The previous tutorial explained how to find iPad apps in the App Store; in this tutorial, we will show you how to search and find apps you already have installed on your iPad, but that are hard to find through all the Home screens of icons you already have on your device. Your iPad will even let you search in that same way inside the content of documents (created in Pages, for example), and even email messages you have received in Mail. But, if like most users you end up installing a plethora of apps, you will find yourself using this search functionality quite often!
Locate an app on your iPad
Follow these steps to search for an app currently installed on your iPad:
First, click on the Home button, as shown on the screenshot on the left.- This will bring you back to the first Home screen - if you had an app open at the time, it will simply close the app and bring you back to the last Home screen selected. In that case, click once more on the Home button to see the first Home screen (the leftmost one).
- Once you are on the main Home screen, click again on the Home button, and your iPad will display a search field and an on-screen keyboard.
- Start typing the first few letters of the app name in the text field, and your iPad will start listing in real time all matching results (as mentioned earlier, it will search through app names, documents, emails, etc. - just like Spotlight on Mac OS X).
- Once you see the app you were searching for, just tap on it, and it will open in the foreground.
This is all you need to do to search and find an app on your iPad!
iPad Tip: your iPad will of course only search for apps that are currently installed on it; if you have removed the app, or not yet synchronized it from iTunes, it will not appear inside the search results - this is normal.
Another tip: if you click once or twice on the Home button of your iPad, it will bring back the search screen, and automatically reload the last search results - this spares you from having to retype the same query to find an app!