- Sync App-Specific Data with Online-Based Apps
- Sync App-Specific Data with iCloud
- Get Acquainted with the Calendar App
- Use the Contacts App to Keep Track of People You Know
- Create and Manage Lists with the Reminders App
- Take Notes or Gather Information Using the Newly Redesigned Notes App
- Sharing Notes
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Create and Manage Lists with the Reminders App
Use the Reminders app to easily manage multiple lists simultaneously, and if necessary, add alarms and deadlines to individual list items. Plus, it’s possible to be reminded of responsibilities, tasks, or objectives exactly when you need this information, based on your geographic location or a predetermined time and date.
The Reminders app works nicely with Siri, Notification Center, and iCloud, which makes synchronizing your app-related data a straightforward process.
What’s New
When using the iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus, use iOS 9’s Peek feature by pressing and holding your finger on the app icon for the Reminders app when viewing the Home screen. This reveals a pop-up menu that allows you to quickly add items to a specific list you’ve already created within the app or add items to the app’s default list.
On its surface, Reminders is a straightforward list manager. However, it offers a plethora of interesting and useful features.
Using Reminders, create as many separate lists as you need to properly manage your personal and professional life, or various projects for which you’re responsible.
TIP
Reminders enables you to color-code lists. Tap on the Edit button displayed to the right of a list’s title, and then tap on the Color option. Seven different colors are displayed. Tap on your selection. The list title is displayed in the selected color.
Because your iPhone has Location Services (GPS) capabilities, it always knows exactly where it is. Thus, it’s possible to create items within your to-do lists and associate one or more of them with an alarm that alerts you when you arrive at or depart from a particular geographic location, such as your home, office, or a particular store.
For example, have your morning to-do list or call list automatically display on your iPhone’s screen when you arrive at work, if you associate just one item on that list with a location-based alarm. Likewise, if you use Reminders to maintain a list of office supplies you need to purchase at Staples or OfficeMax, you can have it pop up on the screen when you arrive at your local office supply superstore.
In addition, you can have a reminder alarm set to warn you of an upcoming deadline. This can be displayed on your device’s screen in the Notification Center or as separate alerts or banners, depending on how you have the Reminders app set up to work with the Notifications options offered by your iPhone or iPad (which is adjustable from within Settings).
As you’re setting up an alarm, if you want it to repeat every day, every week, every two weeks, every month, or every year, tap on the Repeat option and make your selection. By default, the Never option is selected, meaning the alarm does not repeat.
TIP
Just as you do for other apps, to set up Reminders to work with Notification Center and/or display onscreen alerts or banners, launch Settings, tap on the Notifications option, and then tap on the listing for the Reminders app. You can then customize the settings on the Reminders menu screen within Settings.
Stay Up to Date with Reminders
When you launch Reminders for the first time on the iPad, the control center for this app appears on the left side of the screen. On the right side of the screen is a simulated sheet of lined paper.
Tap on the Add List option in the bottom-left corner of the screen to create a new list from scratch. However, if you’ve already been using the Reminder app on another iOS mobile device or Mac that’s linked to the same iCloud account, all of your lists synchronize with the iPhone or iPad you’re currently using.
When you create a new list from scratch, it is displayed on the right side of the screen using the temporary heading New List. Enter a title for the new list and then associate a color with it. Tap on the Done option when you’re ready to begin populating the list with items (as shown in Figure 13.12 on an iPad), or repeat this process to create another list.
)
Figure 13.12 Using Reminders, it’s possible to create and manage one or more lists. Each list can have as many separate items as you want.
On the iPhone, to create a new list from scratch as you’re looking at a list, tap the list name to bring up a master list screen. The New List (+) icon is displayed at the top of this screen (shown in Figure 13.13). Tap on this icon, select the List option, and then type the name of the list and associate a color with it. Tap on the Done option. You can then begin populating the list with items or repeat this process to create another list.
)
Figure 13.13 To create a new list, tap on the New List (+) option displayed near the top of the Reminders screen on the iPhone. Then name your list and start adding items, one at a time.
When viewing a list, tap on an empty line of the simulated sheet of paper to add an item. The virtual keyboard appears. Enter the item to be added to your to-do list. Next, tap on the Return key on the keyboard to enter another item, or tap on the Info icon (the blue i with a circle around it) to the right of the newly added item to associate an alarm, priority, and/or notes with it.
When you’re finished adding new list items, tap on the Done option.
To set a date-specific alarm, turn the virtual switch associated with Remind Me On a Day to the on position and then tap on the date and time line that appears below it to set the date and time for the alert.
To set a location-based alarm for that item, enter the Info screen and then turn on the virtual switch associated with the Remind Me At A Location option. Select a location or enter an address and then decide whether you want to be alerted when you arrive or when you leave that destination by tapping on the When I Arrive... or When I Leave... tab.
TIP
You have the option to set a priority with each list item. Your priority options include None, Low (!), Medium (!!), and High (!!!).
Although setting a priority for a list item displays that item with one, two, or three exclamation points to signify its importance, adjusting an item’s priority does not automatically change its position within the list. You must manually rearrange the order of items on a list.
To do this, while looking at a list, tap on the Edit button. Then place your finger on the Move icon (three horizontal lines) that’s associated with the list item you want to move, and drag it up or down to the desired location within the list. Tap the Done button to save your changes.
Different alarms can be associated with each item in each of your lists. You also have the option to create a list item but not associate any type of alert or alarm with it.
When an alarm is generated for a list item, a notification can automatically appear within Notification Center, assuming that you have this feature turned on.
TIP
One additional feature of the Reminders app is that you can display a separate list associated with each day on the calendar. When you use the Remind Me On A Day option, a date becomes associated with that item. Then, to review upcoming items related to a particular day using an iPhone, access the Search field from the main menu of lists stored within the app. Displayed to the right is an Alarm Clock icon. Tap on this to display scheduled items for the current day.
On the iPad, tap on the Scheduled option on the left side of the screen.
TIP
At the bottom of every to-do list on the iPad is a new Show Completed option. Tap this to display all items originally added to the list you’re viewing that have since been moved to the Completed list.
To delete an item from a to-do list, swipe your finger from right to left across the item. A More button and a Delete button are displayed. Tap on Delete to confirm your selection, or tap on the More button to reveal the Info menu options related to that item.
Remember, as soon as you make changes to a list item, if you have iCloud functionality turned on for the Reminders app and have access to the Internet, your additions, edits, or deletions automatically sync with iCloud.
How to Delete an Entire To-Do List
If you want to delete an entire list, enter the list and click on the Edit button, and then click on the Delete List option displayed at the bottom of the screen. A warning pops up asking you to confirm the deletion.
On the iPad, you can also locate the list you want to delete from the column on the left, and swipe your finger from right to left across it. When the Delete button appears, tap on it. You also have the option of tapping the Edit button, and then tapping on the negative sign icon that’s associated with the list you want to erase. In Edit mode, it’s possible to change the order of your lists by placing your finger on the Move icon (three horizontal lines) that’s associated with a list and dragging it up or down.
To exit Edit mode, tap on the Done option.