Neil Mack wrote:
Just purchased a ipad 2 for travel. I would like to grab folders full of mostly pages documents and some jpegs and drop them on the desktop of my iPad.
You can't "drop" them on the desktop. The Desktop on an iPad can only hold Apps. Not files nor file folders. It is not a Mac, and does not have a normal File system like a Mac would.
If you want to transfer folders of different types of files, you'll need to download an App that can support file management and transfer the folder into the App.
A couple of good Apps for this are:
Documents 5 By Readle:
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/documents-5-fast-pdf-reader/id364901807?mt=8
Or File Manager:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/file-manager-free/id479295290?mt=8
Both of which are free.
Once you have an file managing App you like you can use iTunes to transfer the folders into the App on the iPad.
About File Sharing on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support