Post by drcard on Oct 16, 2020 20:34:49 GMT -5
iPhone – AssistiveTouch
Overview:
All smartphone users know that the key to operating your phone is with your fingers and the gestures you make with them. With your fingers being the main controller of the phone and phones having many different commands for many different things it can do, your fingers have to learn a lot of different gestures and timing. As the functions of a phone increases so does the number of different gestures your fingers have to make to control those functions. Finger gesturing for smartphones has increased so much that a person with a new phone looks like they are “speaking” to their phone using sign language (I guess, in a way, they are). The problem with this advancement is that not all of us are capable of making some of those gestures and timing required for the phone to recognize the command. Can we still use a phone without those gestures? Yes, for the iPhone, the alternative is called AssistiveTouch. AssistiveTouch places an icon on the screen that when pressed pops up a menu allowing you to choose the function you want without having to do the special finger gesture require to activate that function. The only negative effect of using AssistiveTouch is having its icon on every screen the phone displays, but this can be lessened by placing the icon anywhere on the screen (out of the way) and make the icon barely visible (transparent) when not in use. The following explains how to activate AssistiveTouch, use it to avoid difficult finger gestures, and customize its menu and appearance.
AssistiveTouch Activation
• From the home screens press the Settings icon to open the Settings page.
• Scroll down the page and select Accessibility.
• Scroll down the Accessibility page and select Touch.
• At the top of the page press the arrow to the right of AssistiveTouch to open its Settings page.
• Slide the button next to AssistiveTouch to the right to turn AssistiveTouch on. The button background will turn green letting you know that it is on.
• When you turn AssistiveTouch on, a white circle in a black box icon will appear on the screen. This is the AssistiveTouch icon.
• While on this AssistiveTouch Settings page, scroll down and notice: Customize Top Level Menu, Custom Actions, Custom Gestures, and Idle Opacity. I will explain these options below in the Customization section.
Using AssistiveTouch
• When AssistiveTouch is activated its icon (a white circle in a black box) will appear on the screen.
• This AssistiveTouch icon will remain on every screen displayed on the phone, no matter what app you are using. The icon will also appear on the locked screen, but if you use it from the locked screen you will have to enter your passcode to run any of the command functions that require passcode. This icon is always there so you can access those functions anywhere on the phone.
• Press the AssistiveTouch icon to open the menu of command functions. AssistiveTouch has a menu page of command functions, but not all command functions are listed on the menu. Some commands like Device have many options and when pressed will open another menu page (or pages) with options to select.
• From the AssistiveTouch menu page press the icon for the command function you want and that function will be performed and the menu page will close. The AssistiveTouch allows you to press a single button to use these command functions and not elaborate finger gestures. Yes, the finger gestures will still work when AssistiveTouch is activated, so you still have the option of using the finger gestures.
To better understand the practical use of AssistiveTouch and some of the “command functions”, here are some practical uses of AssistiveTouch.
• You know you can take a screenshot of your phone and you have read how to do it; but when time comes that you want to take a screenshot, you forget how to do it. After all, you don’t take a screenshot very often. Screenshot is a command function listed in AssistiveTouch menu. Press the AssistiveTouch icon and then press the Screenshot icon…click, the screenshot has been taken. For all those seldom used functions that you can’t remember the gesture to make it work, AssistiveTouch is the answer.
• In order to turn off apps you need to access App Switcher. On iPhones with a home button you have to perform a quick double tap on the home button to open App Switcher. This quick double tap gesture involves timing between the two taps and if the time between the taps is not short enough, the phone will not recognize the gesture as a quick double tap and App Switcher will not open. Rather than pound away at the home button hoping that two of the taps are close enough to open App Switcher, you can open the AssistiveTouch menu in a single press and select App Switcher with a single press….no timing needed. If you find that it is difficult for you to perform a finger gesture, then AssistiveTouch can turn that difficult gesture into a single press of a icon.
There is an entire list of: apps and utilities that can be opened, finger gestures generated by the phone by your single click, and many other control features of the phone that can be accessed and used with AssistiveTouch and a single press of a button. Follow the instructions below for Customization of the Top Level menu to see all the command functions that can be performed by a single pressing of an icon in AssistiveTouch.
AssistiveTouch Customization
Customize AssistiveTouch Icon
The AssistiveTouch icon will be displayed on every screen and sometimes will get in the way of what you’re doing. There are two different ways to get this icon “out of the way” as follows:
• Move the icon – Place your finger on the icon (don’t press hard or tap) and slide your finger (and the icon) to anywhere on the screen that is out of the way for the current screen. Release your finger when you have the icon where you want it. The icon will stay where you placed it until you move it again.
• Make the icon less visible – When the AssistiveTouch icon is not in use, it goes into transparent mode. Just how transparent depends upon the Idle Opacity setting in the AssistiveTouch Settings (see above of how to access AssistiveTouch Settings page). Setting the Idle Opacity to 10 – 20% will make the icon barely visible. When you press the AssistiveTouch icon to access, it will become fully visible.
Customize AssistiveTouch Top Level Menu
AssistiveTouch Top Level Menu is the menu that displays when opened. You can choose how many icons to show on that page and select which functions are shown on that top level menu as follows:
• Open the AssistiveTouch Settings page (see above) and press arrow to the right of Customize Top Level Menu. This opens a page that is a diagram of the menu and current icons.
• You can increase or decrease the number icons (functions) that are shown in the menu. At the bottom of the page it lists the number of icons shown above. Use the – or + to decrease or increase the number of icons on the menu. Just remember that the more icons you add, the smaller each icon will be and the harder to select what you want.
• Press an icon of a command function to be replaced by another command function or if you increased the number of icons, press the + icon to specify what command function will be placed here. Either way, the screen will change to a list of all command functions you can use with AssistiveTouch. Use your finger to press and select the command function you want (such as App Switcher).
• I have found having the Device, App Switcher, Screenshot, and Control Center icons on the Top Level Menu very useful.
• Review all those command functions and keep them in mind for future quick access thru AssistiveTouch menu.
Custom Actions allows you to assign finger gestures for the AssistiveTouch icon so it causes a command function without opening to the menu. Create New Gesture allows you to create a gesture (such as triple tap) for the AssistiveTouch icon that will engage a command function without opening the menu. I didn’t cover these topics in detail as if you can do all those gestures, then you don’t need AssistiveTouch.
Overview:
All smartphone users know that the key to operating your phone is with your fingers and the gestures you make with them. With your fingers being the main controller of the phone and phones having many different commands for many different things it can do, your fingers have to learn a lot of different gestures and timing. As the functions of a phone increases so does the number of different gestures your fingers have to make to control those functions. Finger gesturing for smartphones has increased so much that a person with a new phone looks like they are “speaking” to their phone using sign language (I guess, in a way, they are). The problem with this advancement is that not all of us are capable of making some of those gestures and timing required for the phone to recognize the command. Can we still use a phone without those gestures? Yes, for the iPhone, the alternative is called AssistiveTouch. AssistiveTouch places an icon on the screen that when pressed pops up a menu allowing you to choose the function you want without having to do the special finger gesture require to activate that function. The only negative effect of using AssistiveTouch is having its icon on every screen the phone displays, but this can be lessened by placing the icon anywhere on the screen (out of the way) and make the icon barely visible (transparent) when not in use. The following explains how to activate AssistiveTouch, use it to avoid difficult finger gestures, and customize its menu and appearance.
AssistiveTouch Activation
• From the home screens press the Settings icon to open the Settings page.
• Scroll down the page and select Accessibility.
• Scroll down the Accessibility page and select Touch.
• At the top of the page press the arrow to the right of AssistiveTouch to open its Settings page.
• Slide the button next to AssistiveTouch to the right to turn AssistiveTouch on. The button background will turn green letting you know that it is on.
• When you turn AssistiveTouch on, a white circle in a black box icon will appear on the screen. This is the AssistiveTouch icon.
• While on this AssistiveTouch Settings page, scroll down and notice: Customize Top Level Menu, Custom Actions, Custom Gestures, and Idle Opacity. I will explain these options below in the Customization section.
Using AssistiveTouch
• When AssistiveTouch is activated its icon (a white circle in a black box) will appear on the screen.
• This AssistiveTouch icon will remain on every screen displayed on the phone, no matter what app you are using. The icon will also appear on the locked screen, but if you use it from the locked screen you will have to enter your passcode to run any of the command functions that require passcode. This icon is always there so you can access those functions anywhere on the phone.
• Press the AssistiveTouch icon to open the menu of command functions. AssistiveTouch has a menu page of command functions, but not all command functions are listed on the menu. Some commands like Device have many options and when pressed will open another menu page (or pages) with options to select.
• From the AssistiveTouch menu page press the icon for the command function you want and that function will be performed and the menu page will close. The AssistiveTouch allows you to press a single button to use these command functions and not elaborate finger gestures. Yes, the finger gestures will still work when AssistiveTouch is activated, so you still have the option of using the finger gestures.
To better understand the practical use of AssistiveTouch and some of the “command functions”, here are some practical uses of AssistiveTouch.
• You know you can take a screenshot of your phone and you have read how to do it; but when time comes that you want to take a screenshot, you forget how to do it. After all, you don’t take a screenshot very often. Screenshot is a command function listed in AssistiveTouch menu. Press the AssistiveTouch icon and then press the Screenshot icon…click, the screenshot has been taken. For all those seldom used functions that you can’t remember the gesture to make it work, AssistiveTouch is the answer.
• In order to turn off apps you need to access App Switcher. On iPhones with a home button you have to perform a quick double tap on the home button to open App Switcher. This quick double tap gesture involves timing between the two taps and if the time between the taps is not short enough, the phone will not recognize the gesture as a quick double tap and App Switcher will not open. Rather than pound away at the home button hoping that two of the taps are close enough to open App Switcher, you can open the AssistiveTouch menu in a single press and select App Switcher with a single press….no timing needed. If you find that it is difficult for you to perform a finger gesture, then AssistiveTouch can turn that difficult gesture into a single press of a icon.
There is an entire list of: apps and utilities that can be opened, finger gestures generated by the phone by your single click, and many other control features of the phone that can be accessed and used with AssistiveTouch and a single press of a button. Follow the instructions below for Customization of the Top Level menu to see all the command functions that can be performed by a single pressing of an icon in AssistiveTouch.
AssistiveTouch Customization
Customize AssistiveTouch Icon
The AssistiveTouch icon will be displayed on every screen and sometimes will get in the way of what you’re doing. There are two different ways to get this icon “out of the way” as follows:
• Move the icon – Place your finger on the icon (don’t press hard or tap) and slide your finger (and the icon) to anywhere on the screen that is out of the way for the current screen. Release your finger when you have the icon where you want it. The icon will stay where you placed it until you move it again.
• Make the icon less visible – When the AssistiveTouch icon is not in use, it goes into transparent mode. Just how transparent depends upon the Idle Opacity setting in the AssistiveTouch Settings (see above of how to access AssistiveTouch Settings page). Setting the Idle Opacity to 10 – 20% will make the icon barely visible. When you press the AssistiveTouch icon to access, it will become fully visible.
Customize AssistiveTouch Top Level Menu
AssistiveTouch Top Level Menu is the menu that displays when opened. You can choose how many icons to show on that page and select which functions are shown on that top level menu as follows:
• Open the AssistiveTouch Settings page (see above) and press arrow to the right of Customize Top Level Menu. This opens a page that is a diagram of the menu and current icons.
• You can increase or decrease the number icons (functions) that are shown in the menu. At the bottom of the page it lists the number of icons shown above. Use the – or + to decrease or increase the number of icons on the menu. Just remember that the more icons you add, the smaller each icon will be and the harder to select what you want.
• Press an icon of a command function to be replaced by another command function or if you increased the number of icons, press the + icon to specify what command function will be placed here. Either way, the screen will change to a list of all command functions you can use with AssistiveTouch. Use your finger to press and select the command function you want (such as App Switcher).
• I have found having the Device, App Switcher, Screenshot, and Control Center icons on the Top Level Menu very useful.
• Review all those command functions and keep them in mind for future quick access thru AssistiveTouch menu.
Custom Actions allows you to assign finger gestures for the AssistiveTouch icon so it causes a command function without opening to the menu. Create New Gesture allows you to create a gesture (such as triple tap) for the AssistiveTouch icon that will engage a command function without opening the menu. I didn’t cover these topics in detail as if you can do all those gestures, then you don’t need AssistiveTouch.