One of the key features of the iPad is the ability to customize the look and feel of the device. An easy way to customize your iPad is to change the layout of the icons on the Home screen. To do this you will need to know how to rearrange the icons on an iPad. Having a layout for your Home screen which suits you and your needs is important if you want to enjoy using your iPad. Icons which are placed in awkward positions on the screen or in seemingly nonsensical order will distract you from what you are really trying to do on your iPad.

The iPad is a very user friendly device and, as such, it takes no time at all to customize it. One of the very easiest ways of customizing an iPad is rearranging the icons. Any iPad owner can rearrange the icons to their liking in just a few minutes if they follow the instructions. There are two different methods of rearranging iPad icons; through the iPad itself and by using iTunes. No matter which method you choose, the process is easy and requires little technical knowledge of any sort. Once you have learned to arrange your icons for the first time you will be able to continue customizing your iPad easily in the future.

Before you begin rearranging your icons it is important to understand what an icon is and how it is used. Icons are small graphic images which represent a file, program, application, etc. These icons are the visual representation that you refer to when opening anything on a computer or device. Having the right icons at your disposal is important for keeping organized, remembering what is installed on your computer and where, and having easy access to anything you might need.http://www.axialis.com/tutorials/tutorial-whatsanicon.html

Each time you install a new app on your iPad a new icon will be placed on your Home screen. If you have many different applications on your iPad your Home screen may begin to become crowded or disorganized. When this happens it is time to rearrange your icons. You should rearrange your icons so that they are in an organized and orderly fashion, according to how you use them. Place icons where you think they should go. The iPad allows you to rearrange icons easily and even place them on multiple Home screens so that you never need to look through a sea of icons to locate the application that you want to use.

One method of rearranging icons on your Home screen is to do it directly through the iPad. Rearranging icons is easy and takes very little time or effort. This is the method to use if you are not near a computer or simply do not want to connect your iPad to a computer.

1. Touch and hold the icon that you want to move.
2. The icon will begin to shake or wiggle.
3. Drag your icon to its new location.
4. Move any other icons that you wish to move.
5. To spread your icons out over multiple Home screens, drag an icon to the left or right side of the screen. A new Home screen will appear and you can place your icon in its new position.
6. When you are finished rearranging your icons, tap the Home button to save your changes.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iPad_User_Guide.pdf

Once you have rearranged your icons you can move on and use your iPad as normal. If you notice that your icons aren't in the best position you can easily enter the edit mode and rearrange them again. The more icons that you have, the harder it is to keep them organized. Try branching out and placing icons on multiple Home screens. A good way to organize your icons is to place the ones that you use the most often in the most prominent position and then group similar applications together in another part of the screen or on different Home screens.

Another method of rearranging your iPad icons is to use iTunes. This requires you to have your iPad near a computer. You will need to hook up your iPad to the computer and rearrange them using your computer's iTunes software, not your iPad's iTunes software. This method is just as easy to do as using only the iPad but it does require more preparation.

1. Connect your iPad to your computer using the cable which came with it.
2. Open iTunes if it does not open on its own.
3. Click on your iPad under Devices.
4. Click on the Apps tab. You will now be able to see and rearrange your icons.
5. In the left hand column you will see your installed apps. On the right you will see your Home screen. Below these you will see all of your available Home screens.
6. Select the Home screen that you want to rearrange.
7. Drag the icon from the left side and place it where you want.
8. To move icons from Home screen to Home screen, drag the icon from one screen down to the screen you want it placed on.
9. Click Apply when you are done. Your icons will be rearranged when you next sync your iPad.http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial170.html

These method works just as well as rearranging icons through the iPad itself. Use whichever method that you like the best.