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How to email or message Calendar event participants

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ April 15, 2021

When you create an event in Calendar, you can easily attach files, notes, and even links. Plus, you can add these types of items after you set up the initial event. But that doesn’t guarantee your participants will notice these additions. Sometimes, sending a message ahead of the event is the way to go.

You may not realize it, but the Calendar app on Mac gives you a simple way to email or message all event participants at once. So you can send an email with file or message them with important details ahead of time. Here, we’ll show you how to use this somewhat hidden feature in Calendar.

How to capture a screenshot of a whole text thread on iPhone

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ March 5, 2021

Do you need to get a single shot of entire conversation in Messages? Maybe it’s for something important like a court appearance or perhaps you want to save a backup just in case you need it down the road.

You can certainly scour the App Store for tools. But we took the work out of that for you. Here, we’ll show you how to screenshot a whole text conversation with a screenshot stitching tool called Picsew.

How to respond with text to FaceTime calls on iPad

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ December 10, 2020

You can set up your iPhone to respond to phone calls with a text if you’re unable to answer. This is a good way to acknowledge the call and let the caller know that you’ll get back to them later, ask them to email you, or numerous other things. But what if you’re using your iPad when a call comes in?

Just like the Phone app on iPhone, the FaceTime app on iPad allows you to set up Respond with Text. You can create one or more text responses and then send the one you want if you’re unable to answer the call. Here, we’ll show you how to set up Respond with Text in FaceTime on iPad.

How to use Intercom on HomePod for announcements in your home

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ March 8, 2021

With a lot of updates and new features to your Apple devices this year, one more will have you and your family communicating throughout the house. Intercom on HomePod gives you a quick and simple way to speak to family members in other rooms of the house.

You can use your HomePod, or all of them if you have more than one, as a loudspeaker of sorts. Speak into another device like your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch and your message will be heard on the HomePod(s) in your household.

Here, we’ll show you how to use the Intercom on HomePod, customize the settings, and make the most out of this cool new feature.

How to pin conversations in the Messages app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ November 17, 2020

If you’re a fan of the pinned notes feature in Apple’s Notes app, then you’re going to love pinned conversations in Messages that debuted with iOS, iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur. You can pin both individual and group conversations that you participate in regularly for quick access to them. Plus, you’ll see an indicator for recent conversations and can see messages as they're coming in.

For the full scoop, here’s how to pin conversations in Messages.

This tweak prevents photos taken in the Messages app from saving to the Camera Roll

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 2, 2021

It’s easy to send someone a freshly-captured photograph via the iPhone’s Messages app all thanks to a dedicated button located just to the left of the text input field. Upon capturing a photograph this way and sending it, iOS automatically saves a copy of that photograph to the Camera Roll so that the user can reference it later on.

Apple had good intentions here no doubt, but in many cases, we find ourselves navigating to the Photos app after capturing and sending a photograph in the Messages app to delete it from our Camera Roll afterward. I can personally relate to this particular dilemma, and that’s one reason why I’m excited to share the likes of a newly released and free jailbreak tweak dubbed Don’tSaveMessagePhotos by iOS developer lint.