I thank the several individuals who have contributed to this thread as I have found it very interesting.
I have a large number of PDF files containing scans of sheetmusic on my Windows 7 PC. I had thought that I would put those files on my new iPad and then experiment with different PDF readers to see which one worked best for most of them. But from the research I have been doing that might not be possible. It seems that you do not transfer a file from a Windows PC to a location on the iPad but rather transfer the file to an application. Is that right? Does that mean that to try the same file in two different iPad PDF reader apps I would need to transfer the file twice (once to each app)? And if some day a better app comes along I would have to re-transfer all of the files?
Yes, that is true. There is no central file sustem as you would find on a "regular" computer. Each app must have the file stored within its own system in order to open it.
This is why a lot of people use an online storage system. This way, the file can be in a central place ("in the cloud") and opened in any app you choose.
Can the apps organize their files in some heirarchical manner? So I could have a folder of rap, a folder of show tunes, a folder of country, etc.?
It really does depend on the app and how the Developer built it. For example, if you used iBooks to store your PDFs, you could make separate Collections according to genre. Or, the paid app Goodreader allows you to set up folders (including sub-folders). And, its a pretty good PDF viewer, also. I'm sure there are sorting options for most apps...and there are many, many apps to view PDFs/scores.
A related question (although it has nothing to do with sheet music) - if I can have more than one PDF reader app on my iPad, which one does a browser use when I click on a link to a PDF file?
Thanks, Bob
If the developer built in in (most have), apps use Apple's/the iPad's default "Open In..." function. If you have a PDF open in your browser (the URL ends in .pdf), you will get the "Open In..." option. Then, any app you have installed that can view a PDF file will be available to select from to open the PDF.
Hope this helps.
Marilyn