All iPads What's on your iPad for productivity?

[Seed101]

The IPP is definitely the go-to device for productivity. It will NEVER compete with a real laptop computer whether it be Windows or OS X. the reason I say it's the go-to is due to the screen size and split view being completely usable. On the other 10" size iPads it's very difficult/a lot hard to work with split view and just feels cramped.

You can think of IOS at its current state to be maybe 90-95% replacement for a real computer. You have to decide if you want security or flexibility but not both. All the apps are sandboxes and you will indeed have to copy and duplicate files in each app to get around the lack of a real file system but that provides security and personally I don't find it that compromising. Just have to do 2-3x the steps to move files around. You can just use iCloud but I have multiple NAS drives and file shares on my network so it requires FileBrowser/documents/PDF Expert to move stuff around. WIth the locations extensions you can definitely work with files outside of iOS.

The only things you cannot do at the moment are: software development, working with large databases, opening TWO of the SAME apps side by side (like two excel worksheets), encrypting files, and things like recording screen, watching TV, stuff that you do on a typical computer. There will be apps that can do this but then you need iOS to open up those API for these apps to happen. Right now it's as if Apple is trickling API functionality bit by bit and probably will take like 3 more revisions to get close to that 99% laptop replacement.

I personally do not mind opening up files from FileBrowser and the like and having to duplicate it around I just go back and delete those duplicates after I'm done. I also have a cheap 50GB iCloud account just to not have to always move stuff around too much unless it's stored on my NAS. People who doubt productivity on an iPad pro is just making up excuses. Sure it's more tedious but it's definitely doable and I love the fact I get full security on my iPad pro.

The iPad pro is just fast enough to really replace my laptop but yes there is that 5-10% of the time I need a real computer to complete the job. Otherwise the IPP is my sole computer.

Edit: you can always get a Remote Desktop app to remote into any pc/Mac. So I guess you can really replace the laptop

This all sounds great but it would be a lot easier if apple simply opened up the two operating systems for better interaction...rather than everyone making great work-arounds...

 

[kat.hayes]

Question about notability

I have pdf files in Dropbox and in iBooks that I want to bring in and annotate over. Is there a way to open them directly from notability? I see I can send files from Dropbox to notability, though I can't figure out how to get pdf files from iBooks into the app.

 

[RedOrchestra]

Question about notability ... though I can't figure out how to get pdf files from iBooks into the app.

NEVER . EVER . bring anything into iBooks that you then want to export out, you can't - always store pdfs on other available Apps like Notability, Adobe, Documents, etc. - those Apps provide flexibility in your work environment.

 

[karladdr]

Question about notability

I have pdf files in Dropbox and in iBooks that I want to bring in and annotate over. Is there a way to open them directly from notability? I see I can send files from Dropbox to notability, though I can't figure out how to get pdf files from iBooks into the app.

Ibooks is a trap, what goes in never goes out, lol its true. I just use ibooks for my epub because no other app open those, if you wanna put something in there make sure you have a copy in some other app otherwise it's lost forever.

 

[RedOrchestra]

Ibooks is a trap

Absolutely correct. When they feature stories in the news about sinkholes they fail to mention that iBooks is the largest sinkhole EVER.

 

[kat.hayes]

Wow, seriously? Is there a way to access pdf files in iBooks on a Mac that were saved on an iPad?
[doublepost=1461264941][/doublepost]

Wow, seriously? Is there a way to access pdf files in iBooks on a Mac that were saved on an iPad?

I just checked and it seems that you can email pdf files out of iBooks...

 

[MyopicPaideia]

Wow, seriously? Is there a way to access pdf files in iBooks on a Mac that were saved on an iPad?
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I just checked and it seems that you can email pdf files out of iBooks...

Exactly, it is the only method of sharing them. No picker there! You have ro email them to yourself, then use the App picker in Mail App to open them in the desired app.

Anyone notice how the Office Apps integrate so perfectly with Dropbox? That's how it should work!

 

[kat.hayes]

Exactly, it is the only method of sharing them. No picker there! You have ro email them to yourself, then use the App picker in Mail App to open them in the desired app.

Anyone notice how the Office Apps integrate so perfectly with Dropbox? That's how it should work!

Ok, well at least you can get the pdf files out of iBooks. I thought you couldn't based on the previous responses. I made a bunch of per files from webpages and was worried they were stuck in iBooks. At least I can email them to my Mac and transfer them into Dropbox, not ideal at all, though a way to make PDFs from my iPad at least...

 

[Night Spring]

Ok, well at least you can get the pdf files out of iBooks. I thought you couldn't based on the previous responses. I made a bunch of per files from webpages and was worried they were stuck in iBooks. At least I can email them to my Mac and transfer them into Dropbox, not ideal at all, though a way to make PDFs from my iPad at least...

There's also the iCloud library, which I think was introduced with iOS 9.3.1. If you turn that on, any epubs / PDFs you add to iBooks gets uploaded to iCloud, and you can then download them to any device, including your Mac.

 

[RedOrchestra]

There's also the iCloud library, which I think was introduced with iOS 9.3.1. If you turn that on, any epubs / PDFs you add to iBooks gets uploaded to iCloud, and you can then download them to any device, including your Mac.

I don't use iCloud but wouldn't stuff from iBooks, stored in the Cloud, only be accessible in iBooks on the other devices - just asking a question for my learning curve.

You'd still need to email them out to Notability to work on them, no matter the device?

 

[Night Spring]

I don't use iCloud but wouldn't stuff from iBooks, stored in the Cloud, only be accessible in iBooks on the other devices - just asking a question for my learning curve.

You'd still need to email them out to Notability to work on them, no matter the device?

Well, once you get them on a Mac, you should be able to do whatever you want with them.

You can also copy them from iOS to Mac by doing a transfer purchase in iTunes.

 

[RedOrchestra]

Well, once you get them on a Mac, you should be able to do whatever you want with them.

I'm guessing the overall best thing to do is to not save any pdfs to iBooks, period.

 

[Night Spring]

I'm guessing the overall best thing to do is to not save any pdfs to iBooks, period.

That's quite true!

 

[karladdr]

It's better to buy a good pdf app instead of using ibooks, The best one for me so far is pdf expert, you can do everything in it, Good reader used to be the best but it has not been updated to the new ipad/iPhone features.

 

[kat.hayes]

I just downloaded pdf expert though I don't see an option in my sharing options to make a PDF when in safari. Is there a way of doing that?

 

[karladdr]

I just downloaded pdf expert though I don't see an option in my sharing options to make a PDF when in safari. Is there a way of doing that?

You mean like making a pdf out of a safari Web site? I don't think that's possible since Readdle, the company that owns pdf expert has a whole separate app called pdf converter for that purpose, it works along with pdf expert but it cost like 3 dollars which I think it's too much, I use workflow to make pdfs out of safari Web pages from the sharing option it also cost money but there are many other functions for that app. and I'm sure there must be other free apps that also do the trick, like for example liquid text.

 

[rui no onna]

I just use ibooks for my epub because no other app open those

Not quite true. First epub readers available for iOS is Stanza and eReader (by FictionWise prior to B&N acquisition). For DRM-free epub, there are now plenty of apps available including Kobo, Bluefire, OverDrive, Marvin, Bookari (formerly Mantano), etc.

 

[kat.hayes]

You mean like making a pdf out of a safari Web site? I don't think that's possible since Readdle, the company that owns pdf expert has a whole separate app called pdf converter for that purpose, it works along with pdf expert but it cost like 3 dollars which I think it's too much, I use workflow to make pdfs out of safari Web pages from the sharing option it also cost money but there are many other functions for that app. and I'm sure there must be other free apps that also do the trick, like for example liquid text.

I misunderstood what the PDF app did.

I actually have Workflow, though I am not clear on how to use it. I just tried to make a workflow to make a PDF from a webpage. I made one as an action extension, that accepts anything, though beyond that, I can't seem to get the extension to show up in Safari as a sharing option and i'm not sure where the .PDF files would be saved to anyways, I didn't see an option for that.

 

[karladdr]

I misunderstood what the PDF app did.

I actually have Workflow, though I am not clear on how to use it. I just tried to make a workflow to make a PDF from a webpage. I made one as an action extension, that accepts anything, though beyond that, I can't seem to get the extension to show up in Safari as a sharing option and i'm not sure where the .PDF files would be saved to anyways, I didn't see an option for that.

I'm clueless on how to do my own workflows as well, in this page http://www.workflow-vcs.de there are a ton of useful workflows ready to install and I'm sure I got the pdf one from there, once you got it will appear when you click run workflow in the sharing options ( you must previously toggle on "run workflow")it run the action extension, converts to pdf, display it and the share button appear so you can choose where you wanna open or save it

 

[lexvo]

I just downloaded pdf expert though I don't see an option in my sharing options to make a PDF when in safari. Is there a way of doing that?

Yes, there are two ways to do this (from the manual):

To send PDF files from Safari to PDF Expert you can use 2 methods:
● Open in PDF Expert:
1. Tap on the direct link to load the document in Safari
2. Wait until the document is loaded
3. Tap Open in... on the black toolbar at the top when the document opens for preview
4. Select PDF Expert from the list of available apps

● URI scheme:
1. Tap on the direct link to load the document in Safari
2. Add PDFE to the URL in the address bar and tap Go The PDF will be automatically saved and opened in PDF Expert

 

[tgara]

You mean like making a pdf out of a safari Web site? I don't think that's possible since Readdle, the company that owns pdf expert has a whole separate app called pdf converter for that purpose, it works along with pdf expert but it cost like 3 dollars which I think it's too much, I use workflow to make pdfs out of safari Web pages from the sharing option it also cost money but there are many other functions for that app. and I'm sure there must be other free apps that also do the trick, like for example liquid text.

I had Workflow on my devices, but deleted it because it was hard to use, at least for me. I was mainly using it to save documents as PDFs, but since iOS 9 came out, there are acceptable workarounds.

If you use Dropbox you can save a PDF copy of a webpage in one step. Simply open the webpage, tap the share sheet, then select Copy to Dropbox. A dialog box will open asking where in Dropbox you wish to save the PDF. Make your choice, tap Save, and a PDF copy of the page is uploaded to Dropbox.

This process works in general, but the trick is the ability to access the share sheet. Sadly, it's not always obvious depending on what app you use. To confuse things further, the iPhone and the iPad handle this differently. For example, consider saving a PDF copy of an email, which a lot of people need to do. On the iPad, if I want to save a PDF copy of an email, I can't do it just using iOS9 and Dropbox. The best I can do is save a .TXT copy by selecting All, tapping "Share..." and then Saving to Dropbox. On an iPhone with 3D Touch, however, I CAN do it by selecting the curved Arrow, Print. Then on the displayed preview, do a hard press to show the share sheet, then select Save to Dropbox. This trick works with basically any app where you can print, but you need an iPhone 6S or 6S+ with 3D touch to do it.

I wish Apple would make saving to PDF more integrated with iOS. Right now, it's not as easy to do as it should be.

 

[Ortiz7983]

I use all apple apps. I like having Siri being able to edit things. Can't do that with third party apps

 

[ManicMarc]

I use my iPad (Mini 2 with Magic Keyboard) a lot at work - though I still use a laptop most of the time.

Main apps used are (in order of how much they're used):

OneNote
Apple Mail
Todoist
Skype (for business)
Word
Excel
Skitch
GoodReader
PureFlow
OneDrive
Pixelmator
PowerPoint

Main usage by far is taking notes and triaging email/tasks.

 

[ChrisWilliam]

Email to someone and do some word, excel, powerpoint task.

 

[Traverse]

My productivity apps:
GoodNotes
PDF Expert, Documents and PDF Converter by Readdle
Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, OfficeLens)
iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers)

Am curious how you divide your work between Office and iWork? What makes you use one over the other for some files? Seems like a headache to manage two office suites.