How can i print PDFs?

[Roger1122]

I don't have a MAC so AirPrint doesn't work for (or perhaps I should say I haven't been able to find out how it could). I have an app that provides me with PDFs of all Chopin's piano music and I would like to print out some of them to practice on but I don't see how. Is there some way of transferring the individual files within the app to my PC? I could surely print them if I could do that. The app was free and is simply called "Chopin."

Thanks for any help...

Roger 1122

 

[lrcrabtree]

I don't have a MAC so AirPrint doesn't work for (or perhaps I should say I haven't been able to find out how it could). I have an app that provides me with PDFs of all Chopin's piano music and I would like to print out some of them to practice on but I don't see how. Is there some way of transferring the individual files within the app to my PC? I could surely print them if I could do that. The app was free and is simply called "Chopin."

Thanks for any help...

Roger 1122

There' an app called Dropbox for the iPad with a PC counterpart. You can probably send the files from your new iPad app (Chopin) to Dropbox on you iPad, or open them from within Dropbox on your iPad. Either way, once they are in Dropbox they will be accessible from any PC or iDevice with Dropbox and your account info. You can also share Dropbox files if you like, but that's off topic.

I hope this helps?

Larry

 

[twerppoet]

I'm not familiar with the app, but if it does not offer a print or email feature then you are left with screen shots. Explore all the menus to be sure you don't have one of these options. For a screen shot, you just press the home button and power button at the same time. The resulting picture will show up in your Camera Roll in the Photo app. It is not very big, but depending what you want might be enough.

You can both email and print photos from the Photo app.

You do not need a Mac to use AirPrint. I'll post my usual iPad printing spiel below.


_________________


Some printers are directly compatible with AirPrint on the iPad. Be absolutely certain the printer supports AirPrint before buying. Some printers may require a firmware update to work. These are usually available on the manufacturers site. If you get this kind of printer you can print directly from within apps that support the feature, which is many.

iOS: AirPrint 101

Of course some of us already have printers and do not want to buy a new one. There are several ways to do this.

One is to use a printing app on the iPad.

Most (or all) other print apps can only print pictures and/or files that have been copied to that app via Open In or other method. Print n Share used to be able to print from AirPrint enabled apps if it was loaded the background. It lost this ability with iOS 5. It may still work with iOS 4 if you get it before the app is updated in the App Store. Several printer manufacturers have their own apps for their printers. In general those apps will probably have the best results, quality wise.

The second method is to load a program on the computer that will emulate an AirPrint compatible printer. Your computer must be on and have the printer available to it. The cheapest (free) is Airprint Activator. More features can be had with FingerPrint (mac and windows) and Printopia (mac only).

There is a third way. A few printers (mostly HP's again) can be set up with their own email address. PDF attachments can be sent via this address to be printed. The last review I saw (several months ago) said it could be quite slow (big files not recommended), and sometimes the emails got lost and never printed. The advantage was that you could literally send/print from anywhere you have an internet connection.

There is a new wrinkle for small business owners and those with more than one printer who would like all their printers to work, but don't want to leave a computer on all the time. The Lantronix XPrintServer is a small box that connects to your network and is supposed to detect and make all your wireless printers available to iOS as AirPrint printers. I haven't seen a full review on it yet, so do your research.

 

[Roger1122]

There' an app called Dropbox for the iPad with a PC counterpart. You can probably send the files from your new iPad app (Chopin) to Dropbox on you iPad, or open them from within Dropbox on your iPad. Either way, once they are in Dropbox they will be accessible from any PC or iDevice with Dropbox and your account info. You can also share Dropbox files if you like, but that's off topic.

I hope this helps?

Larry

Thank, Larry. The problem appears to be the iPad's way of not storing stuff in directories/folders. If I could access the files and move/copy them I could certainly do as you suggest. I do have a Dropbox account. I was hoping someone could suggest where to look for the actual PDF files. I also have Good Reader, which is a marvelous Swiss Knife kind of app for PDFs. I thought maybe iTunes would let me move the files... But I have been tripped up by iTunes and Sync/backup glitches so many times that I am reluctant to connect my iPad or iPhone to my PC in case something else important gets screwed up by iTunes. Boy, I really hate that program and would like to manage without it. I put up a despairing question about this a couple weeks ago but no response.

 

[Roger1122]

I'm not familiar with the app, but if it does not offer a print or email feature then you are left with screen shots. Explore all the menus to be sure you don't have one of these options. For a screen shot, you just press the home button and power button at the same time. The resulting picture will show up in your Camera Roll in the Photo app. It is not very big, but depending what you want might be enough.

You can both email and print photos from the Photo app.

You do not need a Mac to use AirPrint. I'll post my usual iPad printing spiel below.

_________________

Some printers are directly compatible with AirPrint on the iPad. Be absolutely certain the printer supports AirPrint before buying. Some printers may require a firmware update to work. These are usually available on the manufacturers site. If you get this kind of printer you can print directly from within apps that support the feature, which is many.

iOS: AirPrint 101

Of course some of us already have printers and do not want to buy a new one. There are several ways to do this.

One is to use a printing app on the iPad.

Most (or all) other print apps can only print pictures and/or files that have been copied to that app via Open In or other method. Print n Share used to be able to print from AirPrint enabled apps if it was loaded the background. It lost this ability with iOS 5. It may still work with iOS 4 if you get it before the app is updated in the App Store. Several printer manufacturers have their own apps for their printers. In general those apps will probably have the best results, quality wise.

The second method is to load a program on the computer that will emulate an AirPrint compatible printer. Your computer must be on and have the printer available to it. The cheapest (free) is Airprint Activator. More features can be had with FingerPrint (mac and windows) and Printopia (mac only).

There is a third way. A few printers (mostly HP's again) can be set up with their own email address. PDF attachments can be sent via this address to be printed. The last review I saw (several months ago) said it could be quite slow (big files not recommended), and sometimes the emails got lost and never printed. The advantage was that you could literally send/print from anywhere you have an internet connection.

There is a new wrinkle for small business owners and those with more than one printer who would like all their printers to work, but don't want to leave a computer on all the time. The Lantronix XPrintServer is a small box that connects to your network and is supposed to detect and make all your wireless printers available to iOS as AirPrint printers. I haven't seen a full review on it yet, so do your research.

Thank you for this reply, which I see was made on Christmas day! Sorry for the delayed reply, I seem to have turned notifications off. I was beginning to think there would be no replies, as with my earlier despairing cry for help over iTunes sync and backup.

My printer and desktop do not have wireless functions. I either plug the iPad 2 into the computer and depend on iTunes, which I am very reluctant to do because of severe problems with sync and backup, or access the same LAN (and the Internet link it provides) via a WiFi adaptor. I will look into the Lantronix device. The problem for me is getting the PDF files to the PC. I guess I will have to mess with iTunes again. How I hate that program!

 

[twerppoet]

The AirPrint emulation apps like finger print do not involve iTunes at all. You install them on the machine with the printer and it makes the printer available via WiFi (assuming your computer is on and connected to the wi-fi network. This works for wired (USB) printers just fine.

I've looked at the Chopin Piano app. From what I'm reading there is not going to be any way to print from that app. This is not a matter of just copying the PDF files. The files are integrated with the app, and the developer has not made them available for printing, copying, or other export. There is not even a user area for you to add or delete files. That being so, iTunes File Sharing won't be able to see the files either.

It's a (deliberate?) limitation of the app, not the iPad.

There is a support link for the app on it's App Store page. Send an email link to them to confirm what I suspect.

 

[Roger1122]

Thanks. Can an iPad connected to an ISP via WiFi adaptor and using the same IP address as the computer be said to be "on the same WiFi network? If so, Fingerprint will be very useful.

I will contact the Chopin app author as you suggest.

Thanks again

 

[twerppoet]

No problem. Glad to help.

I'm not sure what you are describing, so I can't give you a solid answer.

At any rate, Fingerprint has a free trial period, so you can simply try it and see if it works.

If it does not, then you may need to get a router, connect that to your ISP, and connect both the computer and iPad to the router. Contact your ISP for information on how to do that.

 

[Roger1122]

No problem. Glad to help.

I'm not sure what you are describing, so I can't give you a solid answer.

At any rate, Fingerprint has a free trial period, so you can simply try it and see if it works.

If it does not, then you may need to get a router, connect that to your ISP, and connect both the computer and iPad to the router. Contact your ISP for information on how to do that.

What I am describing is simplicity itself. I have a condominium where Internet access is via a LAN socket in the wall. All residents are on a 1GB LAN (275 units share this). The computer is plugged into this. So is the WiFi unit, which is accessed by my iPhone and iPad. They all therefore share the same IP address but ONLY the iPad is actually linked by WiFi. So my question stands. However, I take your hint about the free trial of Fingerprint and will give it a go. It will have to wait until the New Year, though, as we are busy today preparing for a New Year holiday in Thailand!