The love hate relationship with iPad Pro 12.9 (2nd Gen)

[DJ_NUFC]

Hi Everyone,

First post here after being a longtime lurker. I’m a wedding photographer and I bought an iPad Pro 12.9 (2nd Gen) as my on-the-go machine for light editing and mainly image management, emails, spreadsheets, blogging, etc. I would say it’s replaced 80% of my MacBook Pro usage. However, I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with this thing. And it’s not because of the machine itself, which is a thing of beauty, but due to iOS.

I find file management severely lacking, and some of the features are so dumbfounding that I can’t even believe how or why a company would implement them.

Currently I’m stuck on the following issue: whenever I download an image from Smugmug or any online photo cloud app (via browser or app itself), the iPad changes the file name. I just found this out now. However, if I were to download a zip file of the same images and unzip it using WinZip Pro / Documents, I have no issues. At times I just need 5 images which are located in different folders online, I can’t always zip these things and unzip them, adding unnecessary steps to a very basic process.

As photographers would tell you, image names are vital as we organize images using them. I’m currently in the middle of selecting photos for album design for a client, and every time I download an image from Safari or anywhere, and let’s say it’s named “a_j_wedding_1.jpg,” as soon as I save it to Camera Roll OR Dropbox via the Files app, it changes it to “Image789.jpg.” WTF?

And what I’ve found is a lot of these issues seem to be “figure out a workaround yourself” kinda deal, so googling doesn’t help.

So here I am, seeking for anyone’s help on here who may have an idea of what I may be doing wrong, or if it’s just a system limitation.

Thanks!

 

[Makayla]

I am not a big fan of iCloud photo stream either. It has managed to mess up my photos twice. Google Drive saved me each time.

For the level of control you want google drive might be better. Not perfect, but better.

 

[rasputin1969]

Try drag and dropping the image from the browser to the files app - the names are retained for me.

 

[Kal-037]

I want a true file system, better Final Cut, Adobe, and other bigger programs.

... I also want the ability to download mp3 files from other competitors that iTunes doesn’t have.
lol.



K.

 

[simonmet]

Welcome DJ_NUFC. That’s a great first post as it describes your use and issues well.

My thoughts are these. You said the iPad has replaced about 80% of your MacBook Pro usage. To me that sounds like a lot and I’m not sure if, as a device, it’s meant to do or be more than that - at least not yet anyway. You seem to be getting very good use out of what it can do already.

The file renaming problem you described sounds like a bug. As you say I can’t see any reason for it to do that. You have to push Apple to get things changed or fixed sometimes but that is definitely something I can see them resolving. There are several options and channels to go about getting formal support from Apple - and as a professional photographer I think they’ll want to make you happy if you try to engage with them. If you do, talk up how critical the issue is to your workflow. Remember, there are real developers behind the scenes and they probably like to know their work is making a difference.

The iPad has come a long way recently - especially with the Pro models - but they will always lack some features and capabilities compared to a laptop, so only you can decide which tools are required or work best for your needs. I can see the iPad gaining more desktop-like features, but probably not full, open and advanced file management like on a Mac. I think the pro iPads are still compelling products however.

Hope this helps.

 

[DJ_NUFC]

Try drag and dropping the image from the browser to the files app - the names are retained for me.

I tried doing that too, and it retains the generic Photos app "ImageXXX.jpg" nomenclature. Are you dragging and dropping it into Google Drive or some other destination? I'm trying Dropbox within the Files app and also the standalone Dropbox app, same name-changing results for me

Makayla, I'm gonna try Google Drive. My concern is that this is a Photos app issue, so the destination may not matter, but won't hurt to try.

simonmet, thank you! Great tips. I'm gonna reach out to Apple to ensure this is looked at, because I can't be the only one who needs to retain photo filenames.
[doublepost=1514141701][/doublepost]

Try drag and dropping the image from the browser to the files app - the names are retained for me.

Oh sorry, I just read you meant dragging & dropping directly from the browser. Hmmm, lemme try that next. My concern is that in the past when I've dragged & dropped directly from browser, it copies a weird .png version of the image, and I need the full resolution image ending in .jpg for printing. I'll try this next and let you know. Cheers.

 

[Eric5273]

Don't use the Files app. Use Documents by Readdle instead. Save the picture to Documents and you should be fine. Avoid using the Photo album. I only use the photo album for my personal photos. For work related stuff where file names is important, I use the Documents app to store the photos and I use Affinity Photo for editing.

 

[DJ_NUFC]

Thanks Eric. It seems we have to avoid using apples native apps and rely on 3rd party apps to do the jobs for us. I’m gonna make Documents my go-to file manager now instead of Files. Cheers.

 

[rowspaxe]

I like my ipad pr 9.7" and may get a 12.9" this year--but I would never use it for professional art production. The file work arounds are just too cumbrersome and sap momentum. Excellent sketch tool, however

 

[Eric5273]

Thanks Eric. It seems we have to avoid using apples native apps and rely on 3rd party apps to do the jobs for us. I’m gonna make Documents my go-to file manager now instead of Files. Cheers.

Apple designs their native apps with the general public in mind, not for professional use. For the average person taking photos of their children, file names are not important. What is important is the photo metadata, which the Photo app handles very well. So Apple has decided to use generic file names and also hide the file names. I don't think they ever intended for photos to be put in the photo album and then extracted by a file manager.

In general, for professional use, third party apps are much better than native apps. And lucky for us, there are over a million of them to choose from! The challenge is finding the right apps for your needs, and that does take some time.

 

[simonmet]

Thanks Eric. It seems we have to avoid using apples native apps and rely on 3rd party apps to do the jobs for us. I’m gonna make Documents my go-to file manager now instead of Files. Cheers.

This is indeed increasingly the case. Fortunately there are usually some very good third-party options to step up where Apple is falling behind. The iOS app ecosystem is still the best in my opinion.

I think I delete about half the native bundled apps that come with the phone nowadays. It used to be that Apple made the best and you didn’t have to look elsewhere. But then I do download and install some of their other free ones like iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) which are great, so there’s that.