Aug 19, 2012 - Even though there's no iPad version of Word, you can read and edit Word documents on your iPad if you're willing to accept a few.
The iPad is much more than just a mobile platform: It can become an efficient productivity tool. With the right apps, you can use the iPad to produce documents and spreadsheets that can be opened and edited on a Mac or PC. The Apple iWork productivity suite for iPad includes Pages -- the Apple word processing application -- as well as the Numbers and Keynote apps. Other apps for creating documents on the iPad include OnLive Desktop and Documents To Go. You can purchase and install the desired app through iTunes or the App Store on your iPad.
iWork Pages
Tap the “iWorks Pages' icon to open the app on your iPad. The Pages app opens in your default Documents folder.
Tap the “+” option in the upper left corner of the Pages screen. The Create Document dialog box opens.
Tap “Create Document.” Pages displays a collection of templates from which you can choose. Tap “Blank” to create a blank document, or tap one of the listed templates to start your document with a template. The document opens on the screen and the iPad keyboard displays under the document.
Tap inside the body of the document and type your content. Click the “Format Painter” icon on the top navigation menu to format the content. You also can insert images, charts and other objects, just like in the full Mac version of Pages.
Tap the “Documents” option on the top bar to return to the Documents folder. Pages assigns the template name to your document.
Tap the “Edit' option in the Documents screen. The document icons wiggle.
Tap the title assigned to your new document. The title field becomes editable.
Type the name of your document into the field, and then tap “Done.” The document is renamed to the document name you specified.
OnLive Desktop
Open the “OnLive Desktop” app icon on the iPad to open the suite.
Tap the “Word” icon in the Onlive Desktop screen to launch Microsoft Word. The OnLive Desktop application replicates an actual Windows desktop on your iPad. The Microsoft Word app operates in the same way as the full version installed on a PC.
Tap the “File” option on the top navigation menu, and then tap “New.”
Click the “Blank Document” option to open a blank Word document. You also can click a template in the Available Templates section to start with a document structure.
Type content into your document and format the page.
Click the “File” option, and then click “Save.” The Unnamed File dialog box opens.
Type a name for your document in the “File Name” field, and then click “Save.” Your document is saved to your OnLive Desktop cloud storage account.
Documents To Go
Open the Documents To Go app on the iPad.
Tap the “Local” icon in the bottom toolbar, and then tap the “+” in the bottom right corner to create a new document. The Document Type screen opens.
Tap the “MS Word Document” to create a new Word document. You also can tap “MS Excel Document” to create a new spreadsheet, or “MS Powerpoint Document” to create a new presentation. A blank document opens on the screen.
Type content into the new document.
Tap the “Back” arrow to save your document with the default name. Tap the “Edit” option in the Documents screen, and then tap the document title to rename the document. You also can send the document to your Dropbox account, iZip or Evernote by tapping the “Open In” icon in the bottom toolbar, and then tapping your selection.
Tips
Documents To Go saves new documents in the Microsoft Office DOC format by default. You can change the default document format in the app settings.
Documents To Go integrates with other iPad apps and cloud storage services, including iCloud and Dropbox.
Warnings
Documents To Go and iWork are paid apps. OnLive Desktop offers a free version with 2 GB of cloud storage. The paid version of OnLive Desktop includes 50 GB of storage.
Because the OnLive Desktop app is cloud-based, you must be connected to the Internet to create documents using this tool. Additionally, all documents you create are automatically saved to your cloud storage account, not to the iPad.
OnLive Desktop does not integrate with other apps on your device. For instance, you cannot use OnLive Desktop to open email attachments.
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Whether you're a journalist who types all the time or just someone who needs to write the occasional office memo, a reliable word processor is important in all sorts of business applications. Although there is no Microsoft Word application for the iPad, there are a number of iPad apps compatible with Word's DOC and DOCX files.
Quickoffice
Quickoffice is a suite of apps designed to enable your company to work with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. The App Advice and Mac Observer websites both named Quickoffice one of the top word processing apps available for the iPad. Quickoffice's features include an advanced text editing engine, spell check, track changes support, compatibility with sharing services such as iCloud and Dropbox, in-text comments and a Multi-Edit tool via which you can edit multiple documents simultaneously. Quickoffice costs around $20, as of March 2013. It's a 46MB download compatible with iPads running iOS 5.0 or higher.
Pages
Pages is a dedicated word processor developed by Apple. Both Mac Observer and App Advice named it one the best iPad word processing solutions. Features of Pages include 16 custom templates, image insertion, Microsoft Word file compatibility, track changes support, endnotes, footnotes, lists, multiple columns, and table and chart insertion. It does not have Dropbox support, which may be a drawback for some businesses. Pages costs around $10. It is a massive 257MB download and is compatible with iPads running iOS 5.1 or higher.
iA Writer
iA Writer is a plain-text word processor that is both streamlined and efficient in terms of memory use. App Advice named it one of the best iPad word processors. Features of iA Writer include a customized typeface optimized for the iPad, a polished interface, and iCloud and Dropbox support. Its virtual keyboard has an additional row of buttons designed to make word processing easier. iA Writer is a 4.1MB download that costs around $1. It is compatible with iPads running iOS 5.0 and up.
Documents To Go
Documents To Go is a suite of applications designed to mimic Microsoft Office. Its Word To Go word processor received praise from both App Advice and Mac Observer. Features of the Word To Go application include Microsoft Word compatibility, graphics and charts insertion, bulleted lists, tables, multiple redo and undo, endnotes, footnotes and in-text comments. Documents To Go is an 8MB download that costs around $17. It is compatible with iPads running iOS 4.3 or higher.
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About the Author
Andrew Tennyson has been writing about culture, technology, health and a variety of other subjects since 2003. He has been published in The Gazette, DTR and ZCom. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in history and a Master of Fine Arts in writing.
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- Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images News/Getty Images
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Tennyson, Andrew. 'Best iPad App for Word Documents.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ipad-app-word-documents-63021.html. Accessed 10 November 2019.
Tennyson, Andrew. (n.d.). Best iPad App for Word Documents. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ipad-app-word-documents-63021.html
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