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iPad - PDF and Video?

I'm looking to do a presentation on an iPad (just a pdf and a few videos). I've never used an iPad, so I wanted to know if there are any issues doing this?

I ask because AFAIK you can't save files to a local folder, like you do on Windows, and it doesn't seem straightforward.

Replies

  • MichaelElphick
    You can create pdfs/ibooks in iBooks author (http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/)

    and them transfer them over, but obviously it's a mac only program.

    I'm sure theres an adobe reader app somewhere, so could place them in a dropbox folder and then view them that way.


    I recently moved to a nexus tablet so am out of the loop slighty..
  • Playdo
    Also I won't be connected to the internet during the presentation.

    I'm not 100% set on the iPad yet (it'll be rented), but it seems like a good presentation solution (looks professional). Open to any better solutions.
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    If I am not mistaken, the "official" way of doing things is as follows :

    PDFs get added to the books category in iTunes on a Mac or PC.
    Movie files (preferably already encoded in an ipad-friendly format and codec - use the free PC program Handbrake for that) are imported as movies, also in iTunes, on a Mac or PC.

    If you need pictures : You can either load them up into your Dropbox/GDrive or a ftp somewhere, and download them into the device - they'll show up in the photo gallery alongside other saved pictures and screenshots.
    The "proper" way is to add them to an iPhoto album, and tell iTunes to import things from iPhoto. Then sync. Yes, it is unbelievably convoluted.
    The last resort is to use the iPhone/iPad "camera connection kit" which lets you plug a SD card and/or a USB thumbdrive into the device, and import from there. Pretty cumbersome too.

    Then the Ipad needs to be associated with the iTunes library, and everything gets synced from there.

    Yes, this is a real convoluted pain. Which puts the whole "professional looking dude casually grabbing his iPad to show some cool stuff" in perspective. It's just kinda funny to imagine the same person fighting with iTunes the night before just to get the files to actually show up on the damn thing.

    (Now I only have a 1st gen ipad so maybe things changed since then, But I highly doubt it :) )

    In short : don't expect to be able to just throw the files in there right before the presentation. Allow yourself at least a full day to figure things out and adjust things accordingly.
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    VLC player for video. Works like a champ.
  • moose
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    moose polycount sponsor
    I thought Apple took the VLC app off of the store? Not certain though.

    One other thing to check, is that where you are presenting has the ability to connect the ipad to their projector/av system. I would test early to make sure you can, as well as having the proper cables! I tried this once, but found the ipad could not hook into the school's AV system, and had to download the presentation from iCloud to someone's windows laptop - after exporting it in the Keynote app to powerpoint. Once in powerpoint it was all jacked up - font sizes broken, animations broken. Wasn't a complete disaster, but was about 30 min of stress before the presentation i could have used to relax and get myself ready :)
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    I'm pretty sure with Keynote you can embed videos and PDFs. I've created them on Mac before and saved them to my iCloud account and opened on iPad (connected to Wifi) and things ran great. You might need iWork at the most. But I think that's free online now.
  • katana
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    katana polycounter lvl 14
    I use Handbrake to covert videos to iPad friendly. Works great.
  • monster
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    monster polycounter
    I've tried a couple of times to use an iPad for presentations, but both times I ended up using a laptop because of technical issues.
  • Playdo
    Problem solved. Borrowed an Android tablet.

    If I went the iPad route, I'd have given myself plenty of time before the interview to set it all up and get accustomed to everything, but it does sound problem-prone. It's a shame because I'd like to pick one up, but keep getting put off by the storage system.
  • Lamont
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    Lamont polycounter lvl 15
    VLC is official through the AppStore. I don`t convert anything now. Just drag and drop. You can even drag files to it at home, then connect to another computer and save the files out.
  • VPrime
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    VPrime polycounter lvl 9
    Dropbox.
    Put them in a dropbox folder, then "Star" the files so you can use them offline.
  • katana
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    katana polycounter lvl 14
    Lamont wrote: »
    VLC is official through the AppStore. I don`t convert anything now. Just drag and drop. You can even drag files to it at home, then connect to another computer and save the files out.

    Thanks for that Lamont.
  • moose
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    moose polycount sponsor
    Oh cool Lamont, good to know! I think they did take it down for a while, but chances are that was 3 years ago and I'm remembering it like it was last month :)
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