We use apps for everything. Checking the weather, ordering food, paying bills, the list is lengthy, and we haven’t even made it to the number of game apps we have.
With all the apps we use every day and the ones that we don’t even remember downloading, finding the one you want can be like playing a game of Memory.
You can make it easier on yourself and your eyes by organizing your apps into Folders. Grouping similar apps and bookmarks have the added benefit of clearing up the clutter on your home screen so you can finally see that background photo you carefully chose.
Folders have been available since iOS4 but have become easier to use and more functional with each update. Just follow the steps below and your home screen will look neat and tidy.
Step 1. Press and hold a blank part of your home screen until it enters “Edit” mode. Or you can long-press on an app and a pop-up menu will allow you to choose “Edit Home Screen.” When you are in Edit mode everything will jiggle a little bit and you’ll see minus icons on the top left corner of the apps.
Step 2. Select the app you want to move and use your finger to drag it to the app you want to be grouped together.
If you are dragging across pages, just move the app to the edge of the screen and it will slide to the next screen.
Step 3. When the apps come together a folder will automatically appear and show both apps together. The naming is intuitive.
In the example photo, the iPhone chose the label “Puzzle Games” which I think is a really cool feature.
You can change the label to whatever you would like by hitting the “x” icon to delete the whole title and enter your own in label text bar.
Step 4. You made a folder! That’s all there is to it. Repeat until you have organized your home screen to your heart’s content.
Step 5. When you have finished with your folders, tap “Done” in the top right corner to return your screen to normal.
Some notes to help you manage your folders:
- You can rearrange apps inside the folders too. Once in Edit mode, just drag the app to wherever you would like. Just like in Step 1 but without merging it with another app.
- If you decide you don’t need a folder anymore, drag the apps out of it and the folder will disappear.
- You can’t combine two folders. If you want to merge your puzzle and word games folders, you will need to move each app to the folder you want.
All the above steps and notes also apply to bookmarked websites too. I created a folder to store all the recipes that I swear I will make one day. Folders are a great way to organize all those apps and websites you downloaded to help you get organized!
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when the apps are so closely grouped together how do you choose 1app from the tight-knit group?
When you tap on the folder it will open it up to larger app icons. It will look like the picture in Step 3 to make it easy to select the app you want.