new boy with a problem - pdf and jpg files in one folder

[jsw119]

Hi - I have had an iPod for some time and 2 days ago bought a used, but as new, first generation iPad WI FI + 3G on eBay and installed a microsim and all is working well having loaded about a 1,000 photos and the eBay, Google, iBooks and Piano Pro apps.

As a Windows PC user this is my first real exploration into the world of Apple and must say I am really impressed.

One of the reasons I bought the iPad was to see if I could load into it all my scanned sheet music - which are jpg files - together with pdf files originally created as Microsoft xls Excel Worksheets that graphically illustrate in colour all the chords in any particular song or tune.

The reason for the chord charts being saved as pdf files instead of jpg files is that they have far better colour and resolution.

At the moment I have all my song titles - some 2,000 - in folders A to Z - with each song preceded with the pdf chord chart for that particular song as a visual reminder should I forget any of the lesser used chords.

OK, so far so good, these are currently loaded onto a MusicPad Pro which is a tablet especially marketed for the music world and at the flick of a finger allows you to move the music sheets forward or backword - fantastic, and it certainly beats carrying around a load of sheet music.

The MusicPad itself and it's operation is very similat to the iPad and costs about the same.

If I could do the same with the iPad it would be great as the screen is far clearer than the MusicPad screen and I could sell my MusicPad on eBay, but this is where I hit my problem.

Upon loading my pdf chord charts and jpg music sheets onto the iPad only the jpg files aoppear - I see from the book iPad for Dummies that mixing the two formats does not appear to be an option - with the pdf files only being able to be saved in iBooks.

If all the foregoing does not sound crazy and too complicated I would appreciate any thoughts on how to overcome my problem and be able to load and then view a continuous stream of pdf and jpg files mixed together.

A lot to ask as a very new boy to the Forum - but maybe a solution will help other iPad users with a similar problem.

Finally, many thanks and I look forward to becoming an active member of ther Forum.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Good to hear from you. You’ll find a whole bunch of iPad enthusiasts in this Forum who are only too willing to help other iPad owners and to hear of their experiences. Don’t be afraid to post any questions you may have or use the ‘Search’ button near the top of the Forum web page. I usually find I discover one new interesting and useful piece of information about my iPad every day - and often not even what I was looking for!!

To mix your PDF and JPEG files in one folder, you need a program called GoodReader



There is a program that most all iPad users have called GoodReader. It's the 'Swiss Army Knife' for the iPad and it can store files all together and in folders - or however you want them - and can transfer files to and from your PC using either WiFi or USB without the need for iTunes. It's built in web-browser can download files too, something that Safari doesn't offer - except for PDF format. From within GoodReader you can open those files in any app that supports that type of file. Having said that, though, when a compatible app does open that file it makes a local copy that it works on, so the original copy in GoodReader is left untouched. If you want to store the modified file in GoodReader you have to transfer it back there by some means.

GoodReader can also attach several files to an email and then send them using the iPad's native Mail app - something you can't do from within Mail itself. It also gives you the opportunity to annotate PDF files and save the resulting file so that it can be read on a PC or Mac.

Hope to hear from you soon with your thoughts about the iPad.

Have fun and enjoy your iPad


If you don’t already have it you can download a copy of the iPad manual for free.

Apple - Support - Manuals

Please read the rules too!!

http://www.ipadforums.net/forum-rules-help-info/2119-forum-rules-everybody-please-read.html

Tim
Scotland

 

[Hasty]

Do a quick search on music in these forums, as there was a recent thread on suitable apps for performers with some interesting suggestions.
Also check the app store, but i would go with personal recommendations first.

 

[The Alternative]

Yep, Tim has it right. GoodReader is a great app for storing .pdf and .jpg formats together. You can even file them in folders by type, style, whatever. Its a very useful app and one every iPad user should have.