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The Complete Guide to Every iOS 27 Feature

How to reply to invitations in Calendar on iPad

by Dave Johnson

In the Calendar app, you can reply to meeting and event invitations you’ve received, with Accept, Maybe, or Decline. You can also suggest a different meeting time, and any comments you add can be seen by the organizer but not by other attendees.

Reply to an event invitation

  1. To respond to an event notification, tap it.

    Or, in Calendar, tap the Inbox button, then tap an invitation.

  2. Tap your response—Accept, Maybe, or Decline.

To respond to an invitation you receive by email, tap the underlined text in the email, then tap Show in Calendar.

If you add comments to your response, your comments can be seen by the organizer but not by other attendees (comments may not be available for all calendars). To see events you declined, tap the Calendars button, then turn on Show Declined Events.

Suggest a different meeting time

For a meeting invitation you’ve received, you can suggest a different time.

  1. Start the Calendar app on your iPad.
  2. Tap the meeting, then tap Propose New Time.
  3. Tap the time, then enter a new one.
  4. Tap the Done button, then tap Send.

What the organizer receives, either a counter-proposal or an email with your suggestion, depends on the capabilities of your calendar server.

See also

Tag: Calendar
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How to send invitations in Calendar on iPad

by Abigail Shilets

In the Calendar app, you can send meeting and event invitations. iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, and some CalDAV servers also let you send meeting invitations, though not all calendar servers support every feature.

Before you invite people, you make sure your calendar accounts are turned on. You can invite people to an event you’ve already scheduled, and quickly email everyone who’s attending.

Here’s how to send invitations in Calendar on iPad.

Before you begin

You need to turn on your calendar accounts before you can invite people to events you’ve scheduled.

  1. Start the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Apps and then tap Calendar.
  3. Tap Calendar Accounts and select an account. Then check to see if Calendar is turned on.

    For more information about how to add calendars, see Set up multiple calendars.

Invite others to an event

You can invite people to an event you’ve scheduled.

  1. Start the Calendar app on your iPad.
  2. Tap the event. Then tap Edit near the top of the screen.
  3. Tap invitees.
  4. Do any of the following:

    • Add a name from your contacts: Enter a contact’s name, tap the name, and then tap the Done button.

      You can also tap the Add button to select contacts.

      Note: The contact must have an email address or phone number (supported in China and India). See Add and use contact information.

    • Add an email address: Enter an email address, tap Return, and tap the Done button.
    • Add a phone number: Enter a phone number, tap Return, and then tap the Done button.

      Note: Sending a calendar invitation to a phone number is supported only in China and India.

  5. To make an invitation optional, tap Invitees, swipe left on an invitee, and then tap Make Optional.

If you don’t want to be notified when someone declines a meeting, go to Settings > Apps > Calendar, then turn off Show Invitee Declines.

Note: You can invite people to an event you didn’t schedule if you’re using Microsoft Exchange or some other exchange servers.

Quickly email attendees

To share event details, for instance, you can email all attendees of an event.

  1. Start the Calendar app on your iPad.
  2. Tap an event that has attendees.
  3. Tap Invitees and tap the Send Mail to Invitees button.

See also

Tag: Calendar
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How to use Apple Intelligence to express yourself creatively on iPad

by Kevin Hollington

With Apple Intelligence, you can use intelligent photo editing tools, create original images and Genmoji, create custom memory movies with a description, and more to power your creativity. Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe let you keep working on a photo after you take it, and Image Playground produces fun, original images in moments.

Note: Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*

The buttons for Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe are displayed next to a photo.

Make your photos frame-worthy

You can remove distracting objects, extend a photo beyond its original frame, and adjust its perspective. With Clean Up, Extend, and Reframe, a photo doesn’t have to be finished once you take it. Open a photo in the Photos app, then tap the Edit button to get started.

Clean up, extend, and reframe photos

The Image Playground app window showing a created image of a woman holding a cake.

Create one-of-a-kind images with Image Playground

Produce fun, original images in moments with Image Playground. Open the Playground app, tap the Add button, then describe an image. Or choose a photo and apply an image style, like Animation or Sketch.

How to create original images

The Genmoji window showing a created Genmoji of a man running across a finish line.

Make your own emoji with Genmoji

You can also make custom emoji from simple text descriptions with Genmoji. To get started tap the Emoji button or the Next Keyboard key on your keyboard, then tap Genmoji.

How to create your own emoji

Even more creativity features

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

Tag: Apple Intelligence
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How to add backgrounds in Messages on iPad

by Kevin Hollington

You can add a background to an iMessage conversation. Other people in the conversation see the background on their devices too and can change the background for the group.

You can use a dynamic background, a photo, or an original background you create, and revert to a plain background anytime. With a photo, you can crop the image, remove the color, or apply a color filter.

Here’s how to add backgrounds in Messages on iPad.

Note: To add, view, or change conversation backgrounds, you need iMessage running on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, watchOS 26, or visionOS 26 or later.

A Messages conversation with a background.

Use a dynamic background

  1. Go to the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. Go to the conversation where you want to add a background.
  3. Tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation, then tap Backgrounds.
  4. Tap Color, Sky, Water, or Aurora.
  5. Swipe left to choose an option.

    Tip: For Color, tap the swatches in the bottom corners to adjust the colors.

  6. Tap the Done button to add the background to your conversation.

Use a photo as a background

  1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. Go to the conversation where you want to add a photo to the background.
  3. Tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation, then tap Backgrounds.
  4. Tap Photo. Then tap to select a photo from your library.

    Tip: If someone shared a photo you want to use as a background, touch and hold the photo in the message, then tap Set as Background.

  5. Do any of the following:

    • Crop the image: Pinch in or out.
    • Remove the color: Swipe left to Black & White.
    • Apply a color filter: Swipe left to Duotone or Color Wash. Then tap the color swatch to change the palette.
  6. Tap the Done button to add the background to your conversation.

You can set conversations to showcase backgrounds when you return to them. Go to Settings > Apps > Messages, then turn on Start with Photos Visible.

Note: You can have your (or a family member’s) iPad receive warnings before a background image containing sensitive content is sent or received.

Create an original background

If you have Apple Intelligence, Image Playground can make one-of-a-kind images for your conversation backgrounds.

Note: Apple Intelligence on iPadOS 27 or later is available on an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple Intelligence is not available in all languages or regions. Usage limits may apply.*

  1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. Go to the conversation where you want to add a photo to the background.
  3. Tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation, then tap Backgrounds.
  4. Tap Playground, follow the onscreen instructions to create an image and then tap the Done button.
  5. Tap the Done button to add the background to your conversation.

Revert to a plain background

Note: Removing a background affects all participants in a conversation.

  1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. Go to the conversation with a background you want to remove.
  3. Tap the contact or group icon at the top of the conversation, then tap Backgrounds.
  4. Tap None.

Turn conversation backgrounds off

If you turn conversation backgrounds off, others in a conversation can still see any background chosen for it.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Apps, then tap Messages.
  3. Turn Conversation Backgrounds off.

*Apple Intelligence is available with Siri and device language set to Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. Some devices may not be available in all regions. Siri AI is available in beta in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27 and requires an Apple Intelligence–enabled device set to a supported language. Available in English to start. Siri AI will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Certain Apple Intelligence features that rely on server-side models are subject to daily usage limits, including but not limited to Siri AI, Intelligent Photo Editing Tools, Image Playground, and AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts. Daily limits may vary by feature, request complexity, system demand, system policies, and other factors. Expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future. Use of these features is subject to the Apple Intelligence Terms and Conditions.

See also

Tag: Messages
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How to react with Tapbacks in Messages on iPad

by Stacey Butler

Tapbacks give you a quick and easy way to respond to a message, such as a heart, a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, laughter, exclamation points, a question mark, and any sticker, Memoji, or emoji.

A Tapback is attached to a specific message, and everyone in the conversation can see it. If a message has more than one, they appear in a stack, and you can see who added each one. You can edit or remove only the Tapbacks you added, too.

A Messages conversation with Tapbacks attributions visible near the top of the screen, and the Tapbacks menu visible above a message.

React with a Tapback

  1. Go to the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. Open a conversation.
  3. Double-tap (or touch and hold) a message.
  4. Swipe left to see suggested emoji and stickers, or tap the Emoji button. Then tap to choose any of the following kinds of Tapbacks:
    • Other emoji: Tap the Emoji button (jump to other emoji categories with icons to the right of the Emoji button).
    • Stickers: Tap the Live Stickers button.

Each Tapback sticks to a specific message in a conversation, where everyone who’s part of the conversation can see it.

Find out who sent a Tapback

If a message has more than one Tapback, they appear in a stack, and you can find out who added each one.

  1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. Open a conversation with Tapbacks.
  3. Tap a stack of Tapbacks.

    Senders and their Tapbacks appear near the top of the screen.

Edit or remove your Tapback

You can only edit or remove the Tapbacks you added, not Tapbacks other people added.

  1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. Open a conversation.
  3. Tap your Tapback and then do one of the following:
    • Use a different Tapback: Tap a different emoji, Memoji, or sticker.
    • Remove the Tapback: Tap the same Tapback you used (so it’s not highlighted).

Each message can have only one Tapback. To send additional stickers, read our guide, Place stickers on a conversation.

See also

Tag: Messages
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How to format text and animate messages on iPad

by Dave Johnson

You can express yourself in the messages you send by formatting and animating text, or by adding effects to message bubbles or the entire screen. You can also search #images to find trending GIFs to send, and save GIFs others send to you (not available in all countries or regions).

Bold, italics, and underlining can format your text, and playful effects like explode or shake can go on a single word, emoji, sentence, or your entire message. Bubble and screen effects play when your recipient gets your message.

Note: Sending and receiving messages with formatting or effects only works if you and your recipients use iMessage. Recipients can see text formatting and text effects if they use iMessage on a device running iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, watchOS 11, or visionOS 2 or later. Otherwise, the messages appear in plain text.

Format and animate words

When you send texts with iMessage, you can use bold, italics, and underlining, or animate any letter, word, or sentence (even emoji) with playful effects like shake or explode.

A Messages conversation with a word selected in the text field, and formatting and effects options shown above it. The selected text appears with a preview of the effect.

  1. Go to the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. In a conversation, enter a message and then select the text you want to format or animate.
  3. Tap the Text Format button above the keyboard and then select your preferred formatting (bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough) or text effect (big, small, shake, nod, explode, ripple, bloom, or jitter).
  4. Tap the Send button.

You can format or apply effects to a single word, emoji, sentence, or your entire message. Tap the Text Format button before entering the text you want to format or apply effects to.

Add effects to the message bubble or the full screen

Special effects you can add, which play when your recipient gets your message, include the following:

  • Bubble effects that change how the message appears—Slam or Loud make it pop out, Gentle makes it arrive softly, and Invisible Ink blurs the bubble until your recipient swipes to reveal it
  • Full-screen animations like fireworks, balloons, confetti, lively lasers, a moving spotlight, or the echo effect, which fills the conversation with copies of your message bubble

A conversation in Messages including a text message and a photo sent with the Invisible Ink effect.

  1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. In a conversation, enter a message or insert an image or link.
  3. Touch and hold the Send button and then do one of the following:
    • Tap a gray dot to preview a bubble effect.
    • Tap Screen, then swipe left to preview different screen effects.
  4. Tap the Send button to send the message with the effect or the Close button to cancel the effect and return to your message.

Messages automatically uses the following screen effects for specific text strings:

  • Balloons for “Happy birthday”
  • Confetti for “Congratulations”
  • Fireworks for “Happy New Year”

If a full-screen effect doesn’t appear, or you want to turn off effects on messages you receive, see our guide, Stop or reduce onscreen motion.

Add an animated GIF

  1. Open the Messages app on your iPad.
  2. In a conversation, tap the Add button and then tap #images. (You may have to swipe up.)
  3. To search for a specific GIF, tap “Find images,” enter a keyword (like “birthday”). Then tap a suggestion or tap the Search key on the keyboard.
  4. Tap a GIF to add it to your message. Then tap the Send button.

To save a GIF that you receive in a message to the Photos app so you can use it again later, touch and hold the GIF, then tap Save.

To freeze GIF animations as still images, check out our article, Customize onscreen motion.

Note: GIFs from #images animate in the Messages app on Apple devices, but nowhere else.

See also

Tag: Messages
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How to scan text and documents in Notes using the iPad camera

by Dave Johnson

In the Notes app, you can use the camera to scan text and documents.

In supported languages, you can insert scanned text right into a note. When you scan a document, iPad can capture it automatically once it detects the page boundaries, or you can capture it yourself. Either way, it’s saved as a PDF right in the note.

Here’s how to scan text and documents in Notes using the iPad camera.

A screen showing a document being scanned. The Take Picture button is on the right.

Scan text into a note

The camera lets you insert scanned text in supported languages.

  1. Open the Notes app on your iPad.
  2. In a note, tap the Attachments button. Then tap Scan Text.
  3. Position your iPad so that the text appears within the camera frame.
  4. Drag or use grab points to select text and tap Insert.

Scan a document into a note

  1. Open the Notes app on your iPad.
  2. In a note, tap the Attachments button and tap Scan Documents.
  3. Position your iPad so that the document page appears on the screen, adjust any settings such as Flash (on supported models) or Filters. Do one of the following:

    • Automatic capture: Keep your iPad steady. Your iPad automatically captures the document when it detects the page boundaries. To make adjustments, tap the thumbnail, tap an option such as Adjust, make your changes, and then tap the Back button.
    • Manual capture: Tap Manual and tap the Take Picture button. Adjust the corners as needed and tap Retake or Keep.
  4. Scan additional pages, then tap the Done button when you’re done.

    The document is saved as a PDF in the note.

See also

Tags: camera, Notes
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How to work with PDFs in Notes on iPad

by Tyler Stephen

In the Notes app, you can attach, view, edit, and collaborate on PDFs, including documents you scanned into a note. You can also annotate or sketch directly on PDFs and scanned documents in your note using Apple Pencil or your finger, and even preview multiple PDFs in the same note.

You can change the viewing size to Small, Medium, or Large, view a PDF in full screen, and search in PDFs. When you collaborate on a note, others get real-time updates as you mark up a document.

Attach a PDF to a note

Do any of the following to attach a PDF from an app like Files or Mail:

  • Drag the file into a note.
  • Touch and hold the file, tap the Share button, tap Notes, choose a note, then tap Save.

View and edit a PDF in a note

  1. Open the Notes app on your iPad.
  2. In the note with the PDF, tap the Menu button. Then do any of the following:
    • Change the viewing size: Tap View As and choose Small, Medium, or Large.
    • View in full screen: Tap Quick Look.
    • Copy, save, print, share, rename, or delete the PDF: Choose an action.
  3. When viewing as Medium or Large, you can also do any of the following:
    • Show or hide thumbnails: Tap the Thumbnails button.
    • Zoom in and see more: Pinch the screen or swipe right to see more pages.
    • Edit a page: Tap the thumbnail for the page, tap the More button, and choose an action such as Rotate Left, Rotate Right, Filters, Crop Page, or Insert Blank Page. (Filters and Crop Page are supported only in scanned documents.)

Search in PDFs

For the steps, read our guide, Search through your notes.

Annotate a PDF in a note

  • Small preview size: Tap the PDF to open it, then tap the Handwriting Tools button.
  • Medium and large preview sizes: Start drawing or writing with Apple Pencil. Or to draw or write with your finger, tap the Handwriting Tools button.

To learn more about Markup, see our article, Write and draw in documents with Markup.

Collaborate with others

When you collaborate on a note with other people, updates happen in real time, so the people you share with see the changes on their devices as you add a sticker, draw a diagram, or mark up a document.

See also

Tag: Notes
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How to search your Freeform boards on iPad

by Kevin Hollington

You can search all your Freeform boards for text in handwriting, sticky notes, text boxes, shapes, and filenames. In the Freeform app, you can search within a board you’re in, or search all boards from the All Boards screen, where any board that contains the text appears in the results.

  1. Go to the Freeform app on your iPad.
  2. Do any of the following:

    • Search within a board: Tap the More button at the top right. Tap Find.
    • Search all boards: Tap the search field in the top-right corner of the All Boards screen. Any board that contains the text appears in the search results.

      (If you’re in a board, tap the Back button to access Search in All Boards.)

See also

Tag: Freeform
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How to delete and recover your Freeform boards and folders on iPad

by Moses Johnson

You can remove Freeform boards and folders you no longer need. You can also recover deleted items within 30 days if you change your mind.

If you delete a board that was shared with you directly, though, you lose access, while the owner and other participants still see it. A deleted board you own moves to Recently Deleted for everyone you share it with, where it stays for 30 days. You can also permanently remove an item.

Here’s how to delete and recover your Freeform boards and folders on iPad.

Delete a board

  1. Go to the Freeform app on your iPad.
  2. While browsing All Boards, tap the More button at the top, tap Select, and tap the boards you want to delete.

    (If you’re in a board, tap the Back button to browse All Boards.)

  3. Tap Delete at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

You can also touch and hold the thumbnail or name of the board, then tap Delete.

If you delete a board that was shared with you directly, you lose access. The owner and other participants still see the board.

When you delete a board that’s yours, or one in a folder someone shared with you, it goes into Recently Deleted for you and anyone you share it with, where it stays for 30 days.

Delete a folder

Important: To remove a folder but keep the boards inside it, move the boards before you delete the folder.

  1. Start the Freeform app on your iPad.
  2. While browsing boards, swipe left on the folder in the sidebar. Then tap the Delete Folder button. (If you don’t see the sidebar, tap the Show Sidebar button.)

    When you delete a folder that contains boards, the boards are deleted too. If the folder is shared, what other participants see depends on whether you own the folder or were invited to it.

    • If you delete a folder you own: The folder moves to Recently Deleted, where you can recover it or permanently delete it within 30 days. Participants can’t recover a folder you shared with them, but they can recover subfolders you shared with them that weren’t the top-level shared folder. To make sure the folder is gone and no longer shared with anyone, permanently delete it from Recently Deleted.
    • If you delete a folder someone else shared with you: You no longer see the folder, and the folder is removed from your devices. Others keep the folder, but no longer see your name listed as a participant. The owner still sees your name, marked as Invited, and you can rejoin later with the link you originally received.
    • If you delete a subfolder within a folder shared with you: The subfolder moves to Recently Deleted for you and everyone it’s shared with.

Recover a recently deleted board or folder

If you change your mind about deleting a board or folder, you can recover it.

  1. Start the Freeform app on your iPad.
  2. While browsing All Boards, tap Recently Deleted in the sidebar.

    Or while working in a window that isn’t full-screen, tap the Back button, then tap Recently Deleted.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • Recover a board or folder: Touch and hold the thumbnail or name of the recently deleted item and then tap Recover.

      Note: You can’t open a board from Recently Deleted, but you can review a deleted folder before you recover it—just tap it to see what’s inside.

    • Recover several boards or folders: Tap the More button at the top, tap Select, and then tap the boards or folders you want to recover. Tap Recover at the bottom of the screen.

Deleted boards and folders remain in Recently Deleted for 30 days.

  • If you were the owner of a shared board or folder that you deleted: Recovering a board or folder from Recently Deleted restores everyone’s access. If you want to make sure a shared folder is permanently deleted, delete it from Recently Deleted.
  • If you delete a board or subfolder you don’t own: You can recover the board or folder from Recently Deleted.
  • If the owner deleted the top-level folder that was shared with you: The folder appears in your Recently Deleted. You can’t recover it, but you can make a copy.

Permanently remove a deleted board or folder

Once a board or folder is deleted, you can remove it permanently. Owners can do that with any shared board or folder they own. Participants can only permanently remove a shared subfolder or board, not a top-level folder someone shared with them.

  1. Start the Freeform app on your iPad.
  2. While browsing Recently Deleted, touch and hold the board or folder, tap Delete, and then tap Delete.

Boards inside a shared folder are permanently removed, too, when you permanently remove the folder. And if you own the shared folder, everyone you’ve shared it with loses access.

See also

Tag: Freeform
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