Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Docx to Pages

How to transfer Word files to my iPad and actually edit them? 

Microsoft Skydrive allows you to view any of your files on Skydrive with crystal clarity, but offers no editing feature (as yet).  You can open the PC site and use the Web App version of Word to edit files, but it is a singularly unsatisfactory experience on the iPad. We definitely hope this changes in the future.

So you have to use iTunes to import your docx or doc files into Pages. 

1. In iTunes click on your iPad in the Devices section on the left panel.
2. in the main panel click on Apps.
3. Scroll down until you see your Pages app displayed in the File Sharing section.
4. Click Pages in the Apps column
5. Click the add button in the Pages Documents column.
6. Add the document you wish from your drive or the cloud.
7. on the iPad click the + icon in the upper left, and choose copy from iTunes.
8. The file is downloaded into Pages and fully editable.

Return the file using the Pages export feature--you don't want to do the above in reverse do you?

Hopefully eventually Microsoft will offer an Apple ready app for Word editing, like they have for OneNote. Until then, the above 8 steps will have to suffice.