Let’s be honest, finding the perfect app isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes having an app that does one thing really well is much better than having an app that does a lot of things but with some glitches. Fortunately, your iPhone along with some Android devices, have out-of-the-box solutions to some very useful tools for those days where you just didn’t carry your tool belt with you. For the purpose of this article, I will be speaking directly to the iPhone users.
Compass
The on-board accelerometer is a great function to have, especially when the need for a compass arises. What you may not know, is that if you swipe left on the Compass app’s main screen, a full display level appears which is extremely accurate. After performing a quick calibration on the start of the app, use the iPhone Compass app to quickly level anything without the use for a traditional metal level. It’s super easy to use and not many know about this hidden app.
Weather
Not sure what to wear for an outdoor build? Maybe this week has some odd weather in store for you and you want to know before you dress too warm or too light. Setting up the Weather app to monitor multiple locations is a great idea to keep an eye out for changing weather conditions over a range of territories. Another quick tip is to ask Siri for some weather information before you leave the house, it will come in handy on those really busy days.
iBooks
Did you know that you can save those huge build drawings to your phone in a couple of simple steps? Granted, having the full printed drawing is essential in order to properly scale your build, but having access to it through the iPhone iBooks app is a great quick reference guide when you really need to know a small detail but don’t have the space to take out the huge sheets. Save some of those important documents to your iPhone by opening the email it was attached to, holding your finger down on the attachment until the contextual menu pops up on the bottom of the screen. Then, find the orange iBooks icon to save the PDF to your iPhone. It’s that easy.
Hopefully this small guide helps you out on those hectic days where you need access to some quick tools on the site.
