OK - a couple of different issues here.
The iPad's 'Contacts' app can display Groups that are imported from, say, a PC or Mac but there is no facility for adding new groups in the iPad itself.
Furthermore, even those Groups that were imported when you sync'd with your PC or Mac are only partially supported in the iPad's Mail app.
If you have some imported groups then, when you're in your Mail program and sending a new mail, in the 'To' field you'll see a '+' sign to the right hand side of the 'To' field box. If you touch that it opens up your Contacts list. In the window that opens up you'll see a 'Groups' button to the top left hand side of the window and you can touch that to display any existing groups in your contacts list. However, even if you select a pre-existing group, you still have to choose the members of that group - one-by-one - that you want to include in the address field of the email. There is no option to simply include them all.
However, as always, there is an app to solve this problem. You need to download 'MailShot' from the iPad's app store. This provides the capability of creating new Groups in your Contacts list and the ability to select them - and all of the group members at once - from the iPad's native mail app. Most Forum members who use the iPad's native Mail app to send emails to multiple recipients use MailShot and it's received universal praise.
The 'red slider' that you mentioned was a separate matter. This occurs when you want to totally 'turn off' the iPad, rather than simply 'putting it to sleep' (when it just enters a low-power state). Sometimes powering the iPad completely down and then starting it up again can be a fix for a number of 'unexplained' problems - just like you might restart your PC occasionally.
The easiest first way to try to solve ‘unexplained’ or ‘unusual’ problems with the iPad are:-
Force the offending app to close. If you have iOS 4.2 double-press the ‘Home’ button to bring up the multi-task bar at the bottom of the screen. Press *and hold* any icon until they start to ‘jiggle’. Then tap the top left-hand corner of the app that you want to close. It will ‘disappear’ from the list. Don’t panic - you’ve not deleted it, just closed it. Now tap the Home screen and the multi-task bar will disappear. Re-open the iPad’s app and see if the problem has resolved itself. If not, it’s on to possible solution number two!!
Restart the iPad. Press *and hold* the Power button. After a couple of seconds a slider control will appear asking you to confirm that you really want to switch the iPad off (this is all you’ll be doing). Slide the control to accept. A rotating white ‘bezel’ will appear in the iPad screen as the iPad powers down (it takes a few seconds, just like it would if you were shutting down your PC). When the screen of the iPad has gone completely blank, press *and hold* the Power button for a couple of seconds until the white Apple logo appears and the iPad starts to power up. This takes several seconds, so be patient. During the power up the automatic screen orientation function is disabled, so don’t panic. A few seconds before the power up is complete, the iPad plays a little ‘jingle’ and then you’re back to the Home screen. Restart the iPad’s app and see if the problem persists. Apple (and Forum members) recommend that you power down your iPad at least once a week, just as you might regularly completely switch off your PC. The normal procedure of just briefly pressing the Power button of the iPad merely puts it to ‘sleep’. Most Forum members have found that one of the two methods I’ve mentioned here cure a whole bunch of unexplained problems and are an easy first step to resolving most anything that happens on the iPad.
Tim
Scotland
