NW for iPad?

[Frank Einstein]

Just wondering if there has been any thought about developing a version of NW for the iPad? It would be nice!

[martin]

We currently don't have any plans to release software for the iPad, but we are always evaluating the situation.

There's been some discussion in this thread about the iPad and the kinds of word processing one might like to do on the go.

[DavidK]

Hi Martin -- Here's my problem. I want to be able to take files (created in Nisus) and move them to the iPad, read/edit them using pages, and then return them to the Mac. However, Nisus .rft format is unreadable by Pages on the iPad. I haven't experimented extensively, but I emailed a test file to myself which I tried opening using an iPad at an Apple store - and tried opening it. Mail opened it, but Pages wouldn't. So I could read the file, but I couldn't edit it.

Pages is supposed to open .doc files. However, when I saved my test file created by Nisus as a .doc file and tried opening it on the iPad, it was completely unreadable. Mail couldn't open it. Pages couldn't open it.

I haven't figured out a workaround yet. I didn't try using the Nisus export feature yet. I could open my Nisus files in Neooffice or openoffice or even MSWord, resave them in a better .doc format, and that should work - but it's a lot of extra steps.

Have you - or has any else - figured out a good way of opening Nisus files on the iPad?

[martin]

Pages is supposed to open .doc files. However, when I saved my test file created by Nisus as a .doc file and tried opening it on the iPad, it was completely unreadable. Mail couldn't open it. Pages couldn't open it.

This probably has to do with the way NWP saves ".doc" files. When one does a regular save the resulting ".doc" file actually contains RTF codes, which perhaps Apple's iPad software doesn't handle.

However, if you use the menu File > Export As and choose "Microsoft Word Format (binary)" the file will be saved in an entirely different way. Instead of containing RTF codes, it will contain binary information that should be readable by iPad software (though I've not tested it). If you do give it a try, please let us know how it goes- thanks!

[Jamie Flanagan]

A little late but in case anyone else searches this topic: Export As... Microsoft Word Format (binary) is readable by Pages on the iPad. Some inline images wound up stacked atop one another but this happened to me before, even when importing a Pages file.

Jamie

[iljajj]

Just a tip: don't use Pages, use Docs to Go or QuickOffice connect on the iPad: both of them will do RTF (and properly), and both will sync with Dropbox. I have my Nisus documents folder on Dropbox, and I can access that with Docs to Go. Works like a dream.

Between Docs 2 Go and Quickoffice Connect, there's not much in it - although my impession is that Docs 2 Go is more actively developed.

[Anne Cuneo]

Thanks for the tips, I'll try as soon as I am back home – this "not being able to read Nisus .rtf files" has made buying the iPad useless for the time being, for me at least. I am now working at the British Library… with my MacBook. I was expecting not to need dragging it around any longer.

[Anne Cuneo]

PS I just looked: Docs to go says it does NOT suppor .rtf for editing, only for viewing. http://support.dataviz.com/support.srch ... 54&pid=198

[Anne Cuneo]

PPS. Ah! Nisus for iPad! What a dream!

[riccardo]

I have no immediate plans to get an iPad, it's just not that appealing to me for various reasons. But I do have the feeling that Apple is going to be replacing OS X as we currently know it with iOS for the Mac. I expect they will also replace the current Intel chips for Intel's Atom line or some other ARM chip. I won't go into a long explanation of why all this will happen, nor do I have any particular channel into Apple. This is just my reading of the tea leaves. Therefore, Nisus (along with all the other third-party developers for the Mac) will, once again, have to recompile their applications to work under iOS. This would mean, of course, that all those clamoring for an iPad version of Nisus Writer will get their wish ... eventually.

[Groucho]

I hope your tea leaves are pretty stale.

Cheers, Henry.

[martin]

I wouldn't worry about Apple ditching OSX for iOS; they're quite different. Unless Apple decides it no longer wants to make traditional desktop/laptop computers (unlikely), we'll see OSX continue.

In fact, hopefully we'll be seeing OSX 10.7 this Wednesday!

[Jester]

Wow, that's great news! They'll probably release a new version, wheee! Let's see how it works!

[samuelas]

ouch... looks like 10.7--as the tea leaves might suggest--will be bringing some of iOS (or whatever it's called) to the Mac. Hate it. One hopes they will stop there, but...

And then there is the "app" store. Can't buy appetizers there, but computer programs.


s.

[flips]

Just a tip: don't use Pages, use Docs to Go or QuickOffice connect on the iPad: both of them will do RTF (and properly), and both will sync with Dropbox. I have my Nisus documents folder on Dropbox, and I can access that with Docs to Go. Works like a dream.

Between Docs 2 Go and Quickoffice Connect, there's not much in it - although my impession is that Docs 2 Go is more actively developed.

DocsToGo only support RTF read-only, it uses the builtin RTF reader, so it's just like opening the files in the Dropbox app, or GoodReader or whatever ... And it also has trouble opening Word and Word binary formats saved from Nisus. I had to open in Word and save again before DocsToGo would open it.

I would love to see an iPad RTF editor that doesn't mess up the styles/template if you make changes and save the doc. (Limited feature set would be ok, just don't mess up the file ...)