Nayakan

Q: Need a tagged file manager for iPad and PC/Mac

Hi,

 

I have an iPad and a PC running Windows.

 

I have a lot of documents, mostly in pdf form, but some in Powerpoint and some in MS Word, on my laptop.

 

I would like to read them all on my iPad, and have the entire library on the iPad on the go. I have an iPad with 32 GB storage which is adequate. I do not wish to use the cloud and pay for that much storage monthly. So I would like to keep my laptop as the storage and sync from time to time. (This is relevant because some apps FORCE you to use the cloud - that would not work.)

 

To organize all these files, I need a tagged file manager that is available both on the PC and on the iPad.

 

Is there something that works? If the PC is the problem and I need a Mac for the solution, that is okay too. I can buy one for this purpose. But is there a tagged file manager which can handle a large number of tags and files, and which syncs across Mac and iPad?

 

Thanks,

 

Kumar

iPad Air, iOS 9.3.3

Posted on Jul 21, 2016 4:03 AM

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Q: Need a tagged file manager for iPad and PC/Mac

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Ptaxey,

    Ptaxey Ptaxey Jul 21, 2016 4:45 AM in response to Nayakan
    Level 3 (919 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 21, 2016 4:45 AM in response to Nayakan

    As far as I know TagSpaces is cross-platform data manager, it is also available on iTunes

  • by Nayakan,

    Nayakan Nayakan Jul 21, 2016 6:28 AM in response to Ptaxey
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPad
    Jul 21, 2016 6:28 AM in response to Ptaxey

    Thank you! It seems interesting!

  • by DrJJWMac,

    DrJJWMac DrJJWMac Jul 22, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Nayakan
    Level 1 (83 points)
    Jul 22, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Nayakan

    Have you considered to work with a cloud storage such as GDrive or Dropbox or Box or ...??? I cannot see otherwise how you might manage to do what you want and also be cross-platform compatible.

     

    --

    JJW

  • by Nayakan,

    Nayakan Nayakan Jul 22, 2016 12:37 PM in response to DrJJWMac
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPad
    Jul 22, 2016 12:37 PM in response to DrJJWMac

    I don't want to use a cloud-based storage because I have a lot of stuff (> 30 GB) and I don't want to pay a ton of money MONTHLY for storage. I'd like to use something that syncs to my laptop using iTunes.

  • by DrJJWMac,

    DrJJWMac DrJJWMac Jul 23, 2016 6:27 AM in response to Nayakan
    Level 1 (83 points)
    Jul 23, 2016 6:27 AM in response to Nayakan

    I think you will be mostly out of luck and/or eventually totally frustrated because ...

     

    * You want to tag files

    * You are using a mixture of WindowsOS and iOS

    * You want to use iTunes only

     

    This combination sets somewhat conflicting constraints. A built-in file tagging system does not exist on iOS, and the file tagging systems in the Windows and Mac OS worlds are different (meaning, when built-in file tagging would come to iOS, it will likely be incompatible with Windows). Based on trends with how Apple is pushing iCloud, file transfers via iTunes will soon be a thing of the past. You might find something that works now, but it will be unsupported in a very short time.

     

    I might also add that, while the app TagSpaces looks promising, its approach seems to be building its own grave in some ways. Tags are added to the file name. This is certainly an open source, platform-agnostic method, yet I can only imagine that it is prone fail once file name limits are exceeded. From what I see, it also means that a file that is named "My Favorite Book".pdf on your Windows system will then become "My Favorite Book [biography Abe Lincoln civil war ....]".pdf once you tag it on your iPad and transfer it back. Either you will end with an over-written file or a duplicate file. How reasonable is this for you?

     

    Finally, 32GB of storage on an iPad will get filled rather quickly with just the basic apps to run the iPad. How much file storage do you really need for all of your documents?

     

    In the end, I suggest a different approach.

     

    * Manage the file tagging entirely on the Windows side with an app that is comfortable for you (no need to buy a Mac for this).

    * Store only a sub-set of the files on your iPad -- those that you are mark as "active" for reading

    * Use the free limits of cloud storage to transfer files "active" and "done" files back and forth between the iPad and your Windows computer

     

    This modified approach, where you divide the demands appropriately, will open the doors to a wider range of apps.

     

    --

    JJW