- Activity screen
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This is the default screen when you first log in to 2life. It summarizes activity within the app (with the exception of chat messages) in chronological order with the most recent at the top. The profile picture in each cell indicates who took the action; tapping on a cell will take you to the indicated section of the app.
This is also where you will receive occasional messages from 2life and our content, brand and marketing partners.
- Menu
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The menu lists all the features of 2life, separated into Tools, Content, and Info. The details of each feature can be found below. The "hamburger" icon (top left corner of most screen views) opens the menu drawer.
Important: The bar at the top of the menu displays the profile picture and name of the person who is logged in. There may be a device, such as an iPad, that the two of you share; if you are using 2life on that device, it may be important to verify who is logged in. To switch users, log out by tapping on Logout (in the info section of the menu); this will take you to the login screen where you can enter your own user name (email address) and password.
- Profiles
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Go to the profiles tab (in the information section of the menu) to add or change your profile picture and tell us a little bit about yourself. If you are still using 2life alone, you will find information here for connecting with your partner.
To store information for your partner's future reference, tap on the About Me button and select a category from the menu. This will take you to a list of suggestions. To enter or edit information, tap on the pencil icon and enter your text in the white window. Tap the "Save" button when you're done.
Put in your clothing sizes, favorite colors, and so on, for when your partner would like to buy something for you.
Record any information that might be necessary in case of a medical emergency, such as allergies, medications, and so on.
List the names of important people in your life: your mother, father, best friend, boss, sister, sister's boyfriend, etc.
Customize your "About Me" profile as you please:
- To add your own categories, tap on the top cell ("add new category") on the menu. The new item appears at the end of the list.
- To delete one of our suggested categories, swipe right or left on the cell to bring up the delete button.
- To add your own sub-categories, tap on the top cell ("add new sub-category"). The new item appears at the end of the list.
- To delete a sub-category, swipe left or right on the cell to bring up the delete button, or tap on the pencil icon then tap on the garbage can icon in the edit view.
NOTE: you can edit your own profile, but your partner's is read-only.
- Chat
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This private chat space is like a hotline to your partner. You will always recognize it as the 2life chat screen, eliminating the risk of sending a private message to the wrong person!
Enter your message by tapping on the field at the bottom. You can type it, or dictate it using Siri. When ready to send, tap Send button. Messages are displayed in chronological order with the most recent at the bottom.
NOTE: Chat is limited to 128 characters per message. This is for technical reasons (encryption, efficient transmission, etc.). Anything in excess of that limit will be cut off. If you want to send a longer message, divide it into shorter chunks. For a really long and important message, the journal might be a good alternative!
We recommend enabling Push Notifications. Then you will receive an alert when a message has arrived from your partner, even when you are elsewhere in the 2life app.
TIP: Enter text by talking
On iPhone 4S or later, instead of typing you can dictate journal entries, lists, even chat messages, using Siri.
TIP: Emoticons
You can use the huge selection of emoticons offered in iOS 6. Here’s what to do:
- Remember the following steps, because you need to leave 2life to do this.
- Go to your device’s Settings.
- Tap on General.
- Scroll down and tap on Keyboards.
- On the Keyboard screen, tap on Keyboards.
- Tap on Add new keyboard.
- Choose Emoji from the menu.
That’s it! Back in the 2life app (or others), tap on the Globe icon at the bottom of the text-entry screen to toggle between keyboards.
For more about Emoji, visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4976.
- Calendar
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When you first launch 2life, you will be asked to give 2life permission to access your calendar. If you allow this (recommended), the 2life calendar syncs with the native calendar on your device, so that your shared events and your own non-shared events will appear both in your device's native calendar and your 2life calendar.
Events entered on your device calendar will NOT be shared with your partner.
Shared events
To add a shared event, use the calendar in 2life. Choose the date on the 2life calendar and tap on the + icon top right (or tap on the + and change the date in the detail view). Events that are entered in the 2life calendar will automatically be shared with your partner. The 2life bubble icon indicates that the item has been shared.
Solo events
Events that you do not wish to share should be entered in the native calendar on your device. These will appear in the 2life calendar, but on your own device only.
- Lists
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When you tap on the Lists tab in the menu, the Lists view appears — that is, a list of your lists. (Note: the word "lists" is in the bar at the top of the screen.) They are in chronological order with the most recent at the top. To add a new list, tap on "add new list".
Each list has a name and the date it was created. To edit the name of a list, tap on the pencil icon (top right corner of screen) to make the page editable and tap on the name you wish to edit. (Tapping on the X that appears at this stage deletes the name, not the list itself.) Tap Done when finished.
To delete a list, swipe left on the list name to bring up the Delete button.
Tap on the list name to see the items on the list. (Note: the name of the list will appear in the bar at the top of the screen.)
Tap on "add new list item" to do so.
Tap on the circle to change the status (mark the item as complete or incomplete).
Swipe left on the item to bring up the delete button.
A grey star next to the item indicates that there is a note attached in the detail view; see below.
List item detail view
Tap on the item name to bring up the detail view. Here you can see the date the item was added and completed, as well as any notes attached to the item. You can delete the item by tapping on the garbage can icon.
Tap on the pencil icon (top right corner) to make the page editable. You can edit the item name, change the status (complete/incomplete), or add a note by tapping on the Note field.
Notes may include web links. Type in the URL or copy it from the in-app browser (see Links, below) or elsewhere on your device, and paste it in. The link becomes active when you are finished editing the page and tap "Done." Links open in the in-app browser (and when you close the browser you will return to the same list item detail view).
If there is something in the note field, a grey star will appear next to that item in the list.
Upgrade for more lists
2life Basic (free) includes three active lists. Upgrade to 2life Premium ($9.99 per year per joint account) to make unlimited use of this valuable tool, as well as Journal and Photos (see below). If you have not upgraded to 2life Premium, there is a banner on the lists view reading "get unlimited lists!". If you tap on the banner, or if you attempt to create a fourth list, the screen about 2life Premium comes up. You may upgrade by tapping MORE INFO to proceed to the App Store, or tap anywhere on the screen to return to the Lists view.
TIP: great list ideas
Here are just a few ideas for how to use the LISTS tool in 2life. Don't forget that you can add notes and web links for more robust lists.
- Groceries
- Other shopping lists for specific stores or projects
- To-dos
- Errands
- Chores
- Tasks related to a project you're doing or event you're planning together
- Holiday gift shopping list
- Possible party menus
- Our favorite recipes
- Wines to try
- Party guest list
- Restaurants to try
- Movies to see
- Your gift wish list(s)
- Vacation ideas: possible destinations, accommodations, etc.
- Vacation packing list
- Baby names
- Weekend getaway ideas
- Bucket list
- Photos
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This is the place to store photos that are special or relevant to the two of you.
To add a photo, tap on the + icon (top right corner) and either use the camera or choose from your library.
Photo detail view
Tap on a photo in the gallery view to open the detail view:
- add or read comments by tapping on the bubble icon (enter comment in the field at the bottom); to dismiss the comments view, tap anywhere on the screen.
- tap on the arrow icon to share to social media, attach to an email, or save to camera roll
- delete by tapping on the garbage can icon
- scroll through photos by swiping left or right
Upgrade for more photos
2life Basic (free) includes 20 uploaded photos. Upgrade to 2life Premium ($9.99 per year per joint account) to make unlimited use of this valuable tool, as well as Journal (see below) and Lists (see above). If you have not upgraded to 2life Premium, there is a banner on the photo gallery view reading "get unlimited photos!". If you tap on the banner, or if you attempt to upload a 21st photo, the screen about 2life Premium comes up. You may upgrade by tapping MORE INFO to proceed to the App Store, or tap anywhere on the screen to return to the photo gallery view.
- Journal
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Tapping on the Journal tab takes you to a menu.
Tap on the lock icon to see a list of your private entries (if you are using a device that the two of you share, verify who is logged in by checking the name at the top of the main menu drawer). These are not shared with your partner. To create a new entry, tap on the + icon.
Tap on the arrow icon to see a list of entries shared with your partner. To create a new entry, tap on the + icon.
Tap on the list icon to see all entries. The lock and arrow icons in the list indicate which are private and which shared.
Upgrade for more Journal entries
2life Basic (free) includes two private journal entries per partner plus two shared entries (six in total). Upgrade to 2life Premium ($9.99 per year per joint account) to make unlimited use of this valuable tool, as well as Lists and Photos (see above). If you have not upgraded to 2life Premium, there is a banner reading "get unlimited journals!". If you tap on the banner, or if you attempt to create a third entry, the screen about 2life Premium comes up. You may upgrade by tapping MORE INFO to proceed to the App Store, or tap anywhere on the screen to return to the journal.
TIP: how to use Journal
Here are just a few ideas for how to use the Journal tool in 2life:
- Keep a journal about your relationship
- Write mini reviews of restaurants or movies you go to together
- Write love letters or poems
- Keep a record of special moments
- Make your joint bucket list
- Remember gift ideas
TIP: enter text by talking
On iPhone 4S or later, instead of typing you can dictate journal entries using Siri.
- Links
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Use the in-app browser in 2life when you're searching the web for anything related to your life together. That way you can save any link to share with your partner within the app with just a couple of taps. (Or you can copy the URL to paste into a note on a list item.) You can give the link a name or attach a note about it.
To add a link, tap on the + icon in the top right-hand corner. This opens a detail view. You can enter a URL manually, or open the browser and tap on the Share icon at the bottom of the screen. If you add a title, that's what will appear in the list of links; otherwise the url will be listed.
On each item in the list of links:
- the profile picture indicates who added it
- a grey star indicates that there is a note attached
- tapping on the cell opens the link in the in-app browser
- tapping on the pencil icon takes you to the detail view, where you can enter or edit a title or add a note
- swiping left on the cell brings up the delete button
Note: links shared from elsewhere in the app (such as the Shopping tab or the Content section, see below) will also show up here. Shared links are in chronological order with the most recent at the top.
TIP: how to use links
We believe you will find this feature indispensable. Browsing the web using the 2life in-app browser makes it easy to share any link with your partner, such as:
- a recipe you want to try
- an interesting or funny article
- a video
- a real estate listing
- an item you'd like to purchase
- a movie, restaurant, vacation destination, etc.
- and so on!
- Shopping
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Tap on the Shopping tab to find some of 2life's favorite online retailers. This carefully curated selection was chosen by 2life's editorial team. Tap on a retailer name to open a menu of their offerings — online store, blog, store locator, etc. — and tap on one of these to open that link in the 2life browser.
Doing your online shopping within the 2life app lets you share links with your partner with just a couple of taps, and all of your shared links will be stored in one place (see Links, above). This helps you with your joint buying decisions… and also lets you drop hints or ask opinions.
To share a link with your partner, tap on the Share icon at the bottom of the screen in the in-app browser (when you are on the web page that you want to share).
- Content
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2life's content section is like your virtual mailbox or coffee table — your go-to source for reading that will inform, entertain and inspire you.
The iPad is ideal for browsing our content section, especially the magazines; you can see it all on your iPhone or iPod Touch, too.
Daily: Our bloggers dish up tasty tidbits about relationships, nesting, food, travel, pop culture, and more.
Magazine: Here you'll find Covet Garden, a monthly home decor magazine featuring inspired real-life interiors.
Date Night: Our suggestions for spending some quality time together.
Spotlight: Here you will find seasonal or current features, as well as a carefully curated selection of partners whose offerings include digital magazines, blogs and more.
- 2life Weddings: This is one of our areas of expertise, so visit this section if there's a wedding in your future. You'll find plenty of inspiration.
- The Kit: beauty and fashion for women
- Exclaim!: news and views on the current music scene
- Metro News: current events from Canada's most-read national daily newspaper
- Garden Making: inspiring and informing Canada's gardeners
- Sharp for Men: fashion, health and lifestyle for men
- Zoomer: lifestyle for discriminating 45-plus readers
Galleries: Browse these inspiring collections of home decor, recipes and entertaining ideas, DIY projects, and travel detsinations.
Follow us: We're out there on social media, so join our community of 2lifers!
- Info
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Profiles: Please refer to the Profiles section above.
Settings: Here you can add or edit your name. "Display name" (in the third field) is the one that appears in the app and in notifications. The email address you used to register for 2life is displayed below it. If you received a special promo code, this is where to enter it, once your joint account has been created. The "Remember me" button refers to your login information. You can change your password by tapping on the last button.
Upgrade: Tap here to go to the app store and upgrade to 2life Premium.
Tell a friend: Send an email or a tweet to your friends to tell them about 2life.
If you choose Mail, an email message will come up. When you tap on the "To" field, a + sign will appear that lets you choose from your contacts, or you can enter addresses manually. You can edit or add to the message, or delete it and write your own.
If you choose Twitter, a tweet comes up that you can send to your followers. You can edit the message, or delete it and write your own.
Help: If you can't find what you're looking for here, send an email to support@2life.io.