iPad iNoob with iTunes Confusion

[Midnight Blue]

I'm brand new to iPad and iTunes though been using PC stuff for nearly 30 years (ouch).

Have an iPad which I am extremely impressed with thus far. Installed iTunes on my home PC and proceeded to purchase a number of apps and TV shows which are now synced to my iPad.

My work laptop has my Outlook mail, contacts and calendar connected to a corporate Exchange server. Our IT folks will not allow me to connect my iPad to Exchange so I would like to use iTunes to sync my contacts and calendar (less worried about email since I have a BlackBerry too) to my iPad.

I would like to be able to continue to use iTunes on my home PC for syncing apps and media and use iTunes on my work laptop to sync contacts and calendar. Is this possible? I did install iTunes on my laptop and the first time I connected my iPad it warned me about the iPad already being synced with another iTunes or some such thing and I am pretty sure I cancelled that. I am travelling and every time I connect my iPad to my laptop to charge it, iTunes launches even though I told it not to automatically sync and it does let me browse my iPad.

Please help this newbie demystify what I can and cannot do with iTunes as described.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MikesTooLz]

You can only sync the iPad with one PC.
and you cannot simply just sync email and contacts over to the ipad. what syncing with outlook in itunes does is just add your email account over into the ipad so that you dont have to manually type in the account info.

If you work wont allow you to add your exchange email account to the ipad then you just wont be able to get those emails/contacts on the ipad.

Ask them if they have setup OutlookWebAccess on their email servers. This way you can access you emails and everything on the ipad just by going to the company OutlookWebAccess website.



If you want to use multiple computers with the iPad, you will have to set it to manage music and videos manualy. This means you have to drag and drop everything you want on the ipad instead of just clicking one button to sync everything automatically. To turn this on connect your ipad to itunes and then in the summary tap select the check box next to Manually manage music and videos.

 

[Bluesjam]

Here's what I did. My work email is also secure behind a solid firewall. I have iTunes on my work computer but I don't sync the iPad to the work computer. I have a pc at home with Outlook and a personal email thru Bellsouth/AT&T. I also have the Blackberry Desktop software on my home computer. I used my Blackberry to upload my contacts to the home computer into my home outlook. Then I had iTunes to import all of my contacts from Outlook into iTunes, when uploaded to the iPad. All 444 of them. Worked like a charm. So on my iPad I have all of my work contacts, I have my personal email and everything works good. If I get an important email from work I use the Blackberry to forward to my personal email and get it on the iPad and use it to answer it with the iPad keyboard. You just can't have the secure work email on the iPad but you work around it.

 

[Midnight Blue]

You can only sync the iPad with one PC.
and you cannot simply just sync email and contacts over to the ipad. what syncing with outlook in itunes does is just add your email account over into the ipad so that you dont have to manually type in the account info.

If you work wont allow you to add your exchange email account to the ipad then you just wont be able to get those emails/contacts on the ipad.

Ask them if they have setup OutlookWebAccess on their email servers. This way you can access you emails and everything on the ipad just by going to the company OutlookWebAccess website.



If you want to use multiple computers with the iPad, you will have to set it to manage music and videos manualy. This means you have to drag and drop everything you want on the ipad instead of just clicking one button to sync everything automatically. To turn this on connect your ipad to itunes and then in the summary tap select the check box next to Manually manage music and videos.

Thanks. We do use OWA and I have already set this up as a bookmark and an icon on a home screen for quick launch. Would really like to get my contacts on the iPad though. May experiment with the manual setting you suggested.

 

[Midnight Blue]

Here's what I did. My work email is also secure behind a solid firewall. I have iTunes on my work computer but I don't sync the iPad to the work computer. I have a pc at home with Outlook and a personal email thru Bellsouth/AT&T. I also have the Blackberry Desktop software on my home computer. I used my Blackberry to upload my contacts to the home computer into my home outlook. Then I had iTunes to import all of my contacts from Outlook into iTunes, when uploaded to the iPad. All 444 of them. Worked like a charm. So on my iPad I have all of my work contacts, I have my personal email and everything works good. If I get an important email from work I use the Blackberry to forward to my personal email and get it on the iPad and use it to answer it with the iPad keyboard. You just can't have the secure work email on the iPad but you work around it.

Thanks. Unfortunately I do not have Outlook on my home computer. Wish I could tell iTunes to import a PST file.

 

[Midnight Blue]

If you want to use multiple computers with the iPad, you will have to set it to manage music and videos manualy. This means you have to drag and drop everything you want on the ipad instead of just clicking one button to sync everything automatically. To turn this on connect your ipad to itunes and then in the summary tap select the check box next to Manually manage music and videos.

I've taken your suggestion and configured iTunes on my work laptop to manage music and videos manually. After doing so, I went to the Info tab and told iTunes to sync my Outlook Contacts, Calendar and Notes. First iTunes reported it was backing up my iPad (exactly what does it backup and where does it back it up to?) and then it sync'd my contacts, calendar and notes to the applicable iPad apps. Very slick. My previously sync'd TV Shows are still on my iPad.

Am I correct (fingers crossed) that I can still connect this iPad to my home computer and manage iTunes purchased apps and media (as well as local music library) AND use my work laptop to manually sync contacts, calendar and notes on a periodic basis?

When I return home tomorrow, I will attach my iPad to my home computer to check. I'm hoping I did not hose anything up.

 

[MikesTooLz]

You should be OK hooking it back up at home

 

[iPadCharlie]

I am travelling and every time I connect my iPad to my laptop to charge it, iTunes launches even though I told it not to automatically sync and it does let me browse my iPad.

Go into iTunes, Edit, Preferences and check the option to Prevent iPods, iPhones and iPads from syncing automatically

 

[Midnight Blue]

I am travelling and every time I connect my iPad to my laptop to charge it, iTunes launches even though I told it not to automatically sync and it does let me browse my iPad.

Go into iTunes, Edit, Preferences and check the option to Prevent iPods, iPhones and iPads from syncing automatically

Thanks. I do have this option checked but iTunes still launches whenever I connect my iPad. I'll double check if behavior is the same on my home computer when I return.

 

[Hasty]

Heh hate that iTunes helper that loads on startup. Always forget to disable it when I upgrade the program.

Usually when I plug in my iPad it's just to recharge, and i don't need iTunes to startup. iTunes will recognise your iPad if you fire it up later.

 

[Midnight Blue]

Heh hate that iTunes helper that loads on startup. Always forget to disable it when I upgrade the program.

Usually when I plug in my iPad it's just to recharge, and i don't need iTunes to startup. iTunes will recognise your iPad if you fire it up later.

Are you saying that there is a way to disable iTunes from auto-launching as soon as I connect my iPad? I already disabled auto-sync, but also want to disable auto-launch. As with you, most of the time I am connected to PC is recharge the iPad.

 

[iPadCharlie]

Are you saying that there is a way to diable iTunes from auto-launching as soon as I connect my iPad? I already disabled auto-sync, but also want to disbable auto-launch.

When I selected this option:

This option became grayed-out:

Now when I plug my iPad into my computer, iTunes does not start up.

As with you, most of the time I am connected to PC is recharge the iPad.

This kind of bothers me because in the User Guide it says:

When you plug your iPad into your computer, does your screen look like this?

Your iPad really is charging, but really really slowly. You should be using the charger that came with your iPad... unless you have a lot of time on your hands!

 

[Midnight Blue]

Are you saying that there is a way to diable iTunes from auto-launching as soon as I connect my iPad? I already disabled auto-sync, but also want to disbable auto-launch.

When I selected this option:

This option became grayed-out:

Now when I plug my iPad into my computer, iTunes does not start up.

As with you, most of the time I am connected to PC is recharge the iPad.

This kind of bothers me because in the User Guide it says:

When you plug your iPad into your computer, does your screen look like this?

Your iPad really is charging, but really really slowly. You should be using the charger that came with your iPad... unless you have a lot of time on your hands!

My options are set the same way yet iTunes still launches every time I connect iPad.

As for charging, I realize that the iPad will only recharge while it is in sleep mode while attached to PC. This is fine for me most of the time. I'll connect to AC when pressed for time.

 

[iPadCharlie]

My options are set the same way yet iTunes still launches every time I connect iPad.

I swear... honest... I did not change any other settings... at least I don't think so! But I could be wrong since I am getting to the age where I can hide my own Easter eggs!