iOS 4: Working with App Folders

iOS 4 lets users group apps into folders, which makes for easier organization, and potentially fewer finger swipes to find just the app you need. Working with folders is easy, and you can customize folder names, too.

Create App Folders
To create a folder, just tap and hold on an app on your iPhone or iPod touch. Once the apps start jiggling, drag one app onto another to make a folder. iOS 4 will name the folder based on the types of apps you grouped, but you can change that name if you like.

iOS 4 auto-ads an App Folder to the iPod touch

Folders can hold up to 12 apps, and folders can’t be placed inside other folders.

Edit App Folders
To rename a folder, tap and hold any folder or app icon until the apps start jiggling. Now tap the folder you want to rename to display its name and contents. Tap the folder name to show the on-screen keyboard, and enter the folder’s new name. Tap Done to complete the process.

Editing folder names

You can also remove apps from a folder from here. Just tap and drag an app out to the Home screen, or to another folder. The app delete button lets you remove apps from your iPhone or iPod touch even when they’re in folders.

As long as you are in edit mode, indicated by the jiggling icons, you can remove apps from a folder and rearrange them just like apps that aren’t in folders.

Deleting App Folders
App folders don’t include the delete button that third party apps display when they jiggle in edit mode. Instead, you dragging all of the apps out of a folder will make it go away.

Using App Folders
To launch an app that’s in an App Folder, just tap the folder. The Home screen icons will fade to gray, and the apps in your folder will slide into view. Just tap the app you want to launch.

App Folders are great for keeping your apps organized and easy to find. Since you group up to 12 apps in a folder and keep multiple folders on a single screen, you may be able avoid swiping left and right, which is a big thing for people like me that horde hundreds of apps.