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Mugge
2012-11-30, 12:53
Well, since I've got an iPad now and have found that the on-screen keyboard actually works quite well with my fingers, I was wondering if any of you guys have any recommendations for at good word processor for iPad?

What I'm looking for is mainly something for typing text and not anything fancy layout wise. I would very much like something that is compatible with both word and pages and possibly iCloud document integration, but with some sort of version control. Since I write a lot of contracts and legal documents, search and text structuring aids will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your kind advice. :)

Also, I have read that Pages for iPad doesn't use the same file format as Pages for Mac OS. :err:

Brave Ulysses
2012-11-30, 13:31
Well, since I've got an iPad now and have found that the on-screen keyboard actually works quite well with my fingers, I was wondering if any of you guys have any recommendations for at good word processor for iPad?

What I'm looking for is mainly something for typing text and not anything fancy layout wise. I would very much like something that is compatible with both word and pages and possibly iCloud document integration, but with some sort of version control. Since I write a lot of contracts and legal documents, search and text structuring aids will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your kind advice. :)

Also, I have read that Pages for iPad doesn't use the same file format as Pages for Mac OS. :err:

I think your best bet is Pages. it's full featured, well designed, uses iCloud document storage and i cheap.

The file format is the same... at least as far as I know:confused: My pages files open on iPad, iPhone and Mac without issue.

El Gallo
2012-11-30, 14:36
I would recommend Google Drive. It used to be called Google Docs. It is free. There is a native iOS app. It can save to device and to the cloud. It can be used through a browser. If you are at a friend's and get tired of typing on the iPad, you can just open a browser tab on their laptop or desktop. You can use it anywhere and you can even collaborate real time with it.

I was taking an online class and my partner was at Lake Havasu for Spring Break. We collaborated and put together a Powerpoint type presentation while hundreds of miles apart while also chatting about what we were doing.

Sketch
2012-12-01, 03:14
One more vote for Pages, it is a delight to use on the iPad.

The file format is the same... at least as far as I know My pages files open on iPad, iPhone and Mac without issue.

Yeap, mine too on my Mac and iPad

psmith2.0
2012-12-01, 03:21
...and a third.

Mugge
2013-02-02, 08:01
*bump*

Thanks for the recommendations.

I eventually choose iA Writer (http://www.iawriter.com) as my preferred word processor because it had those very useful back and forth by word keys on it's virtual keyboard. I found those much more usable that the "hold your finger on the text and be guided by the loupe" approach that Apple and everybody else uses. Of course it's a very basic app, but then again, when I use my iPad for typing text it's usually because I need to jot something down for later use rather than having to edit something and on the iPads small screen iA Writer seems to work best for me.

On a side note: After seeing Office 365 I'm almost beginning to feel positive about MS again. It would really be grand if they offered even a very basic iOS suite. But I suppose that they first need to try and fail with Surface before suffering the indignity of going there.

Chinney
2013-02-02, 10:57
Interesting, but I must say that I am another one who is very happy with Pages. Apple clearly put a lot of thought into making Pages work simply and at the same time very capably on the iPad. I am grateful too for the latest upgrade to it which added a 'track changes' capability. Also, working, as many of us have to, in wordprocessing world that is still dominated by MS Word, I appreciate the high degree of compatibility.

Windswept
2013-02-02, 17:48
Also, working, as many of us have to, in a wordprocessing world that is still dominated by MS Word, I appreciate the high degree of compatibility.
So, if a publisher wants something (i.e. a story or chapters of a novel) sent in via email as a Word document, could a Pages document be emailed in instead, and work fine when the publisher needs to edit the document using MS Word?

I'd really like to know just *how* compatible a Pages document would be when edited with MS Word. I mean, are there any stumbling blocks/drawbacks... stuff that could *not* be done when using MS Word to edit a Pages document - for professional book publishing?

Thanks for your help on this issue, Chinney. :)

Chinney
2013-02-02, 20:58
Carol,

I mostly work the other way. My documents usually start out on MS Word and then I port them over to Pages on the iPad for editing or additions on the go (my work and home office computers use Word). There are few issues with this - occasionally there will be a formatting change, but in general I have no big issues.

I sometimes do it the other way - I start a document in Pages on the iPad and then I transfer it over to my work or home office computer on Word - and my experience is that there are even fewer issues (actually, I have never had even one). That is because Pages allows you to save the document in MS Word format. The receiving computer using Word does not have to convert anything, as it is already in the that format.

All that said, my documents do not tend to be all that complex from a formatting perspective, so I am not sure how compatible Pages on the iPad and Word would be if you were working on a document, for example, with a whole bunch of embedded specialty items on it and had to send it back and forth. I would be hesitant about that.

hflomberg
2013-02-03, 12:40
Easy and free - the yellow pad app on my iPad - I write using that, email it to myself and go on my mac and cut & paste it to word. works extremely well.

Kickaha
2013-02-03, 18:51
So, if a publisher wants something (i.e. a story or chapters of a novel) sent in via email as a Word document, could a Pages document be emailed in instead, and work fine when the publisher needs to edit the document using MS Word?

I'd really like to know just *how* compatible a Pages document would be when edited with MS Word. I mean, are there any stumbling blocks/drawbacks... stuff that could *not* be done when using MS Word to edit a Pages document - for professional book publishing?

Thanks for your help on this issue, Chinney. :)

You have to explicitly save it as a Word document. Pages groks Word, Word doesn't know a thing about Pages, so sending a Pages document won't do any good. :)

The conversion is pretty good, but not perfect. OTOH, I've generally had it work *better* than conversion in Open Office, whose entire reason for existence is to be an Office clone, soooooo.... there's that.

alcimedes
2013-02-04, 10:23
The only places I've noticed problems between the two are if you have embedded formulas or other items with special fonts that Pages doesn't know how to recognize.

Sometimes inline tables and/or images have some layout funkiness.

That being said, when I had to go through and help a client clean up a 200+ page book with plenty of the above sprinkled around, it was still faster to convert from Word to Pages, clean up everything in Pages, and then convert *that* final product back to Word.

Working in Word on anything other than basic text editing is masochistic.

Mugge
2013-02-04, 11:09
Working in Word on anything other than basic text editing is masochistic.

But if that's all you mean to do then there's not much reason to use it in the first place.

Brave Ulysses
2013-02-04, 12:06
I've used Pages occasionally in a professional environment where everyone else was using Word and I had to export to Word at the end of every major draft to have others contribute, comment and review.

I regret doing it. It just caused a lot of issues with page layout and formatting, especially with inline images. Especially annoying to those who only use Word and don't know anything else.... it just seems like you are a pain in the ass using some 2nd rate Apple only software that is causing them problems.


So, I wouldn't recommend it for a long document that will at some point be edited in Word. Best to just stick within whichever app is going to ultimately be used.

Kickaha
2013-02-04, 18:40
The only places I've noticed problems between the two are if you have embedded formulas or other items with special fonts that Pages doesn't know how to recognize.

Sometimes inline tables and/or images have some layout funkiness.

That being said, when I had to go through and help a client clean up a 200+ page book with plenty of the above sprinkled around, it was still faster to convert from Word to Pages, clean up everything in Pages, and then convert *that* final product back to Word.

Working in Word on anything other than basic text editing is masochistic.

Absolutely. I did one chapter one time for a compiled book, and at the last minute they required Word. I had been working in LaTeX, where the equation editing is just... spectacular.

"So just move it to Equation Editor"

"Equation Editor *IS NOT CAPABLE* of doing what I am doing."

"Prove it."

<send proof>

"Oh. Ok. Go purchase this add-on for $200, and then submit your chapter."

"You want me to go spend $200 of my own money to plug a hole in a shitty piece of software that you are requiring me to use for something I'm not getting paid for?"

"Yes."

"&*(%$@#$@#"

I ended up pumping the LaTeX equations through a MacOS X Service to create tiny PDF files, which were then embedded as images in Word. 124 of them. Oh, and since Word shits all over PDFs, I also had to make TIFF and jpg versions for their ass-backwards editing system.

And then I was told by other authors that no, really, this is considered state of the art.

The first question I asked my publisher when we were discussing my book was "Do I have to use Word?" "No." "Great, we can work together then."

Word is the most useless piece of crap software I know of. It isn't as powerful as many people need, and if you can settle for less, it's just horrible to use.

To be fair, Pages would also require the same LaTeX -> PDF snippet approach... but at least in Pages, I can linkback to the original LaTeX file, and edit it on demand. Oh, and it doesn't fuck up the images.

alcimedes
2013-02-05, 09:02
I don't know if it would work for you, but you might want to check out Daum Equation Editor.

Some pretty slick options, and it's free. Allows you to export as an image file etc. pretty simply, and it was able to handle some of the funkier equation requirements this guy had. The program works both with Pages and LaTex, so allows you to get what you need where you need it. (i.e. it will feed you the LaTex code you'd need to create the equation there, but has a really slick interface)