Organize photos on mulitple ipads

[BJC]

I maintain 3 ipads for my sales reps. Each rep needs the same photos, so I manage a photo folder on my pc and then transfer to each ipad.

Does anyone know if there is a way to get the ipad/itunes to acknowledge sub folders in the ipad photo app?

If not, is there an app that would allow me to do this? I want a photo organizing app, not an editor.

Can I do this using Lightroom?

I have also considered purchasing a mac. Does anyone know if I would have better luck using iphoto?

Thanks!

 

[TJK]

Probably the best method for you involves DropBox and GoodReader App. (GoodReader is .99 cents). DropBox gets a lot of coverage here but once you sign up you get 2GB of free Cloud Storage. Just drop the photos in there and then access them via either the DropBox or GoodReader app on the iPad. GoodReader will allow you set up folders and will sync directly to DropBox.

This requires no sync to a computer. Once you install DropBox on your PC it functions just like any other folder on your hard disk and you can drag and drop files where you want them. I use this method for not only photos but marketing materials, schematics, and even PCB plots - it is so cool to just pop up the file on the iPad when meeting at my "virtual office" (Starbucks) and much easier than digging out the laptop.

I also use MobileMe and then the MobileMe Gallery app on the iPad - this allows you to organize your photos in "Galleries" -much like folders - but the advantage is that you do not need to sync with a computer. Just upload the photos one time and they will sync to your sales guys. The MobileMe family plan is only $149 for 5 users. Get them to sign up for free 60 day trials and then move them to your family plan.

 

[TJK]

BTW - I am the only one in my small company with a Mac - my engineers and business partner are all PC so DropBox is a killer solution for sharing any kind of files. We set up folders for anything and everything including software code, etc.

So to answer your question a Mac will not necessarily help you with this - just try DropBox and GoodReader.

iPhoto is a pretty lame photo editor but is really wired ideally for doing quick edits and uploading directly to MobileMe if you go that route. MobileMe family account also includes 20GB of storage using Apples iDisk app -but it is just not as cool as DropBox.

MobileMe will also sync contacts and other files like notes and calendars and will integrate with Outlook for those functions.

The only time I sync my iPad is for updating software and loading movies or other media. Other than that all of document needs are handled by DropBox and GoodReader.

 

[BJC]

Thank you for the quick response and suggestions. I love Dropbox! I use it to share photos with customers. I prefer to store photos on the ipad itself vs accessing them over the web since we often work in areas that don't have an internet connection. I am not familiar with Good Reader or Mobile Me but will check them out.

 

[TJK]

BJC - the photos will be on the iPad once you sync GoodReader to your DropBox.

 

[BJC]

I don’t know why this thing is so confusing to me…it must be my pc mentality.

I have dropbox on my pc and on the ipad. I understand how the photos from dropbox on my pc are viewable on dropbox.com, but how did they get on the dropbox app on the ipad? Are they stored on the ipad or am I accessing them through dropbox.com?

I purchased the goodreader app, but I don’t see how to add files or folders to it. I have a pdf reader app which appears on the app tab and allows me to add files from the pc. Goodreader doesn’t appear in the same location as pdfreader.

Forgive my stupidity, but where does goodreader fit into the equation?

 

[Diane B]

I don’t know why this thing is so confusing to me…it must be my pc mentality.

I have dropbox on my pc and on the ipad. I understand how the photos from dropbox on my pc are viewable on dropbox.com, but how did they get on the dropbox app on the ipad? Are they stored on the ipad or am I accessing them through dropbox.com?

I purchased the goodreader app, but I don’t see how to add files or folders to it. I have a pdf reader app which appears on the app tab and allows me to add files from the pc. Goodreader doesn’t appear in the same location as pdfreader.

Forgive my stupidity, but where does goodreader fit into the equation?

I understand. Longtime PC person. You understand that Dropbox is a cloud service. When you put anything in Dropbox on your PC it is then being uploaded to the Dropbox servers somewhere out there in the ether via wifi/the net. Then when you open Dropbox app on your Ipad it accesses those "cloud" servers of Dropbox via wifi/net (or maybe 3G if you are using it) and allows you to open those files on your Ipad. You know you can actually just download the photos to your Dropbox app for offline viewing if you choose rather than load into Goodreader. You do this by tapping the star in upper right of photo you wish to save to favorites. Then to view offline you go to "home" in Dropbox and choose "favorites". Available offline and you can choose the one you want to view or simply scroll through them with a gesture.

To download to Goodreader, it gets a bit more complex. Open Goodreaders and choose the help (?) bottom right and then choose the "how to" tab. Look for how to setup and use Dropbox. Once set up its easy. You will simply choose "servers" and choose the Dropbox icon and you will see your Dropbox list (I have mine set up by folders, etc. but you can have just a list if you choose). The help will explain better than I can how to download the photos to Goodreader (I would create a folder for them before or after downloading. Use the "manage" tab where yu can do everything from moving the files to renaming, deleting, etc. You will use the 'manage' tab to create folders also). I use Goodreader a lot.

Oh, another way to add your photos to Goodreader (but a bit circuitous). In Dropbox, use the curved arrow top right and 'save image' to your photo app, then in Goodreader use the camera icon at the bottom to import the photos one by one to Goodreader from the photo app. You can then delete the photo from the Photo app.

If you only need to view the photos I would opt for the easy to use "favorites" in the Dropbox app itself to view offline and then, yes, they are on your Ipad. You can also save them to your Photo app (see last sentence in above parqgraph which I just added) but why?

I think the concept of the "cloud" is the hard part to wrap your head around but Google, Mobile Me are the same with calendar, etc. There is also Box.net and at least one more cloud service I can't think of the name right now. I use Dropbox because I get 2 GB free storage and so many apps are now integrated with it.

Hope this is helpful and if you need more help, feel free to ask. Since I use all of these apps all the time, I'll be glad to explain what I know--just hope I phrased it in such a way that it helps rather than muddy the waters more LOL.

Diane

 

[andykeating]

hey you can try out the ipad edition of Sort shots app.Its the best app for organizing the pics as it provides an option to assign tags to the pics in the form of keywords ratings etc.

 

[mikegayle]

I maintain 3 ipads for my sales reps. Each rep needs the same photos, so I manage a photo folder on my pc and then transfer to each ipad.

Does anyone know if there is a way to get the ipad/itunes to acknowledge sub folders in the ipad photo app?

If not, is there an app that would allow me to do this? I want a photo organizing app, not an editor.

Yes it is possible friend someone suggested me Photo Folder app which helps to create folders. Also it allows you to sort and organize them effectively as you can filter them using various criteria - keywords, favorites or ratings

 

[BJC]

I've tried the PhotoFolder app and the ability to organize is good, but I don't like that the app renames all photos at import. Also, it doesn't allow me to manage the photos through iTunes, only on the iPad itself, to keep all the photos the same on all 3 iPads. Thank you for the suggestion.