Chapter 8

Multitasking and Mute/Lock Switch

In this chapter, we will describe how to use the App Switcher bar to multitask, or jump between apps on your iPad. Multitasking is a new and very welcome feature on the iPad, one that was not available when the first iPad launched. This feature means you can leave one app running in the background while you do something else. For example, you might take a quick break from a game to go and update your status on Facebook or send a tweet on Twitter, and then jump back to your game.

The App Switcher bar provides another nice piece of functionality that we'll cover in this chapter. On the first iPad, there was a hardware button that locked the screen orientation. When the software was updated, that switch became a Mute key. With the new iOS 4.3, you can use the App Switcher bar to dictate how you want that switch to behave as well as make adjustments in the Settings app for the Lock/Rotation switch.

Multitasking or App Switching

With multitasking, or App Switching, you can leave many of your apps running in the background as you switch over to another without stopping the current app.

Why might you want to use multitasking? Here are a few scenarios where you might want to use multitasking on your iPad:

• Copy and paste from one app (Mail) to another (Calendar).
• Answer a FaceTime call or reply to an Email message, and then jump back into the game you were playing without missing a beat.
• Continue listening to Internet radio (such as Pandora or Slacker) while playing your favorite game or browsing the Web.
• You no longer have to wait for photos to upload to Facebook or Twitter—they can be uploading in the background while you go and do other things on your iPad.
• If you use Skype to call people, you can now leave it running in the background to receive incoming calls; this was not possible before.
• You can also now keep turn-by-turn navigation running in the background and get voice directions while on a call or in another app. Like VoIP and streaming audio, navigation got a dedicated API.

How to Jump Between Apps

In order to multitask, you need to bring up the App Switcher bar at the bottom of the screen. Follow these steps to do so:

1. From any app or even the Home screen, double-click the Home button to bring up the App Switcher at the bottom of your screen (see Figure 8–1).
2. All open apps will be shown on the App Switcher bar.
3. Swipe right or left to find the app you want and tap it.
4. If you don't see the app you want on the App Switcher bar, press the Home button and start it from the Home screen.
5. Double-click the Home button again and tap the app you just left to jump back to it.

Figure 8–1. Double-clicking the Home button to bring up the App Switcher barto multitask

How to Close Apps from the App Switcher

If you exit an app using a single click of the Home button, that app will stay running in the background, unless it is an active VOIP call, a location/navigation app, or some sort of upload.

There are times when you want to completely close an app. For example, sometimes you may find your iPad running a little slower than you might like. In such cases, it can be a good idea to close apps completely and free up memory. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Double-click the Home button to bring up the App Switcher bar.
2. Press and hold any icon in the App Switcher bar until they all shake. You will notice that a Red Circle icon with a minus sign appears in the upper-left corner of each icon.

   

3. Tap the Red Circle icon to completely close the app.

iPod Controls and Lock Rotation/Mute Key

You can accomplish one other thing on the App Switcher bar if you swipe from left to right: see the iPod controls and the screen Orientation Lock/Mute icon.

The first generation iPad only let you adjust the Orientation Lock; after a subsequent software update, however, you could mute the iPad with the Side switch.

With the new iOS 4.3, you can change the function of the Side switch to Lock Rotation or Mute. Whichever is not chosen for the Side switch will be available in the App Switcher bar.

For example, if you have the Side switch set to Lock Rotation, the App Switcher bar will give you an icon to Mute the iPad.

Follow these steps to set the function of the Side switch:

1. Tap the Settings icon.
2. Tap the General icon on the left-hand side.
3. Scroll down the right-hand side until you see the Use Side Switch to: option.
4. Choose either Lock Rotation or Mute. The other option will now be available in the App Switcher bar, as shown in Figure 8–2.

Figure 8–2. Set the Side switch in Settings and control the other function in the App Switcher bar.

Once you choose your preferred settings, changing the Lock Rotation or Mute function is easy:

1. From any app or even the Home screen, double-tap the Home button to bring up the App Switcher at the bottom of your screen.

   

2. Swipe left to right to see the iPod controls and the Lock Rotation/Mute icon.
3. Tap the LockRotation icon to lock the screen in Portrait, or Vertical, orientation. This orientation will be maintained even if you turn the iPad on its side. You know it is locked when you see a Lock icon inside the button and a Lock icon in the top status bar.

   

4. You can also use the Previous Track, Play/Pause, and Next Track buttons in the middle. If you hold down the Previous Track or Next Track buttons, they become Rewind or Fast-Forward buttons.
5. Or, you can tap the iPod icon to jump to the iPod app. If you were controlling background audio with another app like Pandora, you would see that icon instead.
6. You will also see control buttons for AirPlay (see Chapters 9 and 10), Brightness, and Volume (see Figure 8–3).

Figure 8–3. iPod controls on the App Switcher bar