If you frequently visit the same websites, you may tire of typing the same website addresses or search phrases each time you want to find those sites again. To make finding sites easier, you can create bookmarks.
As you browse, Safari automatically stores the websites you visit in a History window. This History window can be handy when you want to find a site that you recently visited, but if you like a particular website, you may want to bookmark it so you can access it in the future, at the tap of a finger, without having to peruse the History window.
In this chapter you'll learn how to create, display, and delete bookmarks of your favorite websites using Safari.
As you browse the Internet, Safari automatically keeps track of each website that you visit and stores each address in a History list going back the past week. Now if you remember visiting a particular site but don't recall how you found it, just visit the History window, find the website's name, and tap on its name to view that website.
When you start typing in Safari's address or search bar, items from your history (and your previous searches) will automatically show up. To view your complete History, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Safari. The Safari screen appears.
Tap the Bookmark icon (it looks like an open book). A Bookmarks window appears, as shown in Figure 13-1. It lets you find a previously viewed or saved website address.
Tap History. The History window lists all the websites you've recently visited, including those viewed in the past week, as shown in Figure 13-2.
(Optional) Tap one of the day folders, such as a folder labeled Friday or Monday, to view the website addresses you visited on that particular day.
Tap a website to view that site.
Since Safari automatically adds every website address you visit to its History window, that History window can get cluttered. If you know you won't need to visit any previously visited websites, you can clear this History window to make it look neater—or to cover your tracks. To clear the History window, follow these steps:
Note
Clearing the History window wipes out the past few days worth of your previously visited websites. You cannot undo this action, so make sure you really want to clear your History window. You can also clear the History list in Safari by tapping the Settings icon on the Home screen, tapping Safari, and then tapping Clear History.
Safari comes with a list of bookmarks already created for you, but you'll probably want to add your own bookmarks to store your favorite websites. You can store a bookmark in three places.
First, you can store a bookmark within the Bookmarks window. This keeps your bookmark out of sight until you need it.
Second, you can store a bookmark in the Bookmarks Bar, which you can optionally hide or display at the top of the Safari screen. This makes your favorite bookmarks visible at all times. This is handy if you visit the same set of sites often.
Third, you can save your bookmark as an icon on your Home screen. This type of bookmark makes it easy to access your favorite websites with just a single touch from the Home screen, without even opening Safari.
To store a bookmarked website in the Bookmarks window, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Safari. The Safari screen appears.
Visit your favorite website (either by typing the complete address such as www.nostarch.com or by searching for it in the Search field).
Tap the Action icon (it looks like a square with a curved arrow). A menu of options appears, as shown in Figure 13-3.
Tap the Add Bookmark icon. An Add Bookmark window appears, as shown in Figure 13-4, with a virtual keyboard.
Edit the name of your favorite website as you want it displayed.
Note
Ideally, keep your website names short. Long website names take up more space if you store them in the Bookmarks Bar.
(Optional) Tap the Bookmarks icon, and tap either Bookmarks or Bookmarks Bar, as shown in Figure 13-5. Then tap the Add Bookmark button in the upper-right corner to return back to the Add Bookmark window.
Tap Save. Your bookmark gets saved in your chosen location either in the Bookmarks window or in the Bookmarks Bar.
When you store bookmarks on the Bookmarks Bar, you can access them in two ways. First, you can access them through the Bookmarks window. Second, you can access them through the Bookmarks Bar, which appears at the top of Safari.
To save space, the Bookmarks Bar may not be visible, but you can make it visible by following these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings. The Settings screen appears.
Tap Safari. The Safari settings screen appears.
Tap the Always Show Bookmarks Bar on/off switch to turn it ON (or OFF if you want to hide the Bookmarks Bar).
Press the Home button.
Tap Safari. The Safari screen appears, with (or without) the Bookmarks Bar.
After you store several bookmarks, you may later want to rearrange or delete them. To rearrange or delete a bookmark, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Safari. The Safari screen appears.
Tap the Bookmark icon (it looks like an open book). The Bookmarks window appears.
(Optional) Tap a folder, such as the Bookmarks Bar folder, to rearrange bookmarks in that folder.
Tap Edit. Red circles with white dashes appear to the left of each bookmark while three horizontal gray lines appear to the right of some bookmarks.
Note
You cannot rearrange the default bookmarks already stored in the Bookmarks window, including the bookmarks for Apple, Google, and Yahoo! You can, however, delete them.
(Optional) Tap and hold a fingertip over the icon with three horizontal gray lines to the right of a bookmark that you want to rearrange. Then slide your finger up or down to move the bookmark to a new location.
(Optional) Tap the red circle with the white dash to the left of a bookmark you want to delete. A red Delete button appears. (You can also delete bookmarks by swiping to the left or right.)
(Optional) Tap Delete.
Tap Done.
To make accessing your favorite websites even faster, you can store a website as an icon on your Home screen. To do so, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Safari. The Safari screen appears.
Visit your favorite website.
Tap the Action icon (it looks like a square with a curved arrow). A menu of options appears.
Tap Add to Home Screen. An Add to Home window and a virtual keyboard appear, as shown in Figure 13-6.
Type or edit a short descriptive name for your website.
Tap Add. Your chosen website appears as an icon on your Home screen.
The more bookmarks you add to the Bookmarks window, the more crowded it will get. To keep bookmarks organized, you can create folders and then store different bookmarks inside each folder. To create a bookmark folder, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Safari. The Safari screen appears.
Tap the Bookmark icon (it looks like an open book). The Bookmarks window appears.
Tap Edit. A New Folder button appears in the upper-left corner of the Bookmarks window.
Tap New Folder. An Edit Folder window appears with a virtual keyboard, as shown in Figure 13-7.
Type a short descriptive name for your folder, and tap the Done key on the virtual keyboard. Your newly created folder appears in the Bookmarks window.
Tap Done in the bookmarks pane.
Note
If you open the Bookmarks window and tap the Edit button, you can rearrange, delete, or rename a folder. To rename a folder, just tap the Edit button, and then tap the folder name.
If you regularly visit certain websites, you can store these websites as icons on the Home screen and then organize all the website icons on a separate pane on the Home screen. That way, you can switch to that Home screen pane to see all your important websites.
If you share an iPad with others, create folders with each person's name, and then let each person store their own favorite websites in these separate, named folders. Then others don't have to wade through bookmarks of websites that they'll never visit in a million years.
By saving bookmarks, you can browse the Web without ever needing to type in a convoluted address again or dig through search engine listings—unless you want to find something new.