can I set "open with" for files - associate file types with a 3rd party app

Question

Level 2

221 points

can I set "open with" for files - associate file types with a 3rd party app

I have PDF file attachments inside my OmniFocus application. When I double-tap them, they get opened in the standard Apple PDF viewer. But I have a better 3rd-party app which opens PDFs and allows me to edit them (mark them up) - I'd like the attachments to open in this app instead of the normal PDF viewer. I don't want to have to switch to the 3rd party app to open it - it's important to me that I can place comments on many, many PDFs inside of OmniFocus. So:

1) is it possible to ask the iPad to have all PDFs to open in this 3rd party app?
2) if not, is it possible to name the attachments some other extension (e.g., .xyz) and tell it to open all .xyz files with the 3rd-party PDF viewer?

thanks in advance,

Mike

Intel Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Mar 16, 2011 1:00 PM

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Answer 1

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 16, 2011 1:54 PM in response to Michael Levin

Hold down on the file - don't tap. Hold down and the open in box pops up

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Answer 2

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Mar 17, 2011 4:34 AM in response to Demo

Someone on another forum said that the iPad's lack of a common file system makes what I want close to impossible. He said that even if Omnifocus supported Open in, this would only copy the file to the new app. Getting the file back to Omnifocus would mean using Open In in that app too, creating yet another file. Is this right?!? He suggested that the only way to work with the same file across multiple apps is to put it all into the cloud. I do have Dropbox, so I have URLs to files in the cloud which can certainly be kept in OmniFocus as links instead of the actual file. Is there any way to have these URLs passed to other apps - is there any way to right-click on a link and do open-in?

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Answer 3

ClayG

Level 4

1,417 points

Mar 16, 2011 1:47 PM in response to Michael Levin

The iPad doesn't have a file system (like Finder on the Mac), so there's no way to associate files with apps. When you open a PDF in OmniFocus and tap on the screen, you should get an Open In option, which should list every app on the iPad that's capable of opening PDFs.

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Answer 4

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Mar 16, 2011 2:10 PM in response to Demo

Demo wrote:
Michael -- If you press and hold down on the file icon it will work. What are you holding down on? It may not work in you app. I use Save2pdf and I get many options. If you hold down on the PDF icon - say perhaps in an email - you will get the open in option.

hmmm. I'm getting a list of attachments (text names, not icons) and I hold down on one of them and get only the "delete" option - not open-with. I'll try contacting the OmniFocus people also - maybe it's something specific to their app...

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Answer 5

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 16, 2011 2:07 PM in response to Michael Levin

Michael -- If you press and hold down on the file icon it will work. What are you holding down on? It may not work in you app. I use Save2pdf and I get many options. If you hold down on the PDF icon - say perhaps in an email - you will get the open in option.

Message was edited by: Demo

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Answer 6

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 16, 2011 2:25 PM in response to Michael Levin

Just thought of this...when you tap on the PDF and it opens in the "standard" iPad PDF viewer, tap the arrow in the upper right corner of the PDF viewer and the option comes up to "open in" there as well.

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Answer 7

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Mar 16, 2011 4:14 PM in response to Demo

Demo wrote:
Maybe it is app specific but try this ...Send a PDF to yourself via email and try what I'm saying.

yeah!! that worked. how weird. When I open a PDF sent to me as a Mail attachment, it works perfectly: if I tap on the PDF itself (once it's displayed), an icon appears on the right upper corner (bent arrow) and when I click on it, it gives me a chance to open it in several apps. But when I open a PDF in Omnifocus, there's already such a button (but grayed out) and a DONE button to the right of that (even without me clicking in the PDF). So, it seems that OmniFocus isn't displaying its PDFs in the way that Mail is! What a pain...

Mike

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Answer 8

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 16, 2011 2:13 PM in response to Michael Levin

Maybe it is app specific but try this ...Send a PDF to yourself via email and try what I'm saying. You should at least get the option to open in iBooks if you have it installed

Message was edited by: Demo

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Answer 9

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 16, 2011 4:48 PM in response to Michael Levin

Michael Levin wrote:
But when I open a PDF in Omnifocus, there's already such a button (but grayed out) and a DONE button to the right of that (even without me clicking in the PDF). So, it seems that OmniFocus isn't displaying its PDFs in the way that Mail is! What a pain...

I just took a quick look at OmniFocus in the App Store and I see exactly what you are talking about with the Done button up in the right corner and the curved arrow on the left with the trash can icon next to it. You should probably email app support or see if they have FAQ on the website that will allow you to do what you want to do.

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Answer 10

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Mar 16, 2011 1:50 PM in response to ClayG

ClayG wrote:
When you open a PDF in OmniFocus and tap on the screen, you should get an Open In option, which should list every app on the iPad that's capable of opening PDFs.

maybe I'm doing something wrong. When I tap on it, it just comes up in the PDF reader. What do I do to get the Open In option? Maybe I'm not doing the gestures/taps correctly.

thanks,

Mike

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Answer 11

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Mar 16, 2011 3:50 PM in response to Demo

Demo wrote:
Just thought of this...when you tap on the PDF and it opens in the "standard" iPad PDF viewer, tap the arrow in the upper right corner of the PDF viewer and the option comes up to "open in" there as well.

I'm really missing something here. In the upper right corner there's a button that says "done" (and closes the document when I tap it), and the thing to the left of it (a kind of bent arrow) is grayed out. Any chance you can post a screengrab of what you're seeing?!?

thanks,

Mike

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Answer 12

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 16, 2011 4:42 PM in response to Michael Levin

Now I don't have to post a screen grab. I knew if you did the email thing it be very clear what I was explaining. I don't know anything about the Omnifocus App, but maybe you should look at an alternative for your specific needs.

Message was edited by: Demo

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Answer 13

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Mar 16, 2011 4:55 PM in response to Demo

Demo wrote:
I just took a quick look at OmniFocus in the App Store and I see exactly what
you are talking about with the Done button up in the right corner and the
curved

just out of curiosity: how did you see this without buying the app - is there some general way to get a trial from the App Store?

arrow on the left with the trash can icon next to it. You should probably email
app support or see if they have FAQ on the website that will allow you to do
what you want to do.

yeah, I've talked to them. They just filed it as a "feature request" but it's such an odd thing - if it's not the default Apple PDF viewer (which is what I had been assuming, as the simplest thing), what the heck would it be?? I can see why there wouldn't be a feature yet to allow you to automatically use a 3rd party app, but you'd think as default it would use the basic reader that Mail uses also...

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Answer 14

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 16, 2011 5:38 PM in response to Michael Levin

Michael Levin wrote:
just out of curiosity: how did you see this without buying the app - is there some general way to get a trial from the App Store?

When You view the features of the app in the app store, there are pictures of some of the different screens under the main description of the app. I swiped through the pictures and the fourth photo shows a screen - An image in the black box pointing to the image name - roots.jpg. In the window to the right - it says -Action - at the top - in the grey border. I wouldn't have known that the arrow didn't give the same functionality as it does when you open the PDF in Mail. But I was able to see the trash can, the curved arrow and the blue done button on the right. I never heard of the app until we started to posting. Unless the app specifies that there is a free trial period, there is no way that I know to try an app for free.

The thing that I find odd is that you say the arrow is greyed out making that feature unavailable. That arrow icon on the iPad in Safari or Mail is what directs you to the options for - open in, print, email, etc features on the iPad. I assume that arrow must have some functionality somewhere in the app. Not sure why it is greyed out. But I stress, I know nothing about the features of the app or what it is designed to do.

Message was edited by: Demo

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Answer 15

Demo

Level 10

166,747 points

Mar 17, 2011 4:45 AM in response to Michael Levin

I don't use DropBox and am not familiar with how it works. My head is in the clouds too much to begin with. LOL !

There are apparently plenty of apps for moving files back and forth from iPad to computer from what I've read is these discussion threads. There is the lack of a folder file structure on the iPad so that organization must be achieved with third party apps.

Any link that you hold down, just like when you hold down on the PDF file as I described earlier, you will get the option to open in new page and I'm sure you seen that before when using Safari. Holding down on the link gives the options -Open - Open in a New Page - Copy.

I believe that you would just be moving the file from one app to the other with the Open In option. I jumped into this thread to help show you how to use the Open in option with PDF files. Maybe you could post another question in a new thread to get more specific answers now that you have your situation narrowed down a bit.

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