So, you are on the go and need to edit some files? If you have your iPad, the iPad versions of the iWork applications and a Dropbox account, you can easily access, import, edit and deliver files while on the go.
Note: If you don’t have a Dropbox account, go get a free one and thank me later. Also, if you don’t know how to use Dropbox, watch the short video at the Dropbox website and you’ll be up and running in no time.
Now, you won’t be using the Dropbox iPhone app to do this. While Dropbox has a killer iPone app, in my initial testing, I had problems with the iPhone app properly displaying documents on my iPad. So, to accomplish the import, you’ll be accessing your account on the Dropbox website using Safari on the iPad.
Once you have your Dropbox account open in Safari, click on the file you want. On a desktop computer, your browser would either display the file or download it depending on your preferences. On the iPad, mobile Safari displays the file. While the file is displayed, a black bar across the top of the document displays the document title and a button asking whether you want to open the file:
Import Button in Safari
The black bar disappears after a few seconds so simply tap the screen to make it appear again. Tapping the “Open in…” button downloads the file to “My Library” (your library, actually) and displays it in the proper application. From there, you can edit, save, export, etc. While you can’t save it back to your Dropbox account from the iPad, you can send it off to its final destination by email or move it off the iPad when you get back to your computer. Moving files saved on your iPad to your computer and vice versa is a subject we’ll cover later (for those who can’t wait, see this Apple Support article)
Safari is context sensitive to the type of document being opened. So, open a Pages or a .doc file in Safari, and you get “Open in Pages” button. Find a Numbers or .xls spreadsheet, and the button asks “Open in Numbers.” In my tests, the imports from these various formats worked flawlessly. Below is a list of import compatibilities:
I know some small and solo firms that use Dropbox essentially as a server for all firm documents. Note that you can use this tip to pull editable documents from anywhere on the net, not just your Dropbox account. There are products similar to Dropbox that have similar features (I think Box.net is one of them) that should work the same way.
Let us know in the comments how you are managing files on your iPad.
Will it handle pdf files? I’ve been using dedicated pdf apps, including PDF Reader Pro, to transfer pdfs to the iPad.
While Safari can display pdf files, the ability to “Open in…” is not available with .pdf. So, a dedicated reader application looks to still be the way to go for .pdf. I’ve been testing the iPad version of GoodReader which I like because of its connectivity to Dropbox and other services (PDF Reader Pro may have similar functionality, I don’t know).
Yesterday, I had difficulty transferring two deposition transcripts (in ascii txt format) onto the ipad so i could read (and edit) them in pages.
First, I emailed them to myself. While I could open them in the mail program, i could not transfer them into the documents area of pages where I could then open and edit.
Then I took them home and used itunes to sync them with the ipad. But pages would not open the files because they were in .txt format rather than .doc. (How terribly annoying that pages would not open a .txt or .rtf file.)
So, I had to open the files with word to transform them into .doc, and then could open and edit.
Maybe dropbox will provide a solution for this. I guess I can check it out.
Or, maybe someone will come out with a smarter word processing program that I can use in place of pages.
I also found it strange that .txt is not a default import for Pages (I think it opens in Numbers). I suspect the import/export mechanism will be improved over time. I am disappointed so far with the .doc exports from Pages for certain types of formatting.
Perhaps the iPhone OS 4.0 announcement on Thursday will show some file management improvements.
Hi, I take it from your review that the files cannot be saved back up to dropbox?
That is my impression so far. Dropbox doesn’t have a system that would allow you to email a doc back to your account. Also, the file management system on the iPad doesn’t recognize Dropbox as a drive. The feature I described is accomplished through some Safari slight of hand. Perhaps some of the other services out there similar to Dropbox offer this functionality. I’ll have to check them out and report. Also, this might be addressed somewhat with iPhone OS 4.0, the features of which will be announced on Thursday.
Josh
Do the files have to be Pages 09? I’ve tried opening Pages 08 files on Dropbox from Safari on the iPad and I get two separate files a quick look and an xml file.
Thanks for pointing this out. It does look like the files have to be Pages 09. The reason for this is that Apple changed the way Pages stores files between 08 and 09. In 08, the files are saved as “packages.” In 09, the file is presented as a single “flat” file (more background here). I was also unable to pull a Pages 08 file from my Dropbox but Pages 09 worked fine. A frustrating situation. I think your options are to either (i) use the iTunes file management protocol (which is garbage, in my opinion), (ii) upgrade to 09 and save your 08 files in 09 format (I bet you can find a batch AppleScript to do this) or (iii) export to .doc format before moving to Dropbox.
No terrific answers, which is frustrating. I hope that helps. If you develop a solution, post it here as I’m sure others are experiencing the same thing.
Josh
Thanks. I think the best thing to do is upgrade. But I was waiting to see if there would be an iWork 10 coming out soon.
While Safari can display pdf files, the ability to “Open in…” is not available with .pdf. So, a dedicated reader application looks to still be the way to go for .pdf. I’ve been testing the iPad version of GoodReader which I like because of its connectivity to Dropbox and other services (PDF Reader Pro may have similar functionality, I don’t know).
GoodReader is a favorite of mine as well and yes, a pdf file you receive in Mail or find on the Web can be opened and saved to GoodReader. The latest version of GoodReader also allow you to save to your Dropbox account (not just pull things from the cloud). This has helped me immensely with file management.
I’m trying to find the easiest way to add PPT files to my ipad. Ibook always me to just drag pdf files to IPad. I was hoping dropbox would provide a fast way to upload files to my ipad, but I still have to upload files to dropbox and then download them. Uploading a 20MB file and then downloading it takes a long time as opposed to just dragging a pdf to Ipad, but I’m not trying to convert every ppt file to a pdf or mp4 file. Can anyone help me around this dilemma? Cheers,FT
.ppt files can be viewed using a number of apps, though GoodReader (iTunes Link) is my favorite. As far as getting the files on the iPad without the upload and download that cloud based services like Dropbox requires, I would suggest trying the sync function built into iTunes discussed on page 32 of the iPad user manual.
I use ezubi (http://www.ezubi.com) on my computer, iPad and iPhone to view ans share documents. On the iPad, you can download the document, edit with pages and send it back to you ezubi account very easily.
Hope it helps.
I am totally computer impaired. I just bought an iPad and have had no problems with any of the apps. That is until I downloaded this one. I have worked for the last 3 nights trying to get it to work with no luck. The download was a success but no icon on my desktop to click and drag files to. For me, this app is a complete and total mess.
There’s a new service called DropDAV that allows seamless syncing between Dropbox and Pages, Numbers or Keynote on the iPad. DropDAV simulates a WebDAV front-end, allowing you to transfer files to and from the iPad. It’s fast, really easy to use, and offers a free 14-day trial. Check it out at https://dropdav.com
I have Dropbox on my iPad but cannot edit any documents. What am I doing wrong?
Need to know ASAP
Thanks