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by Joe Kissell
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Take Control of Working with Your iPad
Get real-world advice for doing real work on your iPad!
Want to get some real work done on your iPad? Joe Kissell helps you find and use the best productivity apps and techniques. Whether you'd like to run your office from an easy chair, take meeting notes on your iPad, or edit and create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more you while you're travelling light, Joe's real-world advice helps you adopt the right mindset and make the most of your iPad.
Special topics include non-obvious tips on how to use the iPad's virtual keyboard effectively, the best ways to transfer documents among apps and devices, how to print from the iPad, and other everyday hurdles that you'll need to surmount in order to work with ease from your iPad.
- More Info
- Contents & Intro
- FAQ
- Blog
This book will teach you to:
Type right: You'll learn tips for maximizing typing speed on the onscreen keyboard and learn about using the the iPad Keyboard Dock and Bluetooth keyboard options.
Select, cut, copy, and paste: You may be able to issue these commands blindfolded with one hand tied behind your back on a regular computer, but learning their touchscreen variants may take you a moment. Joe explains what to do.
Transfer files among apps and devices: If you find transferring documents within iTunes to be limiting, take heart, because this ebook looks carefully at which apps can open documents from which other apps and from cloud/server-based systems, with details on Air Sharing, Dropbox, GoDocs, GoodReader, Memeo Connect, Office2HD, PrintCentral, Readdle, iDisk, and more. You'll also find insight into what's going on and what you can do about it.
Manage your contacts and calendars: Learn the basics of using the iPad's included Contacts and Calendar apps.
Take notes effectively at meetings and lectures: It's hard to take a shiny new iPad to a meeting unobtrusively, but assuming you can get past this fact, you'll learn a few pointers for using Apple's Notes app, and you'll find tips on great third-party apps that help you to take handwritten notes, record audio, and even use speech recognition.
Write and send email: You'll learn how to set up email accounts, view and reply to email, and adjust some settings in Mail to match your needs. (To go in-depth on the topic of email on the iPad, buy this ebook with one of the bundles at left, making sure to include Joe's Take Control of Mail on the iPad, iPhone, and iPad touch.)
Create documents in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, and more: Joe helps you get started with using the apps in Apple's mobile iWork suite, and he explores a number of third-party alternatives that go beyond Apple's offerings in certain respects. Joe particularly looks at cross-application communication between your iPad, the "cloud," and a desktop computer.
And still more... Learn how to use instant messaging, browse the Web effectively (especially with apps that compliment or supplement Safari), map locations, and print, all in the context of maximizing productivity and getting your work done. A final section offers pointers to apps that cover more tasks, including drawing and painting, outlining and brainstorming, and databases.
Book Info
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About the Author
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Book Reviews
Author Interviews
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Joe Kissell has written numerous books about the Macintosh, including many popular Take Control ebooks. He's also Senior Editor of TidBITS, contributes frequently to Macworld, and previously spent ten years in the Mac software industry.
Table of Contents
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Read Me FirstThis book shows you how to use your iPad for a variety of work-related activities, such as managing calendars and contacts, using email, browsing the Web, creating and editing documents, and giving presentations. It helps you understand how to think about your iPad and encourages you to explore options beyond those Apple provides. It was written by Joe Kissell, edited by Tonya Engst, and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc. |
Introduction
The iPad is a wonderful, all-purpose digital device whose features and size put it between an iPhone (or iPod touch) and a laptop or netbook. It’s ideal for consuming various kinds of media (including books, comics, TV shows, movies, photos, and music), playing games, and performing a thousand other tasks. But however adept this device may be at recreational activities, what a lot of people want to know is whether and how the iPad can be used for work. That’s what I explore in this book.
The answers may be different for each person. A recurring refrain in this book is that the iPad is not a computer (in the sense most of us think of computers), and so if you expect it to do everything a Mac or PC can do, you’ll be disappointed. On the other hand, because the iPad is so versatile, is easily transported, and has such a long battery life, it may make you more productive by letting you do certain kinds of work in environments where a laptop wouldn’t make sense.
For example, have you ever tried to use a laptop (even a fairly small one) on the tray table of a coach-class airplane seat? It’s geometrically tricky to say the least, and if the seat in front of you reclines, it can become impossible. So, if you were planning to read a report or work up a quick spreadsheet or presentation on the plane, your plans might be thwarted—but not if you’re using an iPad! Similarly, because you can carry the iPad nearly anywhere, you may find yourself doing useful work on park benches, in cafés and waiting rooms, and in other places where a laptop would be inconvenient to lug, and where an iPhone’s or iPod touch’s tiny screen would be too limiting.
The bottom line is that the iPad can make you more productive in many kinds of work than a smaller device could—and it may also be a better solution, in some contexts, than a laptop or netbook. But the trick is knowing how to exploit the iPad’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses when it comes to work-related tasks. That’s what I’m about to show you.
This book assumes you’re already thoroughly familiar with your iPad’s major features and are comfortable interacting with it. If you need help with things like using multi-touch gestures, charging and syncing your iPad, installing apps, and getting online, you should start by reading Tonya Engst’s free Take Control of iPad Basics. That’ll teach you all the fundamentals so that you’ll be able to make sense of everything I discuss here.
Working with Your iPad Quick Start
This book shows you how to do a variety of work-related activities with an iPad. Because each person has different work needs, feel free to skip around and read these topics in any order. However, I do recommend reading Adopt the Right Mindset first, because that section sets the tone for everything else I discuss here.
Start on the right foot:
- Learn how best to approach your iPad; see Adopt the Right Mindset.
- Discover useful skills for working with your iPad such as how to Use Keyboard Shortcuts and how to Cut, Copy, Paste, and Replace; see Master the Basics.
Handle business fundamentals:
- Make the most of your iPad’s address book; see Manage Your Contacts.
- Never lose track of a meeting or appointment; see Manage Your Calendars.
- Breeze through meetings and keep track of important data by typing notes, taking handwritten notes, recording discussions, and more; see Take Notes.
Stay connected:
- Connect to POP, IMAP, MobileMe, or Exchange servers; see Send and Receive Email.
- Chat with colleagues and friends in real time; see Use Instant Messaging.
View and create office documents:
- Get documents from your Mac or PC onto your iPad—and vice versa; see Transfer and View Documents.
- Discover the joys and pitfalls of word processing on an iPad; see Work with Text.
- Crunch numbers, manage lists, make graphs, and more; see Work with Spreadsheets.
- Go beyond slideshows with Keynote’s impressive capabilities; see Create and Give Presentations.
- Commit your creations to paper; see Print from Your iPad.
Do everything else:
- Transcend Safari’s limitations; see Browse the Web.
- Figure out where you are and how to get where you’re going; see Use Maps.
- Find examples of iPad apps for a variety of other tasks; see Do Other Work Activities.
Can I read this ebook on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch?
There are lots of great ways to read PDFs on these devices. For more details, please read our latest Device Advice.
Ask a Question
Feel free to ask us if you have a question about this book!
Send Us Your Comments!
How could we not publish such kind words? If you'd like to send us your comments (good or bad, though we hope they're all good), just click the Feedback link on the cover of your copy of the ebook. Be sure to let us know if we can publish your comment. Thanks!
Update Plans
June 18, 2010—Now that version 1.1 of this ebook is available, we have no immediate plans to do another update. We are discussing the possibility revising the ebook for iOS 4, and we'll firm up those plans later in the year.
—Adam C. Engst
New MobileMe Mail Adds Server-side Rules, Archiving, and More
June 22, 2010 --
The new version of MobileMe Mail is out of beta, so whether you read your email on the MobileMe Web site or you have a MobileMe-based email account, you'll have a smoother email experience if you review the new options and consider how they may affect the way you handle your email. I explain why the new version of MobileMe is interesting, run through the major new features, and offer helpful tips for using the new version in the TidBITS article MobileMe Mail Adds Server-side Rules, SSL, and More.
—Tonya Engst
Quickoffice Edits Office and Google Docs
June 14, 2010 --
While version 1.1 of this ebook was in production, Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite for iPad—another app that handles editing of Microsoft Word and Excel documents as well as transferring files to and from Google Docs, Dropbox, MobileMe iDisk, and Box.net—was released. Quickoffice can also transfer files to or from a computer via iTunes over a USB connection or wirelessly using a built-in Web server, and it features Document Support for sharing files between iPad apps. (Quickoffice, $9.99)
As time goes by, if other significant apps in this category appear, I'll write about them in this blog.
—Joe Kissell
Apple Unveils MobileMe Mail Beta
June 11, 2010 --
Apple recently announced the beta of an update to its Web-based mail service, MobileMe Mail. The beta offers widescreen and compact views, single-click archiving, a message-formatting toolbar, increased security via SSL, server-based rules, and overall enhanced performance. The beta is open to all MobileMe users, and you can switch back to the previous version at any time. To sign up, log in to MobileMe Mail and click the link to request an invitation in the lower left of the page.
—Tonya Engst
More iPad Thoughts from Joe
June 8, 2010 --
If you'd like to talk to Joe about all things iPad, I can't set up a personal meeting, but I can recommend the next best thing—read a recent interview between Joe and blogger Eolake Stobblehouse. In this conversational interview, Joe compares the iPad to a minivan, gives a nice explanation of how Document Support works on the iPad, and discusses pros and cons of trying to do work on an iPad. The comments following the interview expand on stylus options and issues with the Apple App Store.
—Tonya Engst
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