Novice question about dropbox

[Gmon]

Is there an app (maybe even a free one) that will allow me to write a word doc on ipad, put it in dropbox and then open it on a PC for editing? Could I do it with the notepad that comes with ipad? Thanks.

 

[willerz2]

Not free ones off of Dropbox. But something like Pages, Notesy or Office2 can accomplish this. Notesy runs you $2.99 IIRC. Office2 runs you $7.99 and Pages runs you $9.99. Not aware of any free apps that can do this

 

[skimonkey]

Is there an app (maybe even a free one) that will allow me to write a word doc on ipad, put it in dropbox and then open it on a PC for editing? Could I do it with the notepad that comes with ipad? Thanks.

Have you tried Evernote? It's free and could be used as a basic word processing app for writing documents. Several people at work use this as a substitute word processing app. It doesn't have a direct connect to Dropbox however, you can email the doc and edit it upon opening on your computer.

I use Pages which works well with Word documents. I think it's worth the money to have and very useful.

Good luck.

Glad you joined us ~ ~ Welcome to the forum!

Ski ~
iPadforums Moderator | iPhoneForums Moderator

 

[giradman]

Is there an app (maybe even a free one) that will allow me to write a word doc on ipad, put it in dropbox and then open it on a PC for editing? Could I do it with the notepad that comes with ipad? Thanks.

Hi Gmon - welcome to the forum!

As already posted, there are a number of apps & options to view & edit Word files on the iPad - my main solution is Pages, which is part of the trio of apps in iWork (i.e. Pages, Numbers, & Keynote - each is $10); but for many other choices/solutions, please review this article Editing Word Docs on the iPad. iPad's Notes is not a solution (basically a simple text based app).

Now, regarding composing a Word 'doc' file on the iPad and then getting it to your PC, you'll have to look @ the features of the apps you may be considering, e.g. Pages will allow a number of options (such as e-mailing the file) but I've not noticed a 'Dropbox' choice. I'll stop there and let others 'chime in' w/ suggestions and hope that the link above is of help - good luck!

 

[runningbear29]

I would sure like to read more details as to just how Pages works.

 

[giradman]

I would sure like to read more details as to just how Pages works.

Well, there is nothing available in the official iPad iOS 6.x manual, but just google 'ipad pages app guide' (or something similar) and you'll be presented w/ a variety of hits, e.g. try looking at THIS ONE - good luck in your search!

 

[lizzieh]

Why don't you do what I do, write it in an email to yourself then on your laptop/computer, just cut and paste it into a word doc.

Sent from my iPad using iPF

 

[runningbear29]

Well, there is nothing available in the official iPad iOS 6.x manual, but just google 'ipad pages app guide' (or something similar) and you'll be presented w/ a variety of hits, e.g. try looking at THIS ONE - good luck in your search!

Thanks for the link. I thought someone had a little input they had found using it that would be helpful.

 

[twerppoet]

Thanks for the link. I thought someone had a little input they had found using it that would be helpful.

Unfortunately the last time a member did a full comparison of the best Word compatible apps was almost two years ago. It has also been about that long since I saw a detailed blog or news article on the subject. Though the one that Giradman linked isn't too bad if you take note of the relative scores and follow the linked articles.

Personally, also use Pages. For end to end creation of a document you won't find anything better on the iPad; however some of the other apps are somewhat more compatible with MS Office (though hardly 100%), and have direct DropBox support.

For an absolutely free, basic word processor you can use Google Drive. It does not have direct DropBox access, but it is it's own cloud based solution, and whatever you create on the iPad can be enhanced by the more complete toolset available on the desktop version. This may fit your needs best.


The only 100% compatible MS Office solution available are from CloudOn and OnLive. These run a basic MS Office suite on a remote computer. File are transferee on and off the servers via DropBox. However, they can not be used without an internet connection, a good one, and the UI is a touchified desktop, far form ideal.

 

[runningbear29]

Unfortunately the last time a member did a full comparison of the best Word compatible apps was almost two years ago. It has also been about that long since I saw a detailed blog or news article on the subject. Though the one that Giradman linked isn't too bad if you take note of the relative scores and follow the linked articles.

Personally, also use Pages. For end to end creation of a document you won't find anything better on the iPad; however some of the other apps are somewhat more compatible with MS Office (though hardly 100%), and have direct DropBox support.

For an absolutely free, basic word processor you can use Google Drive. It does not have direct DropBox access, but it is it's own cloud based solution, and whatever you create on the iPad can be enhanced by the more complete toolset available on the desktop version. This may fit your needs best.


The only 100% compatible MS Office solution available are from CloudOn and OnLive. These run a basic MS Office suite on a remote computer. File are transferee on and off the servers via DropBox. However, they can not be used without an internet connection, a good one, and the UI is a touchified desktop, far form ideal.

Thank you for taking the time to give your answer.

 

[twerppoet]

No problem.

 

[Gmon]

Thank you, one and all. It's an education! Cheers.