calendars.

Setting	Description
Add Account	Add and manage e-mail accounts.
Fetch New Data	Turn on/off the feature to push new e-mails, and contacts and calendar info for Microsoft Exchange and MobileMe accounts to you automatically.
Show	Set how many recent messages to show in Mail.
Preview	Set how many lines in e-mail messages are to show in the Inbox preview.
Minimum Font Size	Specify minimum font size for e-mails.
Show To/Cc Label	Turn display of To/Cc label on or off in e-mails.
Ask Before Deleting	Turn on to display a confirmation dialog before deleting e-mails.
Load Remote Images	Control whether images on websites will be displayed; displaying such images can allow a site to gather some information about you and your iPad.
Organize by Thread	Turn on a feature to organize e-mail messages among the same group of correspondents so those messages appear together in a subfolder.
Always Bcc Myself	Turn on to send a copy of every e-mail to yourself. (This is in addition to saving a copy in the Sent folder.)
Signature	Change the signature at the end of all your messages. (“Sent from my iPad” is the default message.)
Default Account	Specify which account other apps use by default when you share data from them via e-mail.
Sort Order	Specify sort order for contacts (first/last or last/first names).
Display Order	Specify display order for contacts (first/last or last/first).
My Info	Associate your iPad with a specific contact.
New Invitation Alerts	Turn on alerts when you get a new invitation in Mail.
Time Zone Support	Turn on time zone support to show event data and times in your time zone; set your time zone.
Sync	Control how far back in time events are synced via iCloud or when you connect to your computer and iTunes.
Default Alert Times	Set up how far ahead you should be alerted for various events such as birthdays and all-day events.
Default Calendar	Choose whether to use the pre-installed Calendar program or a calendar synced from your computer, managed in iCloud, or synced from a services such as Gmail or AOL.