iPadOS Tips and Tricks to Become an iPad Power User

Last Updated: April 26, 2025

an Apple iPad Pro with iPadOS showing the lock screen editorially reflecting iPadOS Tips and Tricks

Want to master your iPad? This comprehensive guide contains essential shortcuts, gestures, and hidden features that will dramatically improve your iPadOS experience. We’ve included the latest tips for iPadOS 18 features to help you work more efficiently and get the most out of your device. Looking for iOS Tips and Tricks or Android Tips and Tricks?

Multitasking and Stage Manager

Enable Stage Manager: For a desktop-like experience, enable Stage Manager from Control Center or Settings > Multitasking & Gestures. This allows you to have overlapping windows and resize apps for a more flexible multitasking experience.
Create App Groups: In Stage Manager, you can have up to four apps visible simultaneously on your iPad screen, and when connected to an external display, you can have up to four additional apps open, for a total of eight active applications.
Resize Windows: When using Stage Manager, resize an app by pressing and dragging the bottom right corner of its window, and reposition it by dragging from the three dots at the top.
Quick App Switching: When using Stage Manager, you can swipe left or right on the bottom edge to cycle through your recent apps without going to the app switcher.
Split View: Without Stage Manager, swipe up to reveal the Dock, then drag an app to either side of the screen to enter Split View mode.
Slide Over: Drag an app from the Dock and hold it at the edge of the screen until it forms a floating window that can slide over other apps.
Multiple Slide Over Apps: Swipe up from the bottom of a Slide Over app to see all your Slide Over apps, swipe left or right to switch between them.
App Exposé: Tap and hold an app’s icon on the Home Screen, then choose “Show All Windows” to see all instances of that app currently open.
Create Workspace Presets: In Stage Manager, set up your preferred app arrangements for different tasks and quickly switch between these workspaces.
External Display Support: Connect your iPad to an external display to extend your workspace, with unique app configurations on each screen.
App Library Access: Swipe to the last home screen or access App Library from the Dock to find and open apps without cluttering your home screen.
Keyboard App Switching: With an external keyboard, press Command + Tab to quickly switch between apps, similar to macOS.

Navigation and Control Center

Quick Scroll to Top: Tap the clock/top bar on any page to instantly scroll back to the top.
Access Control Center: Swipe down from the top-right corner to access Control Center for quick settings.
Customize Control Center: Add or remove controls by going to Settings > Control Center and tapping the green + icon next to the tools you want to add.
Spotlight Search: Swipe down from the middle of the home screen to access Spotlight search for finding apps, contacts, and more.
Side Button Functions: Customize your side button functions in Settings > General > Home Button/Side Button (depending on your iPad model).
App Switcher: Swipe up from the bottom and pause in the middle of the screen to see all open apps.
Back Tap Actions: On supported iPads, enable double or triple tap on the back in Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap to assign various actions.
Picture-in-Picture: While watching a video, press the home button or swipe up (on Face ID iPads) to shrink the video into a movable, resizable window.
Hide Home Screen Pages: Press and hold on the page dots, then uncheck pages you want to hide.
Lock Rotation: Swipe down to access Control Center and tap the rotation lock icon to prevent your screen from rotating.
Widgets on Home Screen: Press and hold on the home screen, tap the + button in the top-left corner to add widgets of various sizes.
Notification Summary: Configure Notification Summary in Settings to receive grouped notifications at convenient times.

Keyboard Shortcuts and Text Input

View All Shortcuts: Hold down the Command key in any app to see all available shortcuts for that specific application.
Cursor Control: While typing, hold down the spacebar to turn the keyboard into a trackpad for precise cursor positioning.
Text Selection: While using the spacebar trackpad, tap elsewhere on the keyboard with another finger to start selecting text.
Three-Finger Gestures:
- Three-finger pinch in = Copy selected text
- Three-finger pinch in twice = Cut selected text
- Three-finger spread = Paste text
- Double tap with three fingers = Undo
- Double tap with three fingers again = Redo
Quick Commands Menu: 3-finger tap anywhere brings up Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste menu.
Quick Number Entry: Hold the ABC key and slide to a number, then release to insert it without switching keyboard modes.
Text Replacement: Set up text shortcuts in Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement (e.g., set up @@ to automatically expand to your email address).
Caps Lock: Double-tap the shift key to enable caps lock.
One-Handed Keyboard: Long press the emoji or globe icon and select one-handed keyboard layout for easier typing with one hand.
Quick Period: Double-tap the spacebar to add a period and space.
Floating Keyboard: Pinch in on the keyboard to create a smaller, floating keyboard that can be moved around the screen.
Split Keyboard: Pinch out on the keyboard with two fingers to split it for easier thumb typing.
External Keyboard Navigation: Use Tab to navigate between fields, and Option + arrow keys to move by words.
App Shortcuts: Command + Space to open Spotlight, Command + H to go home, Command + Tab to switch apps.

Apple Pencil and Handwriting

Quick Note: Swipe up from the bottom right corner with Apple Pencil to create a Quick Note from anywhere.
Perfect Shapes: In Notes, draw a shape and hold the Pencil down at the end to convert your rough drawing into a perfect geometric shape.
Scribble: Write with Apple Pencil in any text field, and your handwriting automatically transforms into typed text, keeping your writing private.
Smart Script: New in iPadOS 18, this feature automatically neats your handwriting while preserving your writing style, making notes more legible while maintaining your personal touch.
Double-Tap Function: With Apple Pencil 2, double-tap the flat edge near the tip to switch between the current tool and eraser (customizable in Settings > Apple Pencil).
Corner Gestures: Swipe in from the bottom corners of the screen with your Apple Pencil to trigger customizable actions like taking a screenshot or opening a Quick Note.
Markup Anywhere: Use Apple Pencil to annotate PDFs, screenshots, photos, and web pages by tapping the markup icon.
Instant Notes: Tap your Apple Pencil on the lock screen to instantly open a new note (customizable in Settings > Notes > Access Notes from Lock Screen).
Copy Handwriting as Text: Select handwritten text with Apple Pencil and choose “Copy as Text” from the popup menu.
Math Notes: With iPadOS 18, use your Apple Pencil to write mathematical equations, and they’ll be automatically recognized and made interactive.
Direct Manipulation: Use three-finger gestures like swipe left to undo strokes or swipe right to redo when working with Apple Pencil.

Safari and Web Browsing

Recently Closed Tabs: In Safari, long press the “+” button to display recently closed tabs.
Tab Groups: Organize your tabs into groups by tapping the tabs button and selecting “New Tab Group.”
Quick Tab Search: In Safari tab view, swipe down to reveal a search field for finding tabs.
Background Link Opening: In Safari, tap with 2 fingers on a link to open it in the background without leaving your current page.
Reader View: Tap the “AA” icon in the address bar and select “Show Reader View” for a cleaner reading experience.
Website Settings: Tap “AA” in the address bar to access per-site settings like Reader View, page zoom, and content blockers.
Desktop Site: Request desktop versions of websites by tapping the “AA” icon and selecting “Request Desktop Website.”
Full Page Screenshots: When taking a screenshot in Safari, tap “Full Page” at the top to capture the entire webpage as a PDF.
Find on Page: Enter search text in the address bar, then scroll down past suggestions to “On This Page” results.
Add to Reading List: Long press a link and select “Add to Reading List” to save it for offline reading.
Safari Extensions: Enhance Safari’s capabilities by adding extensions from the App Store.
Safari Tab Navigation: Use Control + Tab to move to the next tab and Control + Shift + Tab to move to the previous tab.

Files and Document Management

Document Scanner: Open your Notes app, tap the camera button, and select “Scan Documents” to quickly digitize physical documents.
Add Cloud Storage: Connect cloud storage providers like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive to the Files app for centralized access to all your documents.
File Tags: In the Files app, long press a file and select Tags to organize with color-coded tags.
PDF Markup: Open a PDF in Files, tap the markup icon to access annotation tools, including text boxes, signatures, and magnifier.
Multiple Signatures: While annotating PDFs, tap + in the lower right corner to add and manage multiple saved signatures.
File Compression: Long press on files in the Files app and select “Compress” to create a ZIP archive.
Download Manager: In Safari, tap the download icon to see and manage your downloads, which are saved to the Files app.
Quick Rename: In Files app, tap on a filename to edit it directly without needing to use the context menu.
Drag and Drop: Drag files between apps when in Split View or Slide Over for seamless content transfer.
Files Favorites: Long press a folder in Files and select “Favorite” for quick access from the sidebar.
Network File Sharing: Connect to network shares within your organization through the support of server message block (SMB) shares from Windows servers.

Notes and Productivity

Quick Notes: Swipe up from the bottom-right corner to create a Quick Note that can be accessed from any app, or use the keyboard shortcut Globe + Q.
Smart Folders: Create Smart Folders in Notes app that automatically collect notes based on tags, dates, or other criteria.
Tagging System: Use # tags in your notes to organize content and make it searchable by category.
Note Timestamps: Open a note and tap on the date information to toggle between creation and modification dates.
Scan Text: In Notes, long press and select “Scan Text” to use the camera for OCR (optical character recognition).
Lock Notes: Protect sensitive notes with Face ID by tapping the share button and selecting “Lock Note.”
Search Attachments: In Notes search, you can filter by “notes with attachments” or “notes with pictures.”
Handwritten Search: iPadOS can search through your handwritten notes just like typed text.
Checklist Creation: When creating a list in Notes, tap the check mark icon to create interactive to-do lists.
Pinned Notes: Swipe right on a note in the list view to pin it to the top for easy access.
Collaborate on Notes: Share notes with others and work on them simultaneously via the share button.
Table Support: In Notes, tap the table icon to create and edit formatted tables.
Freeform App: Use the Freeform app for flexible canvases where you can brainstorm ideas with drawings, text, and attachments in a freeform layout. In iPadOS 18, it includes a new “Scenes” feature for better navigation of large boards.

Security and Privacy

App Lock: In iPadOS 18, lock individual apps behind Face ID for additional privacy, which automatically hides their widgets and notifications.
Hidden Photos Protection: The Hidden and Recently Deleted photo albums are automatically locked behind Face ID/Touch ID for improved privacy.
Password Manager App: iPadOS 18 includes a dedicated Password Manager app that helps you manage passwords, passkeys, and security recommendations across all your Apple devices.
App Privacy Report: Check which apps are accessing your data by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > App Privacy Report.
Mail Privacy Protection: Enable Mail Privacy Protection in Settings > Mail to prevent senders from tracking your email activity.
Private Browsing: Use Private Browsing in Safari for sessions that won’t be saved to your history, and enable “Require Face ID to Unlock Private Browsing” for added security.
Location Services Control: Review and adjust which apps can use your location and when in Privacy & Security settings.
Advanced Tracking Protection: In Safari settings, set “Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection” to “All Browsing” to enhance privacy beyond just Private Browsing mode.
Hide My Email: With iCloud+, generate unique, random email addresses when signing up for services to protect your real email address.
Focus Modes: Create custom Focus modes to reduce distractions and keep your workflow uninterrupted.
Two-Factor Authentication: Ensure your Apple Account is protected with two-factor authentication for enhanced security.
Screen Time Passcode: Set a Screen Time passcode separate from your device passcode to prevent settings changes.

New in iPadOS 18

Calculator App: iPadOS 18 finally brings a dedicated calculator app with scientific functions and Apple Pencil integration for solving equations in real-time.
Math Notes Feature: Use the new Math Notes functionality in iPadOS 18 to solve mathematical equations directly in your notes with Apple Pencil.
Enhanced Photos App: The Photos app now features a split interface that lets you view photos and albums simultaneously, with intelligent organization features like “Recent Days” and “People and Pets” sections.
Smart Script: iPadOS 18 introduces Smart Script, which uses machine learning to make your handwritten notes more legible while maintaining your personal style.
Lockable Apps: Protect sensitive apps behind Face ID authentication for additional privacy.
Improved Object Removal: The AI-powered object removal feature in Photos lets you easily remove unwanted elements from your images.
SharePlay Enhancements: New SharePlay features include improved screen sharing and remote control capabilities for better collaboration.
Collapsible Sections in Notes: The Notes app now supports collapsible sections for better organization of lengthy notes.
Apple Intelligence: iPadOS 18 introduces Apple Intelligence features that use on-device processing and “Private Cloud Compute” to maintain privacy while delivering AI capabilities.
Reminders in Calendar: Calendar now displays your Reminders alongside your events for better time management.
Enhanced Functionality with External Displays: iPadOS 18 improves the experience when connecting to external displays with more flexible window management.
Customizable Control Center: The Control Center has been redesigned with a more customizable layout and additional functionality.
Advanced Data Protection: Enable Advanced Data Protection for end-to-end encryption of more iCloud data categories.

Pro Tip: Keep checking this article for updates as we discover more hidden features in iPadOS 18 and what to expect with iPadOS 19 later in the year.