Five useful iPad Safari tricks (photos)

Access your favorite Web sites faster with a desktop-like bookmarks bar that stays on top of any page in Safari.

To enable it, go to Settings > Safari > Always Show Bookmarks Bar. Then, head to a Web site in Safari and tap the arrow at the top to add a bookmark. Edit the bookmark title (the shorter the better), and make sure it's sorted under "Bookmarks Bar". Hit "Save" and repeat for any other sites you want to add.

On your desktop browser, it's easy to add bookmarklets, which are like extensions or add-ons. For example, Instapaper's bookmarklet lets you add an article to your "to read" list, and Readability gives you a text-only, ad-free view of any page.

Bookmarklets work on iPads (and iPhones or iPod Touches), too.

First, bookmark any Web site. Find the bookmarklet you want to add and copy the link (Javascript) to the clipboard. Then head to the bookmark you added in the first step. Edit the name to match your new bookmarklet (i.e. "Instapaper"), and paste the Javascript in the address field, replacing the old URL.

For a great list of Bookmarklets, go here, and here.

If you're filling in your personal information each time you encounter a Web form, you're wasting time. Instead, use Safari's built-in AutoFill feature to let your iPad do the work for you.

Head to the Contacts app, and add a new contact with your name and personal information. Fill out as much information as you feel comfortable with and save. Now go to Settings > Safari > AutoFill. Turn "Use Contact info" on, and select your name in the option below. If you'd like, you can also enable Safari to remember names and passwords.

Many Web sites use embedded scroll boxes, or pop-up windows with scroll bars (especially throughout Facebook). One-finger scrolling doesn't work in those windows. The solution? Scroll with two fingers instead.

Safari lets you add any link to your home page and launch it as you would an app. This saves a lot of time when launching your favorite Web sites and HTML5 Web apps.

To add a link, launch Safari and go to the page you want to bookmark. With two fingers, zoom into the area of the page you want to appear as the "app" icon. Then tap the arrow at the top, select "Add to Home Screen", edit the name, and hit "Save".

Some Web sites already have designated bookmark icons, which will show up instead of the zoomed area you chose.