As reported by The Mac Observer: Geofencing - what is that, anyway? Some high-tech national
border security measure?
No… it’s technology that, among other
things, allows for the creation of virtual boundaries via GPS-enabled,
location-aware smart devices. Geofencing technology has been around for several years, but used only for the likes of Bond, James Bond, and others of that ilk.
For mere mortals, this technology is now available on our iPhones as well as on our assisted-GPS, wireless/cellular equipped
iPads.
You can see geofencing in action on
your iOS device by using the Reminders app. Recently, I discovered quite by
accident - and was delighted to learn - that the geofencing perimeter can be
adjusted. Here's how.
First and foremost, you need to have
Location Services enabled for all this to work. To verify this, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
Verify that Location
Services is enabled globally and for Reminders
There you will find the master switch; make sure it’s on.
Further down, you will see a list of all apps on your device that support
Location Services. You can keep enabled just the ones you want. It’s probably a
good idea to
go through these and fine-tune your settings. In any event, scroll down until
you locate Reminders, and make sure Location Services is enabled.
For everything to work as described in
this article, you also need to make sure that notifications are enabled for the
Reminders app.
This is done via Settings > Notification Center.
Make sure that Reminders is listed in
the Include section. From there, you can configure the
Reminders notification just the way you want.
Back to the Reminders app…
In Reminders you have the ability to
set what are known as Location Reminders. That is, you can
be alerted about a reminder based on when you arrive or leave a location. This
is what geofencing is all about!
Let’s use one of my own scenarios as an example. I tend to
procrastinate when it comes to cleaning up my office. I want to be automatically reminded to work on
this task each and every time I am about to pull into my garage. Thanks to the
Location Services and Geofencing features supported by the Reminders app on my
iPhone, I am alerted via a notification as I am entering into a pre-defined
perimeter radius surrounding my business.
Here are the steps in Reminders for
setting up a Location Reminder based on when you arrive or leave a
location:
1.
Add a new reminder by first tapping one of your lists where you want it to
appear, then tap a blank line.
2.
While editing your reminder, tap the Info button for a list of details
regarding the reminder. Remember that to see the Info button you must tap on
the reminder to enter the Edit Reminder mode.
The Info button is
only visible when tapping a reminder
3. In the Details panel, enable the Remind me at a
Location switch.
Tapping on the Info
button takes you to the reminder’s Details panel
4. Tap Location, then choose a location from the
list, or enter an address.
5.
Select whether you want to be notified upon arrival or upon leaving the address.
6.
You can accept the predefined perimeter of the geofence or adjust it by
dragging in or out the black dot defining the edge of the geofence. This sets
the approximate distance at which you want to be reminded.
7. Tap on Details at the top-left to
return to the Details panel, where you can set other options like priority,
which list you want this reminder to appear in, and any notes regarding this
reminder.
8. Tap
on Done at the top-right. You’re all set!
When the reminder is
configured, all details are visible in the main Reminders app
It may be useful to know that you can add common locations
to your personal info card in the Contacts app. When you set a location
reminder, locations in the list include addresses from your card. For instance,
add your work, home, and other favorite addresses to your card for easy access
in Reminders.
Finally, don’t forget that you are also
able to silence all notifications temporarily by turning on Do Not
Disturb. This is configured in Settings >
Do Not Disturb.
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