iPad What's the best way to use a PDF planner on the iPad?

[JuryDuty]

I grabbed a free 2015 planner on PassionPlanner.com and love the format...but it's a PDF, which means I either need to print it (ugh!) or find a way to use it on my iPad.

What's the best way to regularly interact with a PDF on your iPad for writing--such as a planner? I want to write in appointments, goals, etc, daily throughout the year.

Or does it need to be converted to something else?

(Best I can tell, it's NOT an interactive PDF.)

 

[Jessica Lares]

Something like Noteshelf? https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noteshelf-take-notes-sketch/id392188745?mt=8

Anything that can import PDFs and annotate them will work for the most part.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

It does't need to be converted to something else - as noted, there are plenty of PDF-reading apps that allow mark-up - you don't even have to download an extra app - you can open it in iBooks and take advantage of its notes and highlighting capabilities.

No matter how you open the PDF, you do lose a number of advantages of using a calendar/daybook/reminders app - top of that list for me is automatic/pop-up reminders (Notifications) and alarms. It's one thing for me to make a daily goal, it's another to remember to do it when the time comes. ;-)

Then, there's the ability to Search (What day is that dental appointment?) - even though you can usually search the text of the actual PDF, the search may not extend to annotations.

There are times when mimicking a paper document works fine on an iPad, but for something as important as a planner, using an app that's designed to take advantage of the medium is likely to deliver a fair number of benefits. If Apple's regular Calendar and Reminders apps don't push your buttons, you'll find an endless array of alternatives in the App Store.

 

[username:]

If your intent on using the PDF the best apps to use would be
- goodnotes
- notes plus
- PDF expert

otherwise consider using the built in calendar and reminders apps

 

[Ainkor]

Humor me for a moment....

I am an extremely technical person and I use my iPhone and iPad extensively for work and for personal use. I use my calendar, a reminder app and tons of other productivity tools but every week, I print my planner out and use a good 'ol pen to write things down as I go about my day.

There is something magical about writing things down that the iPhone and iPad can't replicate. Trust me, I've tried and tried. There just isn't a good writing tool that feel natural and I've tried them all even with the stylus' that are meant for them and supported by them.

Over the years I just accepted that until the iPhone and iPad support an active stylus, this is how it will have to be. I've tried android phones, Surface computers and anything else I could find but none of them come close to the power and functionality of iOS and a pen & paper.