Every Sunday I write a “What Did I Learn This Week?” entry. I tag the entry #learned so I can find it in the week’s journal entry in my Day One Journal.

Here’s a couple small but useful tips I have learned:

1. Journal Entry: #learned Long press on a WhatApp text message (chat) and the ‘Thumbs Up’ etc. screen appears. Long press a word in the chat and you can look up its meaning. #blog_idea #apple_tip
   This is useful when you want to look up a word from someone’s WhatsApp text message on an iPhone.
   
   For example I received this chat from my older brother: “Diptych. I don’t even have to look at who said this.” So I long pressed on the text, came to the Thumbs Up etc. screen, long pressed on this very odd word ‘Diptych’, and when it showed it was selected I was presented with 3 choices – Copy, Look Up, and Share. I touched ‘Look Up’ and up popped the definition.

diptych | ˈdiptik |

⠀*noun

1 a painting, especially an altarpiece, on two hinged wooden panels which may be closed like a book.

2 an ancient writing tablet consisting of two hinged leaves with waxed inner sides.*

(BTW, he’s a poet and can’t help himself.)

1. This tip is trivial, but it’s a pet peeve of mine. I know this works in at least two apps on the iPhone – Music and the App Store. It annoys me that when I press the Search button (the magnifying glass), I am presented with a bunch of choices on the app rather than placing my cursor where I obviously wanted to go – in the Search dialogue box. I want to search i the app and am not interested in all the “ads” on the Search page. I expect to go directly to the search bar and type in my search term. Just by accident one day I pressed the Search icon twice, and lo and behold, my cursor popped into the search dialogue box and I could type in my search.
   

This works in the Music app and the App Store app. It may work in other apps too. Give it a try and avoid having to tap in the Search box to get your cursor there. I smile every time I use this tip. I bet you will too.

Got an Apple Tip? Leave it in the comment section.