Type A Digital Solutions

I love apps and I’ve spent lots of time testing different apps to find my favorites:

📱 Spark - this is an email client that you could use instead of Apple Mail, Outlook or your mail service’s app (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.). It’s free and I absolutely love it. It’s easy to add all of your email addresses and color code them. You can also customize your inbox to have a smart inbox, which easily helps you manage your emails.

📱 Todoist - this has been my to do list app for a long time. I love the ability to make multiple lists for work, personal tasks, etc. There is also an app for your Mac and program for PC. It’s free, but if you’d like to take advantage of some premium features (like setting reminders), you can upgrade for $36/year (I use the free version).

📱 OurGroceries - I love a good grocery list app and I have used lots. This one is my favorite because it has a watch app, so I don’t even need to take out my phone to shop. You can create multiple lists for different stores, you can share your lists via text, email or AirDrop, you can scan barcodes, and save a picture. There are lots of options to customize. Plus they have a website version. I did pay for the premium account ($10 one time fee), but they do have a free version.

📱 GasBuddy - I just use this to find the cheapest gas near me. It has other features if you create an account and enter in gas prices you see, but I don’t use them.

📱 Overcast - I love listening to podcasts (mostly about tech and true crime). This podcast app makes it easy to organize my podcasts, as well as customize how the podcast plays. You can shorten silent moments and set the speed you want to listen to each podcast.

📱 Libby - I read a lot, but I’d go poor if I purchased every book I’ve read. So Libby allows me to borrow books from the library and send them to my Kindle.

What are your favorite apps?
Todoist Planta GasBuddy

🎉 Happy World Backup Day!

Here are some ways to celebrate 😉:

📱 iPhone - go to Settings → iCloud (your name & image) → iCloud → iCloud Backup, make sure it’s clicked green and see what it says for “last successful backup”.
📱 Android - go to Settings → System → Backup, make sure “backup to Google Drive” is on. Under “Active Backups”, you can view the last time it was backed up.
💻 Mac using Time Machine - go to System Preferences, click on Time Machine and check to see when the last backup was.
💻 PC using Backup - go to Settings → Update & Security → Backup → Create a system image, under “Backup” check to see if it’s set up.
☁️ Online cloud service - log into your account and check the last backup.

Note: if you choose to manually move files from either a Mac or PC to an external hard drive, simply plug in the drive and check to make sure the files are there.

Still have questions? I’m happy to help (remotely or if you’re in the DFW area, I can come to you)! DM me or here: https://www.typeadigitalsolutions.com/contact

If you have an iPhone or iPad, you have the Files app preloaded on your phone and you may not be aware of what it is or what it does.

The Files app is a file management program for your iCloud account. It allows you to saves files to the cloud and access them from all of your devices. Think of it as Apple’s version of Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

Tips for using the File app:
🗂 You can save important files as favorites, making them easy to find
🗂 If you only want to store a file locally (on your iPhone or iPad), you can. In the Browse tab, you can see files “On my iPhone (iPad)”.
🗂 You can see your Dropbox, OneDrive, or Amazon Drive account in the Files app if you want. In the Browse tab, click the circle with three dots in the upper right and click “edit”, if you have Dropbox, OneDrive, or Amazon Drive installed on your phone, you can add them to the Locations.
🗂 You can preview files without opening it: hold down the file and click ”Quick Look”.
🗂 You can drag & drop files, like you can on a Mac.
🗂 Quickly scan a document using the app and it will automatically save in your files: click the circle with three dots in the upper right and click “Scan documents”.
🗂 You can use tags, just like you can on a Mac.
🗂 If your file is large, you are able to compress and decompress the file right from the app.
🗂 You can share a file, just like you would share a photo, through AirDrop, Messages, Mail, and more.

Do you use the Files app?