Price: $14.99 Score: 7/10 Category: Business
Documents To Go is a simple all in one repository and editing application for Microsoft Word, iWork, Pages, text, and PDF files. While the app might not be perfect for all uses, it’s a pretty comprehensive tool that will only improve as DataViz releases more updates and improvements.
Because Documents To Go also works on the iPhone, Android and a series of other devices, this is a great way to keep pieces of your most important work just about everywhere you need it.
In this app you can access, create and edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files on on your iPad. Better yet, your documents aren’t stuck in isolation. You can sync with a folder on your desktop via a free software download or set up syncing in the cloud with Google Docs, Box.net, Dropbox, iDisk, MobileMe, and Sugar Sync. All of this is pretty straightforward and easy to execute, but it would be great to see some network syncing capabilities for people who want to make their work servers portable.
Once you’ve accessed your files on the iPad the capabilities of the editor are surprisingly comprehensive. All of the editing options rest on a horizontal toolbar on the bottom of the screen. The actual toolbar is small and unobtrusive, but very easy to work with. You can change font size and type, use bullets, format paragraphs, search for words or phrases within documents, create hanging indents and more. One thing you can’t do in the Word editor though, is add tables and pictures.
Editing Excel documents is also very intuitive. You can add cells, delete cells, select areas, utilize formulas and do just about all the other Excel basics you can think of. Powerpoint editing though, is a little bit different. Powerpoint documents render on the iPad very well, and creating new slides is easy enough, but trying to edit them is a total and complete hassle. You can’t edit within the slide at all, and so you can only make changes in a text only outline form. There’s no doubt that this app falls short when it comes to anything more than Powerpoint viewing and notes editing.
All said and done, Documents To Go has the potential to be an indispensable all in one app that changes the capabilities of your iPad. If you want to use your iPad view and produce general Word, Excel, and text files this app is great. Seamless in the cloud integration is easy to use and reliable.
If you’re looking to use this app to work with email attachments or create Powerpoint presentations, you might want to look elsewhere or wait for updates to the Documents to Go Software.
Bottom Line: Documents To Go for the iPad has the potential to revolutionize the portability of your most important documents, but whether or not it actually delivers depends on exactly what you need.
