How to back up your iPad to a Mac

You can back up iPad using iCloud or your Mac. To back up the tablet up to a Mac: 

1. Connect iPad and your computer with a cable.
2. In the iTunes app on your PC, click the iPad button near the top left of the iTunes window.
3. Click Summary.
4. Click Back Up Now (below Backups).
5. To encrypt your backups, select “Encrypt local backup,” type a password, then click Set Password.

To see the backups stored on your computer, choose Edit > Preferences, then click Devices. Encrypted backups have a lock icon in the list of backups.

Note: You can also connect iPad to your computer wirelessly if you set up syncing over Wi-Fi.

(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages — where the images sometimes come from.)