13. Tips for Using Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, and Notes

Veteran iPhone or iPad users will quickly discover that the Contacts, Calendar, and Reminders apps that come bundled with iOS 9 have the same core functionality as before. However, the Notes app is packed with new features and tools that are useful for note taking, gathering information from a variety of sources, and then organizing and sharing your digital notes.

The Calendar, Contacts, Reminders, and Notes apps continue to be fully compatible with iCloud, which makes synchronizing your app-related data a straightforward process. Plus, from any computer or mobile device that’s connected to the Internet, it’s possible to access the online versions of these apps, which are automatically populated with all of your most current app-specific data.

Plus, in Notification Center, the Calendar and Reminders apps can easily be set up so alerts, alarms, and notifications related to your schedule and lists are consistently displayed as part of the Today screen.

When prompted, enter your name, email address, password, and an account description (as well as any other requested information). After your account is verified, a menu screen in Settings related to that account lists app-specific options, such as Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, and/or Notes. Turn on the virtual switch associated with any or all of these options. Your iPhone or iPad can automatically and continuously sync your app-specific data on your iOS device with your online-based account. So, if you turn on the virtual switch associated with Calendars, for example, your schedule data is continuously synchronized.

To sync scheduling and/or contact-related data with Facebook, launch Settings and tap on the Facebook option. When prompted, enter your Facebook username and password. Then, near the bottom of the Facebook menu screen in Settings, turn on the virtual switch that’s associated with Calendars and/or Contacts.

Periodically tap on the Update All Contacts option as you add new online Facebook friends. Calendar and/or Contacts data is imported from Facebook and incorporated into your Calendar and/or Contacts apps. This includes profile pictures of your online friends who also have an entry in your Contacts database.

Because the Calendar app can manage and display multiple color-coded calendars at once, when you create a new event, be sure to choose which calendar it gets stored in. For example, you can maintain separate calendars for Work, Personal, Family, Travel, and/or for whatever organization you volunteer for and allocate time to.

From within Calendar, you can also share some or all of your schedule information with colleagues and maintain several separate, color-coded calendars to keep personal and work-related responsibilities, as well as individual projects, listed separately, while still being able to view them on the same screen.

On the iPad, switching between Calendar views is as easy as tapping on the Day, Week, Month, or Year tab displayed at the top center of the Calendar app screen.

On the iPhone and iPad, the Calendar app opens on the last view option that you were using previously. However, on the iPhone, you also have access to a detailed Day, Week, Month, or Year view, as well as a Listing view, which works with the Month or Day view.

The Year view shows mini calendars for the entire year. To switch from the Year view to the Month view (shown in Figure 13.3), tap on any month in the Year view.

From the Month view, switch to the Week view by rotating your iPhone from portrait to landscape mode. In other words, hold your smartphone sideways.

Also from the Month view, to switch to the Day view, tap on a day displayed in the calendar. From the Month view, any day that displays a gray dot in it has event details associated with it.

The Year, Month, Week, and Day views in the iPhone version of the Calendar app are switchable in a hierarchical order. If you’re in the Day view, for example, you can switch back to the Month view by tapping on the Back icon (a left-pointing arrow), which is displayed in the top-left corner of the screen.

Whether you’re using the Calendar app on an iPhone or iPad, your Calendar view options include the following.

Use the Day view of the Calendar app to see a detailed outline of scheduled events for a single day. Swipe your finger to scroll up or down to see an hour-by-hour summary of that day’s schedule.

Swipe right or left along the week’s worth of calendar days to see upcoming or past dates, and to view another day’s schedule. Tap on a specific day to switch to that date’s Day view.

Scroll along the dates displayed near the top of the screen to quickly view your schedule for past or future weeks.

1. Tap the New Event icon (which looks like a plus sign) in the upper-right corner of the screen. This causes a New Event window to be displayed (shown in Figure 13.6).

2. The first field in the New Event window is labeled Title. Using the virtual keyboard, enter a title for the event.

3. If a location is associated with the event, tap the Location field located below the Title field and enter an address or location. Entering information into the Location field is optional. You can be as detailed as you want when entering information into this field.

4. If the event lasts for the entire day, turn on the All-Day virtual switch. Otherwise, to set the time and date the event begins and ends, first tap the Starts field. Use the scrolling Date, Hour, Minute, and AM/PM dials to select the start time for your event.

5. After entering the start time, scroll down and tap on the Ends option, and again use the scrolling Date, Hour, Minute, and AM/PM dials to select the end time for your event.

6. Turn on the virtual switch associated with the Travel Time option to add between 5 minutes and 2 hours of travel time to that event by tapping on one of the listed options. So, if this event turns out to be one hour away from your previous event scheduled on the same day, one hour’s worth of travel time can be added to your schedule. However, if you have a specific location entered in the Location field, your iPhone or iPad can calculate the travel time from wherever you happen to be prior to that event.

7. If you’re managing several calendars within the Calendar app, tap on the Calendar option to select in which calendar the new event will be placed. The default calendar is called Home, but you can change this from within Settings.

8. To invite other people to the event, tap on the Invitees option and, when prompted, fill in the To field with the invitees’ names or email addresses. Use their name if they already have a contact entry in the Contacts app; otherwise, enter an email address for each person separated by a comma. The people you add as invitees are sent an email allowing them to respond to the invite. The Calendar app keeps track of RSVPs from event attendees and displays this information in the app.

9. To set an audible alarm for the event, tap the Alert option. The Event Alert window temporarily replaces the Add Event screen. In the Event Alert window, tap on the option for how much advance notice you want before the scheduled event. Your options include None, At Time of Event, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 1 day, 2 days, or 1 week before the event. Once you tap a selection, you are returned to the Add Event screen.

10. Tap on the Show As option to classify how you want an event to appear within your calendar. The default option is Busy. This is information others can see if you opt to share specific calendars with other people.

11. Tap on the URL field to add a website address associated with the event.

12. Tap on the Notes field to add text-based notes you want to associate with the new event. It’s also possible to paste content from other apps into the Notes field.

13. Tap the Add option to save the event. Tap the Cancel icon to exit without saving any new information.

When you tap on a single event listing, a new screen opens (shown in Figure 13.7). Tap the Edit option in the upper-right corner to modify any aspect of the event listing, such as its title, location, start/end time, alert, invitees, or notes.

At the bottom of an event listing, a map showing the event’s location is provided if the Location field has been filled in.

From the Mail, Contacts, Calendars submenu within Settings, under the Calendars heading, determine how far back in your schedule you want to sync appointment data between your primary computer and your iOS device(s). Your options include Events 2 Weeks Back, Events 1 Month Back, Events 3 Months Back, Events 6 Months Back, and All Events. All Events is the default option.

Tap on the Time Zone Override option and then turn on the virtual switch associated with this feature if you want the Calendar app to always show event dates and times in your home time zone, regardless of which alternate time zone you’ve traveled to. After you turn on the virtual switch associated with this feature, tap on the Time Zone option to select a home time zone.

Your personal contacts database might include people you work with, customers, clients, family members, people from your community with whom you interact (doctors, hair stylist, barber, dry cleaners, and so on), your real-world friends, and your online friends from Facebook, for example.

Of course, Contacts can also be used as a standalone app, enabling you to enter new contact entries as you meet new people and need to keep track of details about them using your iOS mobile device(s).

The information you maintain in your Contacts database is highly customizable, which means you can keep track of only the information you want or need. For example, in each contact entry, it’s possible to store a vast amount of information about a person or company, including multiple phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. Each field is labeled for easy reference. For example, a Contact entry can include someone’s home, work, and cell phone numbers.

You can also customize your contacts database to include additional information, such as each contact’s photo, as well as detailed and freeform notes related to a contact.

When you’re using the Contacts app, your entire contacts database is instantly searchable using data from any field within the database, so even if you have a database containing thousands of entries, you can always find the person or company you’re looking for in a matter of seconds, using a wide range of search criteria. This can be done using the Search field in the Contacts app, using the Spotlight Search feature, or with Siri.

When you compose a new email message in Mail, begin typing someone’s full name or email address in the To field. If that person’s contact information is already stored in Contacts, the relevant email address automatically displays in the email’s To field.

If you’re planning a trip to visit a contact, pull up someone’s address from your Contacts database and then quickly obtain driving directions to the person’s home or work location from the Maps app.

Activate Siri and request directions to any person or company with an entry stored in your Contacts database. For example, activate Siri and say, “How do I get to John Doe’s house from here?”

If you include each person’s birthday in your Contacts database, that information can automatically be displayed in the Calendar app and be set up to remind you (in advance) to send a card or gift.

As you’re creating each Contacts entry, include a photo of that person—by activating the Camera app from the Contacts app to snap a photo, by using a photo stored in the Photos app that you link to the entry, or by acquiring profile photos from social media accounts. For example, to automatically insert profile photos of Facebook friends into the Contacts app, see the section “Add a Photo to a Contacts Entry” later in this chapter.

When using FaceTime, create a Favorites list of people you often engage in video calls with, compiled from entries in your Contacts database.

From the Messages app, access your Contacts database when filling in the To field as you compose new text messages to be sent via iMessage, text message, or instant message.

If you’re active on Facebook or Twitter, you have the option of adding each contact’s Facebook and/or Twitter username to their Contacts entry. When you turn on the Facebook feature, the Contacts app automatically downloads each entry’s Facebook profile picture and inserts it into your Contacts database.

When you first launch the Contacts app, its related database is empty. However, you can create and build your database in two ways:

1. Sync the Contacts app with your primary contact management application on your computer, network, or online (cloud)-based service, such as iCloud or Microsoft Outlook.

2. Manually enter contact information directly into the Contacts app.

As you begin using this app and come to rely on it, it’s possible to enter new contact information or edit entries either on your iOS mobile device or using your primary contact management application and keep all the information synchronized, regardless of where the entry was created or modified.

On the iPad, in the middle of the screen are alphabetic tabs. The All Contacts heading is near the upper-left corner of the screen. Below it is a Search field. After you have added entries in your contacts database, they are listed alphabetically on the left side of the screen below the Search field.

On the iPhone, to see the complete listing for a particular entry, tap on its listing from the All Contacts screen. A new screen shows the specific contact’s information (shown in Figure 13.9).

On the iPad, to see the complete listing for a particular entry, tap on it from the All Contacts display on the left side of the screen. That entry’s complete contents are then displayed on the right side of the screen.

To quickly find and display any contact in your Contacts database, activate Siri and say, “Find [name] within Contacts.” The contact’s information will be displayed as a Siri results screen, but the Contacts app will not automatically launch.

After tapping on the New Contact icon, the New Contact screen appears.

In the New Contact screen are several empty fields related to the entry, starting with the First Name field (shown in Figure 13.10).

Some fields, including Phone, Email, and Mailing Address, enable you to input multiple listings, one at a time. So you can include someone’s home phone, work phone, and mobile phone (iPhone) numbers in the entry, for example. Likewise, you can include multiple email addresses, and/or a home address and work address for an individual.

At the bottom of the New Contact screen is the Add Field option. Tap it to reveal a menu containing a handful of additional fields you can add to individual Contacts entries as applicable, such as a middle name, job title, and/or nickname.

Each time you add a new mailing address to a contact’s entry from within the New Contact screen, the Address field expands to include a Street, City, State, ZIP, and Country field.

After you have filled in all the fields for a particular entry, tap the Done option, which is displayed in the upper-right corner of the New Contact screen. Your new entry gets saved and added to your contacts database and is then synced with your other computers and/or mobile devices.

Tap Take Photo to launch the Camera app from within the Contacts app and snap a photo to be linked to the Contacts entry you’re creating. Alternatively, tap on the Choose Photo option. In this case, the Photos app launches so that you can choose any digital image that’s currently stored on your iOS mobile device. When you tap the photo of your choice, a Choose a Photo window displays on the Contacts screen, enabling you to move and scale the image.

After cropping or adjusting the selected photo, tap the Use icon displayed in the upper-right corner of the Choose Photo window to link the photo with that contact’s entry.

The photo you link with an entry is displayed by other apps, like Mail, Messages, and FaceTime, that utilize the Contacts app data.

You can also add new fields in an entry by tapping any of the green-and-white plus sign icons and then choosing the type of field you want to add.

When you’re finished editing a Contacts entry, again tap the Done option.

The entire Contacts entry you selected (stored in .vcf format) will already be embedded in the outgoing email or text/instant message. When you’ve filled in all the necessary fields, tap the blue-and-white Send icon. Upon doing this, you are returned to the Contacts app.

When the recipient receives your email or message and clicks on the attachment (the contact entry you sent), it automatically is imported into their contact management application as a new entry, such as in the Contacts app running on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

As you’re creating or editing a contact entry, in the Notes field, enter as much information pertaining to that contact as you want using freeform text. It’s also possible to paste content from another app into this field using the iOS’s Select, Copy, and Paste commands, and using the app switcher to quickly switch between apps.

When creating or editing contacts, it’s important to associate the correct labels with phone numbers, email addresses, and address data. For each phone number you add to a contact’s entry, for example, it can include a Home, Work, Mobile, iPhone, or Other label (among others). For many iOS 9 functions that utilize data from your Contacts database to work correctly (including Siri), it’s important that you properly label content you add to each Contacts entry.

The Reminders app works nicely with Siri, Notification Center, and iCloud, which makes synchronizing your app-related data a straightforward process.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Use the Notes app to keep track of reminders to yourself, brainstorm ideas, take notes in meetings or classes, gather content from other apps that you want to store in one place, or for anything else that you’d use a traditional notebook and writing instrument to document.

Begin by creating one or more virtual notebooks (folders) within the Notes app. This is done from the Folders screen (shown in Figure 13.17) by tapping on the New Folder option, choosing where the content should be stored (in iCloud or only on your mobile device), and then typing a title for that folder.

To edit folders already created in the Notes app, access the Folders screen and then tap on the Edit option. You can then select and Delete entire folders created using the Notes app.

To open and view, edit, or work with an existing note within a folder, access the Folder screen and tap on that note’s title/listing.

To create a new note from scratch, tap on the Compose Note icon. On the iPhone, this icon is located in the bottom-right corner of the screen. On the iPad, it’s located in the top-right corner of the screen.

The first line of text in a note becomes its title. Each time a new note is created, the time and date are automatically recorded and displayed.

After typing the Title for the note, tap on the Return key and start typing your note’s content. You can type as much content as you want within each virtual note page (shown in Figure 13.19). The note page extends infinitely downward.

As you’re typing content, use the command icons displayed at the top of the virtual keyboard to help you format the text or add checklists, for example.

Tap on the Emoji key on the virtual keyboard to add Emoji characters, or tap on the Dictation key to use iOS 9’s Dictation feature to speak into the app and have what you say translated into text and then imported into the note.

If you opt to import a photo into a note, tap on the Camera icon, choose the Photo Library option, for example, and select the photo you want to add. The photo gets imported and embedded into the note.

Keep in mind that using iOS 9’s Select, Copy, and Paste commands, you can select content from other apps, copy it into the iPhone or iPad’s virtual clipboard, and then paste that content into a note in the Notes app. This is easier if you’re using an iPad and take advantage of the Split View feature to operate two apps at once on the tablet’s screen.

Once one or more note listings have been selected, tap on the Move To option and select which folder you want to move the notes to.

At this point, the notes are removed from their current folder and moved into the newly selected folder. Instead of tapping on the Move To option, to delete the selected notes, tap on the Delete option.

To the right of this icon, type your first list item and then tap the Return key. Now, add a second, third, and fourth item, and keep going until your list is complete (refer to Figure 13.16).

Later, when you tap on one of the check mark circles, a check mark is added to it, indicating that the item has been completed. In a note, add as many separate checklists as you want, and each list can have any number of items. The various lists can be surrounded by other types of content.

To do this, tap on the Draw icon displayed in the top-right corner of the virtual keyboard. The Drawing screen is displayed. At the bottom of this screen are three virtual writing/drawing tools, including a pen, highlighter, and pencil.

Tap on the Ruler icon to make a virtual ruler appear on the screen (shown in Figure 13.21), which you can then drag around, reposition, or rotate.

To erase content that you’ve drawn on the screen, tap on the Eraser tool and then move your finger on the screen over the areas you want to erase. If you want to delete everything on the screen, however, tap on the Erase All option.

After choosing a virtual writing instrument by tapping on it, tap on an ink color. Swipe your finger across the ink colors to view all the available colors, and then tap on the desired color.

When you’re ready, use your finger or an optional stylus to draw or handwrite on the iPhone or iPad’s screen. You can switch ink colors or writing instruments as often as you choose (shown in Figure 13.22).

To save your work, tap on the Done option. The content you’ve drawn is incorporated onto the note page you were previously working on, which can also include typed text and/or photos, for example.

From the Share menu, it’s also possible to Copy content from a note to the device’s virtual clipboard and then Paste it into another app. Tap on the Print icon to print the contents of the note using an AirPrint-compatible printer that’s wirelessly connected to your iPhone or iPad.