Many times you want to know where you are and the shortest route to get to your destination. Not only can your iPad show you the fastest driving directions, but it can also show you public transportation options or directions for walking. All you need to know is your current location and your destination.
If you know a specific address that you want to go to, you can type that address into the Maps app and get driving, mass transit, or walking directions to your destination by following these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Maps. The Maps screen appears.
Tap the Directions tab in the upper-left corner of the screen. The upper-right corner of the screen displays Start and End text fields, as shown in Figure 33-13.
Tap the End text field. If you tap the Reverse icon (it looks like a squiggly line in between the Start and End fields), you can reverse your starting and ending points.
Type an address, and tap the Search key on the virtual keyboard. The map displays your ending destination and shows how long it will take to drive there from your current location, as shown in Figure 33-14.
(Optional) Tap the Bus icon that appears at the bottom of the screen. Mass transit directions appear.
(Optional) Tap the Person icon that appears at the bottom of the screen. Walking directions appear.
Tap Start to get directions. To view step-by-step directions, tap the Left or Right arrow icons that appear on the blue bar. The map will zoom to each turn.
To get a list of all directions, tap the List icon at the far left of the blue bar, as shown in Figure 33-15.
Rather than type an address, it's often easier to take advantage of an address stored in your Contacts app. To get driving directions to an address stored in the Contacts app, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Maps. The Maps screen appears.
Tap the Bookmark icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. A window pops up.
Tap Contacts at the bottom of this window. A list of your names stored in the Contacts app appears.
Tap a name that has a street address stored. The map displays that person's name on the map with a red pin identifying the street address.
Tap the Information icon that appears to the right of the person's name. A window appears, listing that person's contact information stored in the Contacts app, as shown in Figure 33-16.
Tap Directions To Here. A blue bar appears at the bottom of the screen, letting you choose driving, mass transit, or walking directions. Tap one of these choices, and tap Start.
When the map displays a location with a red pin (such as after searching for a specific type of business like a pizza place or supermarket, as explained in Searching for Certain Types of Places in Searching for Certain Types of Places), you can get directions to that location by tapping the location's Information icon, which appears as a lowercase letter i inside a blue circle.
To get directions using the Information icon, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Maps. The Maps screen appears.
Tap the Bookmarks icon, tap Contacts at the bottom of the window, and tap a name. Or tap the Search field, and type a business that you want to find such as supermarket or gas to display a red pin on the map, the name of a person or business, and the blue Information icon.
Tap the Information icon. The Information window appears, listing details about the location.
Tap Directions To Here. A blue bar appears at the bottom of the screen, letting you choose driving, mass transit, or walking directions. Tap one of these choices, and tap Start.