TextEdit and iCloud

[KScottMyers]

Looks like Apple is extending the iCloud functionality a bit with documents.

Anyone notice that you can store just about anything in iCloud from TextEdit? Seems it will allow any filetype to be stored in the cloud, including a folder if its not empty. Folders can be created like in IOS. Pretty cool.

This does't seem to be the case in the Preview app. Interesting.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Works fine for Preview for me. I can create folders in there, and drag and drop other files type into it.

What I cannot do anywhere is make folders inside folders. Even if you created extra folders from within Finder, iCloud won't recognize it and it'll collapse it to the one folder hierarchy.

 

[ixodes]

Looks like Apple is extending the iCloud functionality a bit with documents.

Anyone notice that you can store just about anything in iCloud from TextEdit? Seems it will allow any filetype to be stored in the cloud, including a folder if its not empty. Folders can be created like in IOS. Pretty cool.

This does't seem to be the case in the Preview app. Interesting.

Thanks for your excellent, very informative post.

I use TextEdit a lot... and have avoided iCloud thus far, after a disappointing few years with MobileMe.

Now that you've raised my level of awareness on this topic I'll give it a try.

Cheers...

 

[KScottMyers]

Works fine for Preview for me. I can create folders in there, and drag and drop other files type into it.

What I cannot do anywhere is make folders inside folders. Even if you created extra folders from within Finder, iCloud won't recognize it and it'll collapse it to the one folder hierarchy.

Thats interesting - I can't seem to get anything into Preview except pdfs or images.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Thats interesting - I can't seem to get anything into Preview except pdfs or images.

I did Keynote, Numbers, and Pages, and Word. What files types aren't working? Perhaps I should try those.

I think anything you can get a preview for in Finder should work.

Update: No on MP4s.

 

[KScottMyers]

I did Keynote, Numbers, and Pages, and Word. What files types aren't working? Perhaps I should try those.

I think anything you can get a preview for in Finder should work.

Update: No on MP4s.

None of these seem to work in Preview, but do work in TextEdit for me...

• zip files
• txt files
• rtf files
• filemaker pro files
• aliases
• mp4 files
• m4a files
• mp3 files

Thats all I've tried so far.

 

[jeb2u]

PDFs in iBooks?

So do PDFs uploaded from Preview in Mountain Lion to iCloud sync to iOS devices at all? Do the PDFs show up in iBooks maybe?

 

[KScottMyers]

So do PDFs uploaded from Preview in Mountain Lion to iCloud sync to iOS devices at all? Do the PDFs show up in iBooks maybe?

I don't think so. Thats what's so strange about the way Apple is implementing the iCloud stuff. They seem to be trying to overly simplify the way files are stored to eliminate a file system. So files are only accessible from their associated apps. There's no TextEdit on IOS so these files are only accessible from OS X in TextEdit.

Crazy stuff and not sure I like it.

 

[Jelite]

What if you put a document into iCloud and then want to access it from another app?

 

[KScottMyers]

What if you put a document into iCloud and then want to access it from another app?

You would have to copy the file out to the Mac locally, to access it from another app.

 

[Jelite]

You can go into 'all my files' in finder and search for the document there to open but that's assuming you know exactly what you're looking for, either way it seems poorly implemented.

 

[NeoMayhem]

You would have to copy the file out to the Mac locally, to access it from another app.

It looks like many apps will be able to share the files in 'Documents in the Cloud'.

So once apps start adding iCloud support, you will be able to access the files you can currently see in TextEdit.

 

[KScottMyers]

It looks like many apps will be able to share the files in 'Documents in the Cloud'.

So once apps start adding iCloud support, you will be able to access the files you can currently see in TextEdit.

Preview and TextEdit do have iCloud support. You can't access TextEdit files from Preview or the other way around. Where did you see that this may be the case?

 

[NeoMayhem]

Preview and TextEdit do have iCloud support. You can't access TextEdit files from Preview or the other way around. Where did you see that this may be the case?

Unless they are going to claim that the TextEdit features are a bug, they are going to have to add this functionality eventually.

Right now you can upload images, music and videos to iCloud with TextEdit, but can't open them with anything.

 

[Stuke00]

Where do you even access your icloud documents? I have documents enabled in the icloud settings, but I can't seem to find how to access them.

 

[KScottMyers]

Where do you even access your icloud documents? I have documents enabled in the icloud settings, but I can't seem to find how to access them.

Currently, apps have to be written to take advantage of iCloud. TextEdit in Mountain Lion does this. Launch TextEdit and select the open command (command-O). You will be presented with an open dialog box that allows you to open files from either your Mac or iCloud.

 

[morsecp]

Unless they are going to claim that the TextEdit features are a bug, they are going to have to add this functionality eventually.

Right now you can upload images, music and videos to iCloud with TextEdit, but can't open them with anything.

You will only be able to access the files uploaded into iCloud using TextEdit with TextEdit, either from the same Mac you uploaded it from TextEdit on another Mac linked to the same iCloud account. Same goes for any other iCloud application. Every app has its own container in iCloud and can't access each others documents. The only way you'll be able to access iCloud files on your Mac and iOS devices is if they both have the same app. For example, Apple will need to releases an iOS version o TextEdit to access those files on your iPad. Same goes for Preview and eventually iWork. It is not like Dropbox.

 

[Stuke00]

Oh I thought Pages, Numbers, and Keynote were able to do this. Maybe they need version updates?

 

[JohnDoe98]

Where do you even access your icloud documents? I have documents enabled in the icloud settings, but I can't seem to find how to access them.

They are in the Library Folder and then in the Mobile Documents folder. Then split in accordance with each app. So Pages has it's own folder, as does TextEdit, Preview etc. Each time you put a file into icloud from inside an App, that app will create a new folder for those iCloud documents.

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Oh I thought Pages, Numbers, and Keynote were able to do this. Maybe they need version updates?

They can't, but you can add iWork files to icloud through the webpage client.

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Unless they are going to claim that the TextEdit features are a bug, they are going to have to add this functionality eventually.

Right now you can upload images, music and videos to iCloud with TextEdit, but can't open them with anything.

Eventually they will, but I don't think we will see it in ML. Maybe it next's year's release they will change it from having each app store its own icloud documents to having iCloud store in accordance with document types and make it so each App has to be enabled for specific file types. That would be a far more elegant solution, but it's still some ways away. Everything is sandboxed right now to clamp down on security.

 

[NeoMayhem]

You will only be able to access the files uploaded into iCloud using TextEdit with TextEdit, either from the same Mac you uploaded it from TextEdit on another Mac linked to the same iCloud account. Same goes for any other iCloud application. Every app has its own container in iCloud and can't access each others documents. The only way you'll be able to access iCloud files on your Mac and iOS devices is if they both have the same app. For example, Apple will need to releases an iOS version o TextEdit to access those files on your iPad. Same goes for Preview and eventually iWork. It is not like Dropbox.

Doesn't seem like Apple would let you upload files that can't be opened with that app then. Like we can do now with TextEdit and possibly other apps.

Plus, what is stopping me from creating an app called iDropBox for OS X and iOS that lets the user store any filetype in iCloud?

Hell, dropbox could do this and save millions on storage costs.

If apple wont let us use iCloud how we want, I am sure somebody else will.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Doesn't seem like Apple would let you upload files that can't be opened with that app then. Like we can do now with TextEdit and possibly other apps.

Plus, what is stopping me from creating an app called iDropBox for OS X and iOS that lets the user store any filetype in iCloud?

Hell, dropbox could do this and save millions on storage costs.

If apple wont let us use iCloud how we want, I am sure somebody else will.

Exactly right! Developers can do that (though it obviously uses up your iCloud storage). Readdle is working on it.

Dropbox could easily do the same.

 

[ixodes]

Oh I thought Pages, Numbers, and Keynote were able to do this. Maybe they need version updates?

I am suprised that Apple has done such a poor job of providing comprehensive information about iCloud and where it's going. This is an example of the downside to Apple's policy of total secrecy.

Why treat your customers well, when you can ignore them and still enjoy record setting sales. Like a guy that abuses his girlfriend, she keeps taking it. That's the Apple way

 

[JohnDoe98]

I am suprised that Apple has done such a poor job of providing comprehensive information about iCloud and where it's going. This is an example of the downside to Apple's policy of total secrecy.

Why treat your customers well, when you can ignore them and still enjoy record setting sales. Like a guy that abuses his girlfriend, she keeps taking it. That's the Apple way

If Apple is so abusive to you, why don't you leave it's community? All your posts seem to exhibit the same general disdain of everything Apple does, yet you still purchase their products and frequent the forums catered to it's users. Many of us have a special word for that, and it's not troll.