iPad as a laptop replacement

[bondr006]

It didn't let me add several that I needed for work when I was trying to use it for that. I tried other browsers but no dice.

My issue with the PDF editor is that it puts the text boxes in the wrong place, makes it impossible for you to move them, moves them back after you finally manage to move them, and then saves with them in the wrong place after all. Or sometimes it just decides not to save your changes at all. I have no idea how something this fundamental to iPad is still so messed up years after I first noticed it, but alas.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the iPad! But it's just frustrating to deal with these tiny grievances for years on such an expensive device.

Have you tried Adobe Acrobat? Like I said earlier, I use PDF Expert, but Acrobat can also do text boxes, fill, sign, and markup. Worth a look anyway.

If I understand you correctly, you are having problems with the editing abilities of the built-in "Quick Look" editor when you open up a .pdf in the Files app? Filling, signing, and marking up a .pdf in the Files app with the Quick Look feature. Is this what you are talking about?

 

[HFH22]

Have you tried Adobe Acrobat? Like I said earlier, I use PDF Expert, but Acrobat can also do text boxes, fill, sign, and markup. Worth a look anyway.

If I understand you correctly, you are having problems with the editing abilities of the built-in "Quick Look" editor when you open up a .pdf in the Files app? Filling, signing, and marking up a .pdf in the Files app with the Quick Look feature. Is this what you are talking about?

Yes, that’s part of it. It also does that when I try to open the file up separately, though.

 

[bondr006]

Yes, that’s part of it. It also does that when I try to open the file up separately, though.

Going to do a little test and see what happens with my iPad and that feature. Get back with results shortly.

Edit: @HFH22 Did not get the same results as you. My text and text boxes stayed put. Same when opened in Acrobat and PDF Expert.

Acrobat

PDF Expert

 

[DeepSix]

The only thing I hate about using an iPad as a laptop on the go, is the beyond terrible file management system. Has anyone found a workaround for it even if it's cloud-based?

I'm not talking about storing and transferring thousands of files. But when I want to save like a PDF or a JPEG here and there, either from the internet or through email. It takes me like 15 minutes to do it because I have to spend 10 minutes just trying to find where it is. And I have to save it eight or nine times before that it shows up. Beyond frustrating and a waste of time. I wish iPad just had a simple drag and drop file system like Windows does.

 

[TPadden]

The new 11” with keyboard seems small, 13” would/could def be a laptop replacement.
Not sure about the 11”.

That's mainly theoritical because there is no 11" Apple laptop. If there were, count me as one who try to replace the new 11" iPad with a 11" Macbook Air. 👍

Tom

 

[Arctic Moose]

If there were, count me as one who try to replace the new 11" iPad with a 11" Macbook Air. 👍

Amen!

 

[Webcat86]

The only thing I hate about using an iPad as a laptop on the go, is the beyond terrible file management system. Has anyone found a workaround for it even if it's cloud-based?

I'm not talking about storing and transferring thousands of files. But when I want to save like a PDF or a JPEG here and there, either from the internet or through email. It takes me like 15 minutes to do it because I have to spend 10 minutes just trying to find where it is. And I have to save it eight or nine times before that it shows up. Beyond frustrating and a waste of time. I wish iPad just had a simple drag and drop file system like Windows does.

Can you be more specific? This doesn’t sound like an issue I’ve encountered, files appear first time and are always in Recents

 

[DeepSix]

Can you be more specific? This doesn’t sound like an issue I’ve encountered, files appear first time and are always in Recents

I will try to save an attachment from an email or even an image from the web (usually jpeg or PDF), I select for it to save on my iPad (this device I think it's called in the left column). And when I go to check after for the file, it saves maybe 30% of the time. Very frustrating.

 

[Webcat86]

I will try to save an attachment from an email or even an image from the web (usually jpeg or PDF), I select for it to save on my iPad (this device I think it's called in the left column). And when I go to check after for the file, it saves maybe 30% of the time. Very frustrating.

That sounds more like a bug than an iPad-specific limitation

 

[Slartibart]

Maybe I've just not seen them, but the posts I've seen are typically more trying to be helpful and sharing ways or apps to help someone do something on an iPad that they didn't think was possible.

I am not referring to the posts in which someone thinks that something is not possible and then gets a response showing that indeed it is possible.
I am referring to posts where the responses suggest something which is a workaround at best or which imply that »it is a matter of mindset«.

I mean, I just received what one can easily at this point in time declare as the pinnacle of mobile computing, still for certain scenarios it is for example suggested here, that I connect remotely to a significantly slower device to do what I want there. It’s cumbersome, absolutely not elegant, s.l.o.w.e.r., and far from efficient.

To be clear: yes, there are plenty of solutions to do things iPad-only. And yes, you can »workaround« a lot of obstacles to stay iPad-only. And you can do even more, if you’re not iPad-only.
But it boggles at least my mind, that the best mobile device currently available, has certain limitations by design or mandate.

nota bene: I like to think that many of the people who are asking for macOS on iPad are actually asking for the availability of various programs. These are not available, due to limits based on decisions by Apple.
I like to think additionally that there are smart people working at Apple, who are capable to address many if not all of these issues without compromising iPadOS while implementing elegant solutions.
But that there is glacial, low frequency iterative progress for iPadOS during its lifetime so far, well, that’s a pity.

I mean on a certain abstract level looking at possible application areas, you are not able to do the same things on an iPad today, you could do on a Mac with, let’s say, MacOS 7 or 9.

 

[DeepSix]

That sounds more like a bug than an iPad-specific limitation

It's iOS and the crappy file management. I can pull an image from the web, select "save to photos" and it doesn't save jack squat....ever. I've tried hundreds of times. Whats the point in having this option if it doesn't work.

 

[Slartibart]

It's iOS and the crappy file management. I can pull an image from the web, select "save to photos" and it doesn't save jack squat....ever. I've tried hundreds of times. Whats the point in having this option if it doesn't work.

What exactly do you mean by “pull an image from the web”? You tap on an image on a webpage and choose “save to photos” from the pop-up and then it is not saved to Apple Photos? Or you download an image into Apple Files and the use the Share-functionality to add it to the library in Apple Photos? Any link to such an image? What browser, iPadOS?

 

[chmania]

But it boggles at least my mind, that the best mobile device currently available, has certain limitations by design or mandate.

nota bene: I like to think that many of the people who are asking for macOS on iPad are actually asking for the availability of various programs. These are not available, due to limits based on decisions by Apple.

Exactly!
If iPad had macOS, it'd be a super device. Everything would be as needed, with or without an external keyboard.

 

[Beefbowl]

What exactly do you mean by “pull an image from the web”? You tap on an image on a webpage and choose “save to photos” from the pop-up and then it is not saved to Apple Photos? Or you download an image into Apple Files and the use the Share-functionality to add it to the library in Apple Photos? Any link to such an image? What browser, iPadOS?

I agree, I’m a little confused by this as well. I’ve rarely had issues downloading images from the web. I just tested by long-pressing your avatar, chose “save to photos” from the pop up menu and now I have a pair of giraffes in my photo library.

If I choose “Download Linked File” I get your user profile in my downloads folder as an .html file, but that makes sense.

Edit: and I just tested opening the files app in split view and was able to hold and drag images from this web page into folders on my iPad.

 

[Ludatyk]

But it boggles at least my mind, that the best mobile device currently available, has certain limitations by design or mandate.

Because it is not as cut as dry as you might think... I listen to ATP pdocast today and Siracusa brought up a good point. Most people choose the iPad, because of the guardrails... the simplicity appeals to them. I know we are all focused on the iPad Pro hardware, but it has the same OS as the base iPad (my guess the popular selling model).

Explain to me how could they differentiate the two based purely on software that Apple haven't done already? And I don't see Apple differentiating macOS from Mac Mini to the Mac Pro.

nota bene: I like to think that many of the people who are asking for macOS on iPad are actually asking for the availability of various programs. These are not available, due to limits based on decisions by Apple.

In most cases, the folks that come here questioning about various programs are Office focused tasks (especially Excel) and I think those limits fall on Microsoft more than Apple. Same goes with Adobe and their suite... I haven't seen any news of Microsoft or Adobe claiming Apple has placed limits on what features they can add to their apps.

I knew before they both made it known that RAM was the cause of certain limitations... but Apple has scratched off that excuse.

 

[bondr006]

The only thing I hate about using an iPad as a laptop on the go, is the beyond terrible file management system. Has anyone found a workaround for it even if it's cloud-based?

I'm not talking about storing and transferring thousands of files. But when I want to save like a PDF or a JPEG here and there, either from the internet or through email. It takes me like 15 minutes to do it because I have to spend 10 minutes just trying to find where it is. And I have to save it eight or nine times before that it shows up. Beyond frustrating and a waste of time. I wish iPad just had a simple drag and drop file system like Windows does.

I will try to save an attachment from an email or even an image from the web (usually jpeg or PDF), I select for it to save on my iPad (this device I think it's called in the left column). And when I go to check after for the file, it saves maybe 30% of the time. Very frustrating.

It's iOS and the crappy file management. I can pull an image from the web, select "save to photos" and it doesn't save jack squat....ever. I've tried hundreds of times. Whats the point in having this option if it doesn't work.

I have never experienced any of this in the over two years I've had my M1 iPad Pro 11. I long press on a web photo, tell it to save to photos, and every time....it saves to photos. If I download a .pdf or .doc to files, it downloads to the download folder in files every time. If I move files from my desktop to my iPad, I move it to the folder I want, and every time it works....just as it should. Dragging and dropping from one folder to another also works just as it should, as well as dragging files directly from the internet to whatever folder I want in Files. Just dragged and dropped a .pdf attachment from my email to a folder of my choice in the Files app. I really have no idea why you are having so many problems with the Files app. It works perfectly as it should for me.

 

[fw85]

The files app does have some issues and it could be worked on, for sure. They should really take some inspiration here from the Finder app.

The most annoying issue for me is the unreliability when it comes to accessing SMB shares and copying files back and forth. Several times a week I encounter seemingly random file transfer errors, or the Files app freezing up completely, requiring a device restart.
I use the same server across all my devices, yet my iPad is the only one to struggle here.

 

[HFH22]

It’s cool if people like the guard rails. I wouldn’t mind if I had to turn on developer mode or go into security settings to confirm that I do want to open this unverified application downloaded from the internet. It would just be nice to have the option to run a couple of Mac apps and run a few basic macros/automations not available in Shortcuts at my own risk. Like even just let me use the back button built into my mouse while using Universal Control! 😭 But nope, it’s so locked down it’s hard to do anything properly productive. There are ways to keep it locked down securely by default while still giving an inch of freedom to power users who know what they’re doing.

Also I’m late responding to this but YES losing all your work every time you switch apps is a nightmare. There’s no reason why my webpage with my form fully filled out needs to be reloaded because I cmd-tabbed to photos to double check my ID number before submitting. These aren’t even Mac replacement things—they’re basic QOL issues that make me want to give up on the iPad sometimes even though I genuinely love it.

 

[chmania]

I have never experienced any of this in the over two years I've had my M1 iPad Pro 11. I long press on a web photo, tell it to save to photos, and every time....it saves to photos. If I download a .pdf or .doc to files, it downloads to the download folder in files every time.

If an iPad had macOS, it would've done a lot of things with a web image...

 

[HFH22]

Going to do a little test and see what happens with my iPad and that feature. Get back with results shortly.

Edit: @HFH22 Did not get the same results as you. My text and text boxes stayed put. Same when opened in Acrobat and PDF Expert.

Acrobat
View attachment 2379405
PDF Expert
View attachment 2379406

That’s so weird. This is what mine looks like after fixing it a hundred times and saving it. Note that that’s a 4-digit unit number! It’s super hard to move the little box down to the right place and then it snaps right back when you do, and then it doesn’t save correctly when you go to send it to someone. And it does that with every. Single. Text box.

 

[sparksd]

The files app does have some issues and it could be worked on, for sure. They should really take some inspiration here from the Finder app.

The most annoying issue for me is the unreliability when it comes to accessing SMB shares and copying files back and forth. Several times a week I encounter seemingly random file transfer errors, or the Files app freezing up completely, requiring a device restart.
I use the same server across all my devices, yet my iPad is the only one to struggle here.

One of the reasons I switched to using FileBrowser Pro - reliability.

 

[rui no onna]

It’s cool if people like the guard rails. I wouldn’t mind if I had to turn on developer mode or go into security settings to confirm that I do want to open this unverified application downloaded from the internet. It would just be nice to have the option to run a couple of Mac apps and run a few basic macros/automations not available in Shortcuts at my own risk. Like even just let me use the back button built into my mouse while using Universal Control! 😭 But nope, it’s so locked down it’s hard to do anything properly productive. There are ways to keep it locked down securely by default while still giving an inch of freedom to power users who know what they’re doing.

Meh, security is Apple’s justification for not allowing side loading but I’m guessing it’s really App Store revenue that they’re trying to protect. Unless they’re required by government entities, they’re unlikely to allow side loading.

Also I’m late responding to this but YES losing all your work every time you switch apps is a nightmare. There’s no reason why my webpage with my form fully filled out needs to be reloaded because I cmd-tabbed to photos to double check my ID number before submitting. These aren’t even Mac replacement things—they’re basic QOL issues that make me want to give up on the iPad sometimes even though I genuinely love it.

This one hasn’t been an issue for me anymore on 8GB RAM, particularly when using Stage Manager. Stage Manager seems to be better at keeping apps in memory/active.

Honestly, the reloads wasn’t an issue either on iOS 12 with 4GB RAM. Too bad iPadOS 13 onwards became memory hogs.

 

[Slartibart]

View attachment 2379604
If an iPad had macOS, it would've done a lot of things with a web image...

Boy, you are in for a big surprise. 🤣 iPadOS has a Share-menu as one of the options available when you tap on an image! And: you can reorder and easily extend it’s functionality!

The above shows what I use (obviously there is even more if one scrolls the entries).

But for once, all functionality - either predesigned or trivial to add - you show in the macOS-pop up menu is available/can be made available on iPadOS.

 

[chmania]

View attachment 2379677
But for once, all functionality - either predesigned or trivial to add - you show in the macOS-pop up menu is available/can be made available on iPadOS.

Not really, you can't, as they are different OSs. There's no "Save image as", is there?

 

[Slartibart]

There's no "Save image as", is there?

You are just wrong. There is »Save to Files«, comes as default, nobody but yourself stops you from given the image a different name and save it as such.

Or, for occasions where you do not want to scroll down in the share sheet command list, create one of the probably easiest short cuts one can create:

and pin that to the top or where ever in the share sheet. I named it »Save As…«. Coincidence? 🤣😂