Using the iPad Web Browser

The iPad comes with a web browser called Safari.It isn’t the only web browser you can use on your iPad, but it’s a really good one.

Safari is a lot like other web browsers you’ve probably used (in fact,if you’ve used a Mac,you’ve probably used Safari).Here’s what the buttons in Safari’s top bar do:

• Back/forward arrows—Tap the left arrow to go back to the last web page you were on.If you’ve already tapped that at least once,the right arrow goes to the next page.

• Bookmarks—This menu stores your bookmarks (more on them in “Making Bookmarks,”later in this chapter).You can store bookmarks in folders,change their names,and delete them by tapping this button and then Edit.

• Action box—This box contains all kinds of neat options—for making a bookmark,emailing or printing a page,and adding a shortcut to a page to your home screen (this is like a bookmark,except it lives on your home screen,not in Safari).

• Address bar—Shows the address of the page you’re on.Tap the address, tap the X at the end of the bar to delete the text all at once,and then type in the address of a new site you want to visit.

• Search box—If you want to search for something using Google or another search engine,tap this box,type in what you’re looking for,and then tap the Search button on the keyboard.

• New tab—If you want to go to a new website but still keep the one you’re looking at open,you need to open a new tab.Safari lets you open many websites at once,but since you can’t browse four or five at the same time,it hides the ones you’re not looking at.It lets you keep those hidden sites,and switch to them,by using tabs—little rectangles with the name of the hidden site on them.To open a new tab,tap the + sign.You can have up to nine tabs.Switch tabs by tapping the one you want to look at.

• Close tab—To close a tab and the site in it,tap the X on the one you want to close.

Zooming In and Out

One of the really fun things about controlling the iPad by touch is that you can zoom in and out of websites using your fingers.There are two ways to do this:

• If you want to zoom in on a part of a web page,just double tap on that section.That section of the page will zoom to fill up more of the screen. To zoom out, just double tap it again.

• You can also pinch your iPad’s screen for greater control.To do this, put your thumb and index finger (the one you point with) together and then place them on your iPad’s screen.Without taking them off the screen, slide your fingers apart toward opposite sides of the screen.The page will zoom in.To zoom out,put your thumb and index finger at opposite sides of the screen and then pinch together until they meet in the center.

Opening a Link in a New Tab

By opening a web page in a new tab, you can see the new page without losing the one you’re already on.To do this, open a web page in Safari and follow these steps:

1. Find a link you want to open and then tap and hold it until a menu appears.

2. When the menu pops up,tap Open in New Tab.When you do that,the new tab opens,but you stay on the page you were on.

3. To see the page that you opened in the new tab,tap the new tab.

4. To close either tab, tap the X.

Emailing a Web Page

 If there’s a web page you want to share with a friend,teacher,or family member, you can email them a link to it.A link is a shortcut that they can click to take them to their web browser and right to the page you’re sharing.To do that,go to the web page you want to send and then follow these steps:

1. Tap the Action box.

2. Tap Mail Link to This Page.

3. This opens the email app.Enter the email address of the person you want to send the link to.

4. The email subject is automatically filled in with the name of the page,but you can change it to whatever you want.Just tap on the subject line and make your changes.

5. If you want to write a message to send with the link,tap the body of the email and write your message.

6. Tap the Send button.This doesn’t email the entire website,but it sends a link to the page so the person can easily check it out.

Emailing on Your iPad 

Following these steps, of course, means you have to have email set up on your iPad.If you don’t,you can learn how to set up and use email in Chapter 5,“Talk to Me:Texting, Chatting,and Email.”

Printing a Web Page

Printing a page isn’t that different from sending someone a link.You have to have an iPad-compatible printer.If you do,go to the web page you want to print and follow these steps:

1. Tap the Action box so that a menu appears. 

2. Tap Print to access the print options.

3. Tap Select Printer in the Printer menu to choose an available printer (if your printer isn’t already selected).

4. Tap Print.

Making Bookmarks

Bookmarks are shortcuts that make it easy for you to visit your favorite websites without typing the address each time.With a bookmark,you go right to your favorite site with just a couple taps. To create a new bookmark, begin by going to the website you want to book- mark and then follow these steps:

1. Tap the Action box to open it.

2. Tap Add Bookmark.

3. Each bookmark is named after the page you’re bookmarking,but you can change that (a good idea, since sometimes those names are long).To do that,tap the X in the top section and enter something shorter.

4. If you want to put the bookmark in a different folder,tap Bookmarks and select one.

5. Tap Save.