One of the subjects new iPad users ask me about most frequently is file management. This is understandable. Using files on an iPad is different than using them on a computer. For example, on your computer, the typical workflow to send a file by e-mail is to write an e-mail in a e-mail application, click the “Attach” button and then find the file you want. On the iPad, this same workflow sends you first to the app where the file is located (which isn’t an e-mail application), select the file (how to do this varies among apps), tap the “E-mail file” button (the location of which varies among apps) and then write an e-mail.
“Backwards” is how one new user described the process to me. And in thinking about it, she is right. I chuckle everyday when I have to click the “Start” button on my Windows PC at work in order to “Shut Down” or “Logoff” but this is no less intuitive than having to open a word processing app to send an e-mail.
Recognizing this, I’ve decided to write about some of these iPad 101 questions from time to time. Today’s installment about file management comes in the form of a very short series of slides* graphically representing how the iPad manages files and how using a service like Dropbox (or any cloud based file storage solution) can make this file management process more intuitive.
Some points to remember:
- If you want to use a file (print, view, email, etc.), go to the app where the file is stored.
- If you want to use a file in a different app than where it is stored, go to the app where the file currently resides and use the “Open in…” button to send it to the app you want to use the file in. Not all apps have this capability, but more are adding it.
- I prefer using file management apps like Air Sharing HD (iTunes link), GoodReader (iTunes Link) and ReaddleDocs (iTunes link) over using each app’s individual file storage area when cloud integration isn’t possible.”
- I prefer Internet file storage when integrated into an app over local file storage. In this instance, your Dropbox, iDisk or other cloud storage is sort of like the “My Documents” folder on your computer.
* Slides created in Keynote for iPad.
I have attempting to determine what is the best way to do the following:
1. Get files from my work computer to my iPad.
2. Edit the files on my iPad.
3. Return the edited work files to my work computer.
Because it is a work computer, I cannot install iTunes. Do you know if GoodReader or ReaddleDocs has a USB thumb-drive type emulation?
Also, I have been concerned with the “Open In” iPad feature because my understanding is that some apps do not save changes back to the original application. For example, let’s say I have a Word document in “GoodReader.” If I use the “Open In” feature in GoodReader to open the Word document in another application, make and save changes in the other application, will the changes be reflected in the file when I see it in GoodReader again?
RSM
A few comments
- “Open in…” is probably the easiest way to get a doc to it’s destination if it is already in your email.
- when yountalk about editing, I presume you mean .doc files? Many apps that edit files are integrating Dropbox and other services in a way that treats Dropbox like a normal drive. For example, QuickOffice integrates Dropbox. If you open a Word file from your Dropbox from within QuickOffice, it will remember to save the file back to Dropbox when you finish editing. No other steps needed. The key is to give QuickOffice your Dropbox credentials and not try to “Open in…QuickOffice” from the Dropbox app.
- on the situation you described, when you edit the .doc file, it will not be saved back to GoodReader. That is what I wanted to convey in the slides to this post. Files are sandboxed. Cloud based storage is better for this reason at present. The more I really work with files on the iPad, the more convinced I am that this will inevitably have to change so that apps can access the same root folder structure for storing and accessing files.
- are you able to use Dropbox or a similar cloud tool I your environment?
I’d be curious to learn how many lawyers at large law firms use cloud storage programs like DropBox. My firm forbids placing any files in the “cloud” due to “security concerns.” Personally, I think this is an unsupportable position. It first assumes that someone will care enough to hack into DropBox to find out about my clients’ legal issues, which is incredibly unlikely. When was the last time you read about something like that? Also, I don’t think certain cloud storage services like DropBox are any less secure than our firms’ document management systems. Moreover, the reality of law practice today is that lawyers have to work outside the office, whether it’s from the road or from their residences. Accessibility to firm document management systems is extremely slow, unreliable, and overall very poor. My ability to use the cloud to store my most frequently used files is vital to practicing efficiently, and it’s hardly less secure than e-mailing documents to myself, which is the alternative many lawyers resort to as a result of poor DM systems.
I realize that for smaller firms this is not as much of an issue as they have more autonomy and lower overhead. I would be interested to hear from lawyers at larger firms about their experiences using the cloud to store documents — does it violate their firm’s policies? Do they do it anyway? Have they figured out a work around? Have they been able to convince their firms/IT departments to change course?
Thanks.
Al
Good point. I know that many firms, especially larger ones, have policies against cloud storage solutions. I also agree with you about security. That said, unless your iPad is filled to the gills with music and video, you can get more files than you will ever need onto even a 16 GB iPad. The file management apps like GoodReader, Air Sharing HD and ReaddleDocs all can act as wireless USB drives on a local network (no cloud storage required) and will work with whatever folder strucure you have set up. This may help in your situation.
Josh