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PDFs on my iPad pro

N

NCH

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 6, 2014
11
0
I have a 12" iPad pro I picked up for drawing on and I need to take a bunch of PDFs to a job to work from but can't see how to move them to my iPad? I've been at it for a while now having struggled with one drive, icloud, Dropbox and iTunes. It all works fine as long I just want to open them but I won't have an internet connection when I go to the location and though I've found some options in some apps they are all stuck behind a paywall.

Roughly speaking inside the main folder I have them sorted into 2 main folders with each having seven folders inside with about 5 PDFs in each and I need to keep them organized like this to be able to find the ones I need. I want to be able to move the main folder to somewhere on my iPad that I can then browse to find the relevant PDF.

How do I do this? I don't want to start paying for apps only to find it's not even possible.
 
NCH said:
I have a 12" iPad pro I picked up for drawing on and I need to take a bunch of PDFs to a job to work from but can't see how to move them to my iPad? I've been at it for a while now having struggled with one drive, icloud, Dropbox and iTunes. It all works fine as long I just want to open them but I won't have an internet connection when I go to the location and though I've found some options in some apps they are all stuck behind a paywall.

Roughly speaking inside the main folder I have them sorted into 2 main folders with each having seven folders inside with about 5 PDFs in each and I need to keep them organized like this to be able to find the ones I need. I want to be able to move the main folder to somewhere on my iPad that I can then browse to find the relevant PDF.

How do I do this? I don't want to start paying for apps only to find it's not even possible.
Click to expand...
Why won't Dropbox work exactly? I often transfer my things at home first with Dropbox in case there is no internet, I move them to what apps ( Procreate, Comic Zeal for reading, and others ) I will be using and they are saved there.

If not, there is also the possibility of putting your files on thumb drives with the lightning connector. I personally used that for files I don't want on my iPad Pro, but still want quick access to.
 
Dropbox for iOS app doesn't allow folder syncing unless you're on a paid plan.

@NCH
You've got a couple of options. You can upgrade to a paid Dropbox plan or you can use a 3rd party app such as Documents (by Readdle) to sync entire Dropbox folders. I think Documents costs $5-10 one-time?

If you don't need to sync whole folders and can just mark the individual PDFs, there's an icon on Dropbox app to download for offline.
 
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I may misunderstand your question....

But I don’t see this as any problem at all to me.
If I don’t have internet access for iPad, I just use my phone’s 3G connection to surf on iPad.
Such as that, I always have access to Files / iCloud Drive where I store most of those things.
It syncs perfectly. I pay like 1$ / month for the 50GB I have. Pretty affordable to me.
Any storage online would work in that way.

I don’t have paid Dropbox, but got a lot of extra storage through invites and such. Dropbox Basic it says in my account.
It syncs fine too over my devices. I used it a lot more earlier, more iCloud Drive now.
 
Last edited:
rui no onna said:
Dropbox for iOS app doesn't allow folder syncing unless you're on a paid plan.

@NCH
You've got a couple of options. You can upgrade to a paid Dropbox plan or you can use a 3rd party app such as Documents (by Readdle) to sync entire Dropbox folders. I think Documents costs $5-10 one-time?

If you don't need to sync whole folders and can just mark the individual PDFs, there's an icon on Dropbox app to download for offline.
Click to expand...
Ah, I didn't see it was a syncing issue. As I literally just use Dropbox to move a file from my main computer to either my iPad Pro or Macbook Pro. In that regard I've never had issues. My bad.
 
I don't know if this will help or not, but in my case, I use Notability to open and save my Pdfs in. It works offline and in airplane mode so you can read them anywhere without needing to use any data, once they're inside the app. It syncs to Dropbox and other apps too.
 
Thanks for the help all guys. This is an issue with moving a file across to the iPad that I can then view offline. The file contains many other files and I need to retain the file structure and names. I'll have a look at the lighting connector, sound interesting. Dropbox sounds good if it's a one-off payment, it's the installments that I dislike and I had not thought of the phone idea that could be the perfect solution to avoid all the aforementioned.

I think you are all on the other side of the world to me. It's late here and I need to get my head down but I'll read up on all the comments in the morning, all the best.
 
NCH said:
I have a 12" iPad pro I picked up for drawing on and I need to take a bunch of PDFs to a job to work from but can't see how to move them to my iPad? I've been at it for a while now having struggled with one drive, icloud, Dropbox and iTunes. It all works fine as long I just want to open them but I won't have an internet connection when I go to the location and though I've found some options in some apps they are all stuck behind a paywall.

Roughly speaking inside the main folder I have them sorted into 2 main folders with each having seven folders inside with about 5 PDFs in each and I need to keep them organized like this to be able to find the ones I need. I want to be able to move the main folder to somewhere on my iPad that I can then browse to find the relevant PDF.

How do I do this? I don't want to start paying for apps only to find it's not even possible.
Click to expand...

@ best options IMHO are GoodReader (no wifi needed) and iCloud Drive when wifi available.

I use GoodReader for organizing, and accessing PDf's when in areas that have no wifi - I have a ton of technical documents that I need on a daily basis - Goodreader is a little tedious getting the PDF's organized but once they are in the correct folders GoodReader works great for stand alone (no wifi) and no lag opening documents even very large documents with graphics and drawings.

If I am going somewhere that does has wifi access - I don't know anything easier than iCloud Drive - no transfer needed - just create a folder on my MBP and that folder and all the contents show up in iCloud Drive in the same folders on the iPad and iPhone.
 
NCH said:
Thanks for the help all guys. This is an issue with moving a file across to the iPad that I can then view offline. The file contains many other files and I need to retain the file structure and names. I'll have a look at the lighting connector, sound interesting. Dropbox sounds good if it's a one-off payment, it's the installments that I dislike and I had not thought of the phone idea that could be the perfect solution to avoid all the aforementioned.

I think you are all on the other side of the world to me. It's late here and I need to get my head down but I'll read up on all the comments in the morning, all the best.
Click to expand...
Note, to get native folder sync on Dropbox requires a subscription plan and starting cost is pricey compared to alternatives.

Documents by Readdle is one-off and can connect to Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, etc. GoodReader works, too, and is also a one-time purchase. GoodReader has been crashing a lot on me lately though with large PDFs so I hesitate to recommend it.
 
artfossil said:
I use both Notability and PDF Expert for local storage on my iPad when desirable.
Click to expand...
I do the same. I backup everything in pdf format as well. Notability has a great organization structure and works really well with Dropbox , Google drive and iCloud. I use iBooks too. It works great with pdf’s. If I’m taking notes on the PDF I use notability but if it’s just to review I use iBooks.

Once the files are in iCloud with either the folders synchronize when I’m back to WiFi.
 
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It seems as though the file hierarchy is still going to be a problem, no matter which app is used.

The closest solution is the one presented by @artfossil by using notability, or something similar where you can create nested notebooks.
 
AlliFlowers said:
It seems as though the file hierarchy is still going to be a problem, no matter which app is used.

The closest solution is the one presented by @artfossil by using notability, or something similar where you can create nested notebooks.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Probably the best route.

As had been stated, for those who use cloud services there really is no issue but it’s just not something everyone wants to do let alone pay for, just as the OP stated. I personally use subscription based Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive accounts and all work wonderfully with apps like PDF Expert and Documents by Readdle.
 
muzzy996 said:
Yeah. Probably the best route.

As had been stated, for those who use cloud services there really is no issue but it’s just not something everyone wants to do let alone pay for, just as the OP stated. I personally use subscription based Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive accounts and all work wonderfully with apps like PDF Expert and Documents by Readdle.
Click to expand...

Same here. And I'm so rarely away from an internet connection that I don't worry about that aspect.
 
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If you access the files once from iCloud on the iPad, it should cache them locally. Probably a pain to open each file but it should work. Another option is to spend a few dollars on an app like GoodReader which will keep the files locally (or access them from the cloud directly). I have a lot of PDFs and I've never regretted spending the money for it!
 
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