All iPads Transfering documents iPad <-> USB drives

[rellit]

Hello!

First of all: I'm completely new here and English is not my native language, so I'm sorry in advance.

I'm using the new iPP 9.7" for a week now. Most of the time I'm gonna use it in university for taking notes etc. Sometimes it's necessary to exchange documents (e.g. pdf, docx, xlsx etc.) with classmates. I know about devices like the Kingston G3 Wireless but all the tests about such devices are not that good. It would be enough if I could plugin an USB flash drive or HD and copy documents from/to iPad while having the option to open them in different apps (like Word, PDF Expert, GoodNotes etc.).

So, how are you handling this (when Dropbox etc. is not possible)? Which devices can you recommend (speed, reliability etc.)?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Cascades42]

I personally have the second generation of the iStick which has a lightning connector on one end and USB on the other. It works well though the app is rather lacking. I've also used the Verbatim Wireless MediaShare when others had files on a regular USB and I wanted to copy them to my iPad - it works both ways though.

 

[TrueBlou]

I have the Kingston Wireless G3 you mention, it's a great device. Fast, flexible and great battery life. I wouldn't be without one any more.

 

[rellit]

I personally have the second generation of the iStick which has a lightning connector on one end and USB on the other. It works well though the app is rather lacking. I've also used the Verbatim Wireless MediaShare when others had files on a regular USB and I wanted to copy them to my iPad - it works both ways though.

Copying documents in both ways works with those "Lightning-USB-drives" too? Mostly, they are just advertising photos and videos but not mention documents.

I have the Kingston Wireless G3 you mention, it's a great device. Fast, flexible and great battery life. I wouldn't be without one any more.

Sounds good. So, opening any document with any app on your iPad when you get an USB drive works without any problems?

Thanks for your help!

 

[hovscorpion12]

Personally I use iCloud Drive and export document in word's doc format or any other office app

 

[TrueBlou]

Copying documents in both ways works with those "Lightning-USB-drives" too? Mostly, they are just advertising photos and videos but not mention documents.



Sounds good. So, opening any document with any app on your iPad when you get an USB drive works without any problems?

Thanks for your help!

So long as the drive is formatted as fat/fat32/exFat/NTFS any drive up to 2TB in size can be connected to the USB port, or you can use a hub to connect more than one if you like. There's even a version with 64GB of storage built in, but I'd save your money and buy an SD card, it's cheaper.

From there you can access the drives using either Kingstons app, or any ftp app and use the "open in" menu to open any file in whatever apps it's compatible with. And of course you have the benefit of not needing to rely on an Internet connection like you do with cloud services. (Not that I've anything against them, I use iCloud Drive and Dropbox)

It can create its own network, piggy back on an existing WiFi network, be a router when using Ethernet or connect to your iPhones hotspot and be a router for that. In any configuration other than directly connecting to the Kingston, you can access the files on drives and still have full internet access.

It's a decent device, I've even had it streaming high bitrate 1080p mkv files to 3 separate devices simultaneously. I didn't think it would manage that.


...... I'm not a Kingston salesman, the wee device just impressed me, lots.

 

[sparksd]

Devices like the Kingston work great - I use a similar device made by RAVPower and it works very well for me.

 

[rellit]

So long as the drive is formatted as fat/fat32/exFat/NTFS any drive up to 2TB in size can be connected to the USB port, or you can use a hub to connect more than one if you like. There's even a version with 64GB of storage built in, but I'd save your money and buy an SD card, it's cheaper.

From there you can access the drives using either Kingstons app, or any ftp app and use the "open in" menu to open any file in whatever apps it's compatible with. And of course you have the benefit of not needing to rely on an Internet connection like you do with cloud services. (Not that I've anything against them, I use iCloud Drive and Dropbox)

It can create its own network, piggy back on an existing WiFi network, be a router when using Ethernet or connect to your iPhones hotspot and be a router for that. In any configuration other than directly connecting to the Kingston, you can access the files on drives and still have full internet access.

It's a decent device, I've even had it streaming high bitrate 1080p mkv files to 3 separate devices simultaneously. I didn't think it would manage that.


...... I'm not a Kingston salesman, the wee device just impressed me, lots.

Thanks for your answer, very helpful. Seems like this is what I've been searching for. I will try it out!

Btw: Which app are you using for playing mkv-files? I didn't have good experiences with PlayerXtreme (but I didn't test the new version with iPP).

Devices like the Kingston work great - I use a similar device made by RAVPower and it works very well for me.

Gonna look into it.

 

[TrueBlou]

Yeah I like the RAVPower ones too. It was top of my list for a while, the Kingston just won out in the end because it's got faster WiFi.

 

[Cascades42]

Copying documents in both ways works with those "Lightning-USB-drives" too? Mostly, they are just advertising photos and videos but not mention documents.

I've only used it for documents. Photos and videos are visual which is why they'd demo those I guess.

 

[TrueBlou]

Thanks for your answer, very helpful. Seems like this is what I've been searching for. I will try it out!

Btw: Which app are you using for playing mkv-files? I didn't have good experiences with PlayerXtreme (but I didn't test the new version with iPP).

I just use VLC for streaming from the Kingston, works great, it's got VLC support baked in as the option for mkv playback.

 

[rellit]

Gonna try VLC.

So, if I'm editing a docx-file and wanna save it to an USB drive connected to the Kingston.. I just need to tap "open in", choose the Kingston app and then the folder on the USB drive in which I want it to be saved? That'd be great!

 

[masotime]

Hmmm... I don't entirely understand the use case here. Why do you need a physical device to perform a to/from file transfer, when there are options like AirDrop or cloud storage upload / download available? I always use these options, unless I'm transferring gigabytes of data.

 

[TrueBlou]

Gonna try VLC.

So, if I'm editing a docx-file and wanna save it to an USB drive connected to the Kingston.. I just need to tap "open in", choose the Kingston app and then the folder on the USB drive in which I want it to be saved? That'd be great!

You can, although it depends on what app you use for editing as to how straightforward it is. Many apps allow you to just use the "Open In" option to save files directly back to the Kingston, nice and simple.

Some, like &%!*(really bad word) Microsoft, don't. So if I have to edit a Docx in Microsoft Word on my iPad, once it's saved, because Microsoft don't support it (yet if ever) I email the file to myself (Doesn't matter if there's no internet and it won't send you can get it in your outbox) then from the email I'm able to save it back on to the Kingston. It's not too bad, only takes a couple of seconds but I'd prefer Microsoft to be less of a pain in the butt

Hmmm... I don't entirely understand the use case here. Why do you need a physical device to perform a to/from file transfer, when there are options like AirDrop or cloud storage upload / download available? I always use these options, unless I'm transferring gigabytes of data.

I use those things too, quite a bit actually. But they aren't always an option.

Well, as you say, sometimes there are huge files involved in the transfer. Or you may be in a situation where someone hands you an SD card or flash drive to copy a file from. Fine if there's a computer and an internet connection so they can email it to you. But if not, there's no other way on iOS but one of these things. Airdrop is great, but what if the other person has an Android phone, or Windows phone.

Other than that, you can load it up with films for the kids (and the adults) when you're on a long journey/on holiday and everyone can connect simultaneously and watch/get whatever they need/want.

You can store essential files and documents you need to work on away from home (I don't know about elsewhere, but not 100% of the UK is blanketed in WiFi/3G/4G connections to get access to cloud services. So when you're somewhere remote, they come in handy.)

Side benefits are using it as a router for sharing your iPhones data with the family, as a router in hotels and as an emergency iPhone/iPad charger if you run out of juice.

And that's just quickly off the top of my head, they are actually really handy *if you have a use for it* mine is indispensable, couldn't be without it now.


***
Edit.

One thing I forgot to mention, which is maybe a bit obvious anyway, but if you want to share agile with someone who doesn't have ftp software or anything. You can view and download anything from the Kingston (and some others) from any web browser on any device.

 

[ahostmadsen]

Hmmm... I don't entirely understand the use case here. Why do you need a physical device to perform a to/from file transfer, when there are options like AirDrop or cloud storage upload / download available? I always use these options, unless I'm transferring gigabytes of data.

Sometimes people give you a USB stick, to either transfer to or from. What I do now when I travel is I bring my laptop with only one purpose: I get a USB stick, insert it in the laptop, transfer to the cloud, and download to iPad. The rest of the time the computer is off -- kind of crazy. So, great to know about this option.

 

[Cascades42]

Some, like &%!*(really bad word) Microsoft, don't. So if I have to edit a Docx in Microsoft Word on my iPad, once it's saved, because Microsoft don't support it (yet if ever) I email the file to myself (Doesn't matter if there's no internet and it won't send you can get it in your outbox) then from the email I'm able to save it back on to the Kingston. It's not too bad, only takes a couple of seconds but I'd prefer Microsoft to be less of a pain in the butt

If you own Workflow then you can create a one step action extension that is just "open in" - I did that and use it exclusively with the Microsoft apps, thankfully it solves the problem! (There may be other solutions, I use Workflow for other things and heard about this workaround on the Canvas podcast only to have it come in really handy just 2 days later.)

 

[TrueBlou]

If you own Workflow then you can create a one step action extension that is just "open in" - I did that and use it exclusively with the Microsoft apps, thankfully it solves the problem! (There may be other solutions, I use Workflow for other things and heard about this workaround on the Canvas podcast only to have it come in really handy just 2 days later.)

That's a great idea, thanks, I never even thought of getting Workflow to simplify it.

 

[masotime]

Sometimes people give you a USB stick, to either transfer to or from. What I do now when I travel is I bring my laptop with only one purpose: I get a USB stick, insert it in the laptop, transfer to the cloud, and download to iPad. The rest of the time the computer is off -- kind of crazy. So, great to know about this option.

Hmmm... within my work / social circle at least, this is quite rare. Normally I will upload to Dropbox or some other cloud service and e-mail a link. This isn't practical for large files like 500MB+ of course, and you'll need a good upload speed connection, but I rarely have to exchange such large files.

Just curious, what kinds of files do people expect you to transfer using a USB stick...?

 

[ahostmadsen]

Hmmm... within my work / social circle at least, this is quite rare. Normally I will upload to Dropbox or some other cloud service and e-mail a link. This isn't practical for large files like 500MB+ of course, and you'll need a good upload speed connection, but I rarely have to exchange such large files.

Just curious, what kinds of files do people expect you to transfer using a USB stick...?

One example: these days when you go to technical conferences, they give the proceedings on USB sticks. Perhaps some day in the future they will be online, but not for quite a while.

 

[TrueBlou]

Hmmm... within my work / social circle at least, this is quite rare. Normally I will upload to Dropbox or some other cloud service and e-mail a link. This isn't practical for large files like 500MB+ of course, and you'll need a good upload speed connection, but I rarely have to exchange such large files.

Just curious, what kinds of files do people expect you to transfer using a USB stick...?

Well I've had people giving me artwork, music and documents for websites and art and music for my apps. I've had people give me confidential documents that they don't trust, or aren't allowed due to company policy, to upload to any cloud services.

I've had video clips for my apps that other people have worked on. Lots of photos and video clips from family, we recently had a photo shoot and they were delivered on a single flash drive. That was about 3 Gig of photos, easily moved across.

Then of course, as I mentioned before, there's the recreational use. Sharing a single movie to everyone at the same time when you're on a long car journey, or waiting for hours in an airport.

There's lots of uses for them. Like you I do use cloud services, but they aren't always accessible and certainly nowhere near as good for loading up a portable HDD with films and all sorts for when you're away from home. Not everyone will see a need for one, I always got by with cloud services before, but now that I'm used to the flexibility and convenience of one of these devices I could not do without one.

 

[SurFaceMac]

Hmmm... within my work / social circle at least, this is quite rare. Normally I will upload to Dropbox or some other cloud service and e-mail a link. This isn't practical for large files like 500MB+ of course, and you'll need a good upload speed connection, but I rarely have to exchange such large files.

Just curious, what kinds of files do people expect you to transfer using a USB stick...?

Some of my associates don't like cloud services - and moving a 20gb video file back and forth to cloud services isn't really a good option, although it is possible. Waiting 20 minutes each time you want to do something with the file is not productive. Some of my associates are correct that cloud services parse your information to sell to advertisers, and they have no interest in participating in that food chain. They do not like to pay for a service and then have their information sold.

Some of my associates and I don't like to pay to move files around over and over. If you're on your purchased home wi-fi, each file transfer of that 20gb movie file goes against your monthly subscription. I happen to have a 550gb a month plan, which I need, and moving that file once each day would exceed my data plan over a month. I also use that same 550gb for everything else, and it's 550gb because my average daily bandwidth consumption is 15gb. Upping my plan is expensive. The monthly increment would cost much more than 2 or 3 large capacity SD cards.

If you're on a mobile data connection - and I have a 60gb a month plan with rollover from AT&T, I could move this file 3 times before I incur overage charges.

All of these tiny little monthly costs add up, multiply by 12, and multiply again by another 30 years - I can add that money to my retirement account rather than spend it on frivolous expenses.

 

[Nhwhazup]

I've been using Airstash for over a year and love it.

 

[masotime]

Some of my associates don't like cloud services - and moving a 20gb video file back and forth to cloud services isn't really a good option

Out of curiosity, what industry do you work in that requires sharing 20gb movie files? The only thing that comes to my mind is a professional video / film maker with RAW 5k footage.

 

[SurFaceMac]

Didja see my other thread? =)

 

[masotime]

Didja see my other thread? =)

Just browsed it. Interesting... I didn't know the Priv had an excellent camera. 4K @ 30Mbps.... that's 3.75 megabytes/sec. A 20GB movie file is 91 minutes of footage. Impressive.. you were recording a concert or play?

20GB would definitely justify a USB stick for file transfer - I would never use cloud storage for that. Actually I'm not sure I'd edit something like that on a laptop, even a Surface Pro 4. My 2014 riMac does reasonably well with Final Cut Pro, and I've fiddled with Emulsio and Video Grade on my 12.9", but there's really no comparison - iOS apps are simply not sufficiently "Pro" yet.

Well I own a Panasonic LX100.... pretty nice mirrorless camera, though it doesn't have OIS @ 4K . That one records 4K @ 100Mbps... for those + RAW I use the USB3 Lighting to SD card adapter. Transfers reasonably fast, though my largest file is rarely more than 1.5 GB / 2 minutes, unless I'm using a tripod.

90 minute video... don't you hand get tired holding up even a smartphone for that long....? Well I'd use a tripod on it for sure if I was recording that long of a video.