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Laptop > iPad data transfer (+ file viewing/attachments)

M

Maverick2002

Diamond Member
One of our people at work decided to get an iPad and give his PC laptop to someone else. He wants his files transferred. I'm not too familiar with iPads, but I couldn't figure out a way to do this. Is there a place to store files in on the iPad or does it have to be somehow uploaded to the Cloud? Also, how can you view attachments (like pdfs, ppts, etc) in emails and attach files yourself? Is it even doable? Or is it just text only? I don't know the limitations of an iPad so this is all new to me. Appreciate any advice. TIA!

I'd like to make a case for him to return the iPad and get a netbook or small notebook instead (since he got a keyboard for it anyway), but need to 'sell' him on it.
 
The way an iPad (or any iOS device really) works is that there is no file system as you're used to it. (OK there is, but its completely hidden/inaccessible to the user). Instead, each application has its own "documents" that it has access to. So Pages would have access to your Word documents, Keynote to your presentations, iTunes to your music, iBooks to your eBooks and saved PDFs, etc.

You can sync files using either iCloud or iTunes on your PC/Mac. As for opening attachments, Mail has built in viewers for most document types and can send them over to the appropriate app if it's installed. You can reply/forward emails that have attachments like you normally would. Most applications will let start an email with a document attached (of a type that they know how to handle).

If all this sounds kind of hokey, that's because it is. I can't see somebody who has to work with documents a lot being able to get by with an iPad as their primary computer.
 
Hm, he wants a tablet with a keyboard, but also wants to work with Office files? This sounds like a job for...Microsoft Surface! (Whether he'd need Pro or not I'm not sure - I really don't know alot about Surface.)
 
Ken g6 said:
Hm, he wants a tablet with a keyboard, but also wants to work with Office files? This sounds like a job for...Microsoft Surface! (Whether he'd need Pro or not I'm not sure - I really don't know alot about Surface.)
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: Excellent suggestion.
 
mfenn said:
The way an iPad (or any iOS device really) works is that there is no file system as you're used to it. (OK there is, but its completely hidden/inaccessible to the user). Instead, each application has its own "documents" that it has access to. So Pages would have access to your Word documents, Keynote to your presentations, iTunes to your music, iBooks to your eBooks and saved PDFs, etc.

You can sync files using either iCloud or iTunes on your PC/Mac. As for opening attachments, Mail has built in viewers for most document types and can send them over to the appropriate app if it's installed. You can reply/forward emails that have attachments like you normally would. Most applications will let start an email with a document attached (of a type that they know how to handle).

If all this sounds kind of hokey, that's because it is. I can't see somebody who has to work with documents a lot being able to get by with an iPad as their primary computer.
Click to expand...

Thanks, so I need to install iCloud on his PC and sync the files up? Can I then erase them from the PC?

Also, let's say he wants to create a Word document or equivalent. Will he be able to do this on the iPad or no?

For the record, I hate the damn thing. When it first came out I thought Angry Birds was cool, but that's about it.

EDIT: also, he wants me to transfer all his documents to his iPad (cloud I guess) and have a single icon (kind of like a folder) he can click on to access all these files. Is that doable?
 
Last edited:
Maverick2002 said:
Thanks, so I need to install iCloud on his PC and sync the files up? Can I then erase them from the PC?

Also, let's say he wants to create a Word document or equivalent. Will he be able to do this on the iPad or no?

For the record, I hate the damn thing. When it first came out I thought Angry Birds was cool, but that's about it.

EDIT: also, he wants me to transfer all his documents to his iPad (cloud I guess) and have a single icon (kind of like a folder) he can click on to access all these files. Is that doable?
Click to expand...

iCloud isn't like dropbox or skydrive, and an iPad is not a laptop. If you approach the iPad as an iPad, you can wiggle it around to kind of doing what you want it to do. But at the end of the day, this guy wants a Windows tablet, because he and you are both used to Windows, and that's fine and will get the job done.

As someone else said, he wants a Surface.

To address your issues in order:

1: Not exactly
2: Yes, but since it isn't exactly dropbox to begin with...
3: Yes, he can use Pages and should be able to export in a Word compatible format. HOWEVER, Word is Word is Word, and nothing else is Word. And if 100% Word compatibility is a requirement, then you're kind of stuck
4: Ok, not sure why your hatred matters
5: All his documents transferred over? Sure I guess, but in an icon folder thing? No.


If you are using Dropbox or Skydrive, that could work like what you are looking for, but there isn't traditional file folder access and you will want to test out each file type in Dropbox or Skydrive to see if you can pull it up on the iPad and actually view and edit it.

This feels like a lot of work so that he can do a lot of work so that he can do a little bit of work. I don't think the iPad is the solution here.
 
This is a case of "I want to make my life 'seem' simpler by using Apple, but in reality it's really harder" syndrome.
 
TheStu said:
iCloud isn't like dropbox or skydrive, and an iPad is not a laptop. If you approach the iPad as an iPad, you can wiggle it around to kind of doing what you want it to do. But at the end of the day, this guy wants a Windows tablet, because he and you are both used to Windows, and that's fine and will get the job done.

As someone else said, he wants a Surface.

To address your issues in order:

1: Not exactly
2: Yes, but since it isn't exactly dropbox to begin with...
3: Yes, he can use Pages and should be able to export in a Word compatible format. HOWEVER, Word is Word is Word, and nothing else is Word. And if 100% Word compatibility is a requirement, then you're kind of stuck
4: Ok, not sure why your hatred matters
5: All his documents transferred over? Sure I guess, but in an icon folder thing? No.


If you are using Dropbox or Skydrive, that could work like what you are looking for, but there isn't traditional file folder access and you will want to test out each file type in Dropbox or Skydrive to see if you can pull it up on the iPad and actually view and edit it.

This feels like a lot of work so that he can do a lot of work so that he can do a little bit of work. I don't think the iPad is the solution here.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: Agree 100%.
 
zerogear said:
This is a case of "I want to make my life 'seem' simpler by using Apple, but in reality it's really harder" syndrome.
Click to expand...

It's easier if you do the things the iPad was meant to do. The OP's co-worker's problem is trying to stuff a square peg into a round hole.
 
mfenn said:
It's easier if you do the things the iPad was meant to do. The OP's co-worker's problem is trying to stuff a square peg into a round hole.
Click to expand...

This, exactly ^

People use the iPad for creation, and business, but only when their creation and business needs are met by the iPad. If you are working with huge spreadsheets all day... then no, you don't want the iPad (or really any tablet). If you are doing email, and notes and banging out the occasional document, and can deal with a sort of kludgy way of getting back to your files, then yea the iPad is a real win. All day battery, easy to tote around, very inexpensive.
 
I would never throw my money in the trash to get an ipad. And if I was given one for free then I would sell it right away because the price I could sell it for is far more than its actual value. Then I would take about 10% or 20% of the cost from selling it and buy a more powerful android tablet with 100x more storage.
 
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