Spreadsheets

[Wexfordlady]

I recently got an iPad and am looking for a good spreadsheet app to install. As I won't be using a desktop for the spreadsheets, I need an app that I can install on both my iPad and iPhone and will automatically (or manually if necessary) synchronise changes across the two devices without going through a desktop. Does anybody have any recommendations?

 

[Somerled]

2 pieces here.
1. Dropbox - Free - Syncs up documents and other files, up to 2 GB for free. I sync between 4 machines including my WinXP laptop at work, Win7 Laptop at home, MacBookPro at home and my iPad.

2. Documents to go Premium - $15 (watch for sales) - The Premium version interfaces directly with Dropbox. It is directly compatible with Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) and will allow you to read/view/edit many other document formats.

For #2, you will probably get a lot more suggestions, all of which are good in their own rights. D2G has been around since the Palm Pilot back in the late 90's. They have a great track record of a quality product. I have used it on different devices and it just works. I have tried the other Office products on the iPad and keep going back to D2G.

Use the app Appshopper to watch the prices for you and alert you to price drops. I ended up getting D2G Premium for $8 instead of the $15 when they were doing a sale.

 

[Wexfordlady]

That sounds great - just installing appshopper now so I can keep a check on the prices!
Can I just check with you, if I get D2G, do I need Dropbox too to allow the sync btw pad and phone?

 

[Somerled]

That sounds great - just installing appshopper now so I can keep a check on the prices!
Can I just check with you, if I get D2G, do I need Dropbox too to allow the sync btw pad and phone?

I use appshopper to maintain my wish list. I have a ton of apps listed and watching the prices on them. One of the most useful apps out there. I can't remember the last time I paid full price for anything.

Docs2Go Premium (make sure it is the premium) will work with the following cloud services: Google Docs, Box.net, Dropbox, iDisk (going away), SugarSync. Since you wont have a PC as the go-between, you will need to use some sort of cloud service. I happen to use Dropbox and all my docs are shared and sync'd automatically. It has been flawless.

 

[Wexfordlady]

That's great - thanks for the help!

 

[giradman]

Hi Wexfordlady - welcome to the forum -

Appears that you've already received some great advice on a spreadsheet program, but if you are still undecided and searching for other options?

Then you might want to take a look at Numbers HERE - this is part of Apple's iWork Office Trio - each is about $10 - I have Keynote & Pages (PowerPoint & Word equivalents), so have not used the spreadsheet program.

Hopefully others w/ experience using Numbers can address some of your concerns - good luck in making your choice(s).

 

[richsadams]

I recently got an iPad and am looking for a good spreadsheet app to install. As I won't be using a desktop for the spreadsheets, I need an app that I can install on both my iPad and iPhone and will automatically (or manually if necessary) synchronise changes across the two devices without going through a desktop. Does anybody have any recommendations?

Welcome to the forum. I posted a fairly extensive comparison of apps for spreadsheets a while back...

http://www.ipadforums.net/new-member-introductions-site-assistance/22431-hi-all.html#post157114

I'm sure you can find more if you use the search feature.

Hope that helps!

 

[candirisk]

That is really useful for me. Thanks. I am very new to apple and am finding using iTunes to upload things onto the iPad to be rather challenging.today I emailed excel spreadsheets and this was ok. I downloaded them into the numbers app and this worked well for all but one of them. the one where it didn't work was big....12mb but not really complex. But only about 2mb actually downloaded. Am I doing something wrong or is this normal?

 

[richsadams]

That is really useful for me. Thanks. I am very new to apple and am finding using iTunes to upload things onto the iPad to be rather challenging.today I emailed excel spreadsheets and this was ok. I downloaded them into the numbers app and this worked well for all but one of them. the one where it didn't work was big....12mb but not really complex. But only about 2mb actually downloaded. Am I doing something wrong or is this normal?

My guess is that your mail server has a size limit, most are 10MB or less. Probably the best thing for importing your larger files is to transfer them via iTunes:

Open iTunes and connect your iPad to your computer. Select your iPad in the left-hand menu of iTunes. After it performs a backup/synchronize click on "Apps" at the top. Scroll down to "File Sharing" and under "Apps" you'll see Numbers listed. Click on Numbers and to the right you'll see "Numbers Documents". Your existing documents will be listed there. To import the large file either click on the "Add" button at the bottom of that window and locate it or drag it in (from wherever the file is located on your computer). It will auto-import the file and you can open it in Numbers on your iPad after that.

There are other ways of doing this as well. There are apps that will allow you to move files wirelessly and you can also use cloud-based services like the very popular and free Dropbox. There's another post that discusses some options for attachments:

http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-faq/36722-how-email-photos-other-attachments.html

As mentioned, Numbers and several of the other office-oriented apps that I reviewed will work with most spreadsheets providing they aren't overly complicated. The iPad is not a substitute for a full-fledged computer, but it does a nice job for most mobile requirements.

Hope that helps and let us know how it goes!

 

[candirisk]

That is so helpful, thank you. I found it difficult to import via iTunes.....it is all so alien to me. But your instructions are so useful I will give it another go.
I love my iPad and am finding that I am using my laptop less and less....but you are right, it isn't a replacement.
I have also got dropbox so will have a play with that.
Thanks again, much appreciated.
Iris

 

[richsadams]

That is so helpful, thank you. I found it difficult to import via iTunes.....it is all so alien to me. But your instructions are so useful I will give it another go.
I love my iPad and am finding that I am using my laptop less and less....but you are right, it isn't a replacement.
I have also got dropbox so will have a play with that.
Thanks again, much appreciated.
Iris

My pleasure. The process of importing/exporting files in iTunes sounds complicated at first, but once you've done it a couple of times, it's really very easy.

Let us know how it goes and if you have any questions!