Upload a WordPress Featured Image From iPad

By Matthew Guay on January 21, 2011 in Featured, Techinch

If there’s one major thing on iPad that keeps me from using it fully instead of my PC, it’s the fact that iOS doesn’t let you access the main file system from apps. Most obviously, this means that, aside from pictures in the Photos app, it’s very difficult to move a file from one app to another. More importantly for me, though, is that you can’t upload files from the browser. As a writer that uses WordPress daily, that’s a major problem for me.

We’ve already seen how to upload draft posts directly from the WordPress iPad app, but there is still one thing you can’t do from the WordPress app: you can’t set a featured image for your post. The only way to do is is from the WordPress dashboard, and since you can’t upload new images from the browser, you can’t do it there, either.

A Workaround

Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

So, you can’t upload images to WordPress from your browser, but you can still add images from the WordPress app, right? Here’s what you need to do to add a new image and get it set as your featured image but without including the image directly in your post.

First, rotate and crop your image to the correct size for your post. I use square, 200×200 PNG or JPG images for my featured images, but this will be different depending on your theme and preferences. I prefer to use the free PhotoPad for cropping images since it lets you see the exact pixel size of your cropped image as you’re cropping it.

Now, head over to the WordPress app and write up your post as normal. Then, when you’re finished, tap on the Media tab and add your cropped image you want to use as a Featured Image in your post. Select to upload it in original size, since you already have it the shape you want. Once it’s finished uploading, just go back to your post editor and upload your post as you like, scheduled, draft, or fully published.

Finally, head over to your WordPress dashboard in Safari. Open your new post for editing, and tap the Set Featured Image link. You’ll find the image you added as your featured image right there in the top of the Gallery tab, ready for you to select it as the Featured Image. Save your changes in WordPress, and your post will be ready to go, just as good as if you’d written it the whole way from a PC.

Now, granted, this isn’t the easiest solution, but it does let you do one more thing directly from iPad that you couldn’t have done otherwise. In fact, this same trick would work just as good on an iPhone or iPod Touch. Mobile blogging no longer means that your posts have to look second class! And by the way, I used this trick to add the featured image to this post as you might be able to tell from the images. It worked!

What would be nicer is if the WordPress iOS app added an option to set your featured image directly. Maybe eventually…

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Get an Offline Dictionary on Your PC and iOS Devices for Free with Kindle

By Matthew Guay on January 20, 2011 in Featured, Techinch

Do you find yourself needing to check a dictionary from your PC, iPhone, or iPad? While there are many dictionaries available for both Windows and iOS, many of us just default to looking up definitions online. This works, but when the internet goes down, so does your dictionary. Amazon Kindle is my personal favorite eBook reader on both Windows and iOS, and with the latest versions, it includes a free copy of the New Oxford American Dictionary. Here’s how you can put the dictionary to use so you don’t have to purchase a separate dictionary or stay online to find definitions.

Offline Dictionary in Kindle on iPad and iPhone

When you first run Kindle on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, the New Oxford American Dictionary will automatically download and be added to your Kindle library. You’ll see it right along with all of your other books, and can open it to look up words whenever you need.

Whenever you’re reading a book, you can simply highlight the word to see a quick definition of it in a small popup. Tap the definition to view that page in the dictionary.

Alternately, you can open the dictionary itself to search for words, so no matter what you need to look up, you’ll be able to get the definition in seconds. Best of all, if you’re not certain of a word’s spelling, you can flip though the dictionary like you would a paper dictionary.

And it’s not just on iPad … the Kindle dictionary works just as good on an iPhone or iPod Touch. Now no matter where you are, you won’t need to be without a dictionary.

Another good thing to remember is that many other iOS apps, including iBooks and Pages for iPad include dictionaries themselves. This really makes iOS devices great learning tools!

Using Your Free Dictionary in Kindle for PC

If you don’t have the latest version (Kindle for PC 1.3 as of this post’s publication), Kindle should automatically update. Alternately, head over to Amazon’s Kindle for PC page, download the latest version, and install it over your existing copy. The next time you start reading a book, select a word and you’ll see a small popup letting you know that the New Oxford American Dictionary is downloading. This may take a few minutes, but once it’s done, you’ll have the full dictionary ready to help you understand anything you read better.

Whenever you’re reading a book in Kindle for PC, you can now select a word and instantly see its definition in a small popup. You can then select to Google the word or look it up on Wikipedia, or alternately click Full Definition to see the whole section for that word in the included dictionary.

Oddly enough, the dictionary won’t show up in your Kindle Library in Kindle for PC even though you’ve got the full eBook on your computer. So, if you want to look up any random word, you’ll need a little workaround. Just open any book in your Kindle Library, then select any word at random and click the Full Definition link. Now, to look up any other word, just enter it in the search box on the top left. No matter where you are, you’ve now got a full dictionary offline on your PC for free!

Other Devices

While Kindle apps are available for Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, Android, and Macs, the other apps currently don’t support dictionary lookup. The PC app didn’t either until the most recent 1.3 update, so hopefully Amazon will add Dictionary support to the other apps in the near future.

Conclusion

All of us need to look up words to find their correct spelling and definition from time to time, and sometimes even today it’s not so easy to get online. Kindle makes it easy to find definitions from a Kindle device, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or PC, and best of all, it’s free! I’ve found the Kindle dictionary very handy on my iPod Touch, since I can look up definitions even when I’m offline.

Download Kindle for PC

Download Kindle for iOS (Free, Universal)

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Rotate Pictures and Screenshots on iPad or iPhone

By Matthew Guay on January 19, 2011 in Quick Tips

Now that you’re ready to write drafts and posts from anywhere on your iPad or iPhone, you’ll be wanting to post more than ever. One thing I post all the time is screenshots. Whether I’m writing a review or how-to tutorial, I always illustrate my posts with screenshots of the Windows program, webapp, or iOS app I’m writing about. But if you’re blogging with screenshots from your iDevice, you may hit a snag.

Taking a screenshot isn’t a problem; just press your home and power button at the same time, and a screenshot will be saved to your Photo roll. Now, you can easily find your screenshots in the Photos app or any other program that allows you to import images. The only problem is, if your device was in landscape mode when you took the screenshot, then your screenshot will be flipped on its side. iOS takes the shot as though the device was in standard mode with the home button on the bottom, even though on iPad almost every app supports any rotation mode.

Flip Those Screenshots

Good thing is, that’s not something you can’t fix. There’s a number of free photo editing apps that let you rotate, crop, and flip pictures quickly. Two I use frequently are Adobe Photoshop Express for iOS and PhotoPad. Both of these are free universal apps that work on all iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPads. Let’s see how to rotate a shot using Photoshop Express; it’s my personal favorite, and has a nicer UI in my opinion. Feel free to try out other apps and see which one fits your workflow best, though.

Ok, so first, grab the shot you want to crop. You’ll find all your screenshots you’ve taken in the Saved Photos album.

Tap the crop icon in the bottom left corner, then select Rotate to, well, rotate your shot. Or, of course, if you need to crop your screenshot, select that instead. You shouldn’t need to straighten screenshots, though…

Now just drag a corner of your picture with one finger to rotate it like you need. I’d love to have a multitouch rotate and crop too, but I haven’t found one yet … if you know of an app that is more touch-orientated for photo touchup, let us know in the comments. Once you’ve got your shot rotated as you need, press Ok in the bottom right corner to accept the changes.

Now your picture is the correct orientation and is ready to be blogged. Press Save on the top right, and you’ll see your new, corrected screenshot in the Photo Roll as before. And, as before, this works the exact same on any iOS device, so even though the example shots here are on iPad, it’ll work the same on your iPhone too!

Flip Them Back in Windows

If you copy your screenshots to your PC before blogging them, you can still rotate them easily without opening Photoshop or other intensive apps. Just open your shot in the default Windows Photo Viewer or Windows Live Photo Gallery, and click the Rotate button on the bottom. Exit the window to save your shot once you’ve got it rotated as you want. Now you can upload it directly to your WordPress editor or write a new post in Live Writer … Quick and easy.

Got more tips for blogging on the go from your iPhone or iPad? Sound off in the comments!

Happy screenshot blogging!

Download Photoshop Express for iOS (universal app)

Download WordPress for iOS (universal app)

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Get a Free Graphing Calculator App for Your PC – Microsoft Math 4

By Matthew Guay on January 18, 2011 in Featured, Techinch

Does Windows Calculator not quite cut it for you? Calculator has been a default app in Windows ever since the release of Windows 1.0, and while Calculator was given a total refresh and gained tons of new features in Windows 7, it’s still not powerful enough for most Algebra and higher math. The free Powertoy Calculator that was released with XP does not work on Windows 7 or Vista, and for a while, the only other good free graphing calculator solutions for PC users have been online tools like WolframAlpha.com.

That’s now changed, however, as Microsoft recently released Microsoft Math 4. Previously a commercial program, Microsoft Math 4 is now fully free for Windows users. It’s a great app that lets you solve equations, differentiate or integrate, and create 2D and 3D graphs. Whether you’re using your keyboard or a tablet input device, you’ll be able to get your math facts figured out quickly. Plus, the entire app uses the ribbon interface, so it’s easy to learn how to use.

Microsoft Math can solve equations, differentiate or integrate them, and even show you the steps needed to find the answer. While some teachers might fear it being used for cheating, it’s actually a great way to understand how to solve more complex problems you might have stumbled through otherwise.

Then, from the Graphing tab, you can create beautiful 2D and 3D graphs in seconds. Zoom in or out with your scroll wheel. The graphics are amazingly smooth for a utility app like this!

All work and no play … well, you won’t have to worry about that either. Microsoft tucked away 7 cute calculator skins in the View tab ranging from flowered to flaming to traditional calculator styles. There’s even a cute sketched skin as you see below.

It’s a pretty handy app to have around, especially if you or anyone in your family’s still in school. In fact, the only problem with it is that you might get tempted to just use it to solve your tough math instead of using your grey matter!

Download Microsoft Math 4 (Microsoft.com, free)

Get more info about Microsoft Math 4

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The Calculator That Should have Shipped with iPad – Calcbot

By Matthew Guay on January 18, 2011 in Featured, iOS Apps

One of the first things I noticed on my iPad was the lack of a calculator app. Not like there’s not half a dozen gadgets around that also have a calculator built in, but somehow it just seemed odd to not have one built in. Apple did a great job making Notes, Calendar, and Contacts look awesome on iPad, why not Calculator (and Voice Memos, Stocks, Clock, and Weather)?

At the same time, even on the iPhone or iPod Touch, the calculator app could be improved. In general, the iPhone Calculator app is good enough, and for a basic calculator with standard and scientific mode, it’s about as simple as they come. But still, wouldn’t you like to have calculator history, be able to see your expression’s result as you’re typing, and more?

Calcbot from Tapbots is a great solution to both of these problems. It’s an elegant universal calculator app that makes it simple to do any calculation you need on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. This app was designed to make doing math take even less time on your devices. Is this even possible? Let’s take a peek under the hood and see if you really do need a new calculator app for iOS.

Calculating with a Robot

Calcbot describes itself as a “simple, yet intelligent calculator”, and I definitely found it to live up to its name while reviewing it. You’ll see a quick Getting Started guide when you first launch the app that will help you get up to speed on how to get the most from Calcbot. Whether you load it on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you’ll get the same great features.

The main interface looks much like you’d expect. You’ll see standard calculator features on the main screen, but swipe to the left to see advanced, scientific mode features such as sin, square roots, and more. Tap the orange Shift key to see the inverse of the functions of the light blue buttons, such as sin^-1. Best thing is, you can find any root or raise a number to any power you need. For example, if you need to calculate 7⁴, enter 7, then swipe left and press y^x, then swipe right and tap 4. With that, you’ll find the answer is 2,041, and you’ll still see the equation underneath in light blue!

Calcbot automatically computes your equation as you’re entering it, so you can see everything in light blue underneath your solution at the top. If you make a mistake, swipe left over the calculator screen on the top or press the red delete button on the bottom to delete the last thing you pressed. No more blindly pressing C or MC anymore; who could even remember what they did, anyhow?

Once you’re finished, press the equal button on the bottom to save your answer. Everything you enter is saved in Calcbot’s history, so you can easily jump back and see everything you’ve calculated by pulling down on the top of the app. This will open a history tape that remembers both the answer and the equation you’d entered, much like many scientific calculators such as the popular TI-30X. That calculator saved me in highschool, and I don’t know how much time I saved by being able to go back and grab something from the history. It’s every bit as helpful in Calcbot, and once you’ve used it, you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

Supersize Me

As mentioned at the beginning of this review, Calcbot is a universal app and works great on iPad, too. In Landscape mode, you can get the same great calculation features on the left with your history tape on the right. This makes it quick and easy to run a ton of calculations and quickly jump between the ones you need. Whether you’re a student in math class or are getting ready for tax season (oh my…), the history on the side is incredibly handy. Just tap one of the entries to use the result or equation again, or to email the problem to your professor, accountant, or archrival! You can even send the entire tape history as an email or copy it to your clipboard from the gear button in the top right.

Want the largest calculator you’ve ever used (well, at least the largest one that still looks stylish…)? Just turn your iPad to portrait mode, and Calcbot will fill your iPad screen. Oddly enough, you can’t access history this way, but just turn your device to the side to see your history as before. Everything else works the same … swipe left to see extra functions, or tap the i button to change settings and get info about the app. Somehow, this reminds me of a cash register, though if that’s what you’re actually using your iPad for, you’d likely be better off with Square

Conclusion

It’s hard not to love Calcbot. Tapbots did a great job integrating beautiful design with advanced functionality that just makes it easier to check out a quick calculation. You’ll never have to second-guess if you entered your equation correctly, since it shows up right up under the answer, and you can always go back and check it in the history. It still doesn’t give your iPad or iPhone all the features of, say, a TI-89, but it does give you most of the features of a standard scientific calculator such as the TI-30X, including History mode. Finally, it’s a universal app, so you won’t have to purchase a different app for each of your devices. If you’re looking for a great calculator for your iPad, and wouldn’t mind getting a better iPhone one at the same time, this is the calculator app to get.