Security for iPad and The Best PDF Reader for iPad

The PDF format for documents is useful in a number of ways not least because it is multiplatform and therefore not dependent upon device. There are security experts out there which would tell you to beware of the PDF format, as it has been used by virus makers and hackers to spread nasty things across the Internet. Adobe have a constant fight on their hands to keep the format safe, there are always new updates to handle security. Despite the possible risk to iPad security we can be fairly sure that at some point in time you will be required to open up and look at a PDF document on your iPad. So we need to know which is the best PDF reader for iPad.

My own favourite for the best PDF reader for iPad would be a GoodReader for iPad. This GoodReader application has been one of the top-selling applications for the iPad over the last year and for sure would be in the top 10 lists of must have apps for many iPad users. GoodReader will handle large PDF and text files, huge books, magazines and even files of 100 MB or more and do it speedily.

You can use GoodReader to mark up PDFs, you can use typewriter text boxes, sticky notes, lines, arrows and freehand drawings to annotate on top of a PDF file. Being able to annotate a PDF file is useful when you are collaborating on a document as part of a team. With the best PDF reader for iPad, GoodReader, you can add rectangles, ovals, various shapes, text underlines and strikeouts.

Copying files to iPad or moving files to iPad with GoodReader

Because of the way that you can manage files with GoodReader, it is very easy to create folders, move or copy and rename files, within the best PDF reader for iPad, many people use it for file management. This is because you can also send your files to other applications from GoodReader. To do this open up a file of whatever type, for example I have a text document open here, when you look at the bottom bar of the screen choose the second icon from the right, tap on that and select open in. In the list of options I can see a number of applications that I can use to open a file. In my list for text files I have ThinkBook, NebulousNotes, Dropbox for iPad, Evernote and obviously the list that you have will depend upon the applications that you have installed.

When you open up GoodReader, which is probably the best PDF reader for iPad, on the left you will see a list of your documents which you can sort by name, by date or by size. On the right-hand side at the top you have Preview, if when you tap on your document it goes straight into the document, just make sure that you have the preview enabled. If it is enabled then you will see a thumbnail of your document and below if there will be two buttons, one which is Open in and the other is Don’t preview this document.

This time I have a .PNG file which is an image file and in the choices for the apps I can use to open in I have Notarize, Art Studio, Dropbox for iPad and Team Viewer. When I tell it to open in Dropbox I get to see a dialogue, that allows me to choose where I want to put the file. In this case because it is a picture file I would choose a folder that is suitable for images. Using a combination of GoodReader and Dropbox in this way, is a good way for moving files off the iPad or copying files off the iPad. It is also possible to take a file from Dropbox and send it to be opened up in a GoodReader.

When looking at the right side of the screen in the opening view of GoodReader, the second area is called Find Files, under that there is Manage Files, Web Downloads and Connect to Servers. Below that is a set of six icons, the first one is access to the photo albums on the iPad. The second of those icons is for Wi-Fi transfer and you would use it want to connect to your iPad via Wi-Fi. This is quite interesting as it is another useful way to copy files to iPad. I followed the instructions and I entered the IP address in the finder on my iMac, I could also have entered in the Bonjour address. Once I had done this, I had a Finder window with a list of all the files that I had in GoodReader on the iPad. It was then a completely simple task to be able to drag and drop files from a Finder window on my Mac, to transfer files to the iPad.

GoodReader as the best PDF reader for iPad

Within the GoodReader application when you’re using it as the PDF reader you can set it so that you have single pages or one pages visible. You can also change the way that the page is viewed. For example, you may like to have the background a colour other than white and the text not black, so that is easier on your eyes. While in this view, I found it is difficult to get back from this setting, to the other way of viewing PDFs. When I tap on the screen the menu bars top and bottom of visible for a moment and then vanish again. I’m finding it difficult to get back to where I was before.

When viewing the PDF in the normal mode, one single tap on screen quickly brings up the menu bars top and bottom. In amongst the buttons in the bottom menu there is one which allows you to crop the page this could be handy to sort out a malformed PDF document. Also from this bottom menu bar you can choose the last but one from the right, to get to the options, which allow you to open your file in another application, e-mail the file or a summary of the file and you can also send the file to print and even flatten the file. When you flatten the file it probably makes it so that the annotations you have placed in their are embedded into the original file.

Have to write more about GoodReader for iPad

There are still other features within GoodReader that I have not covered in this article as yet. I may have to do another article to cover some of the other things that I have missed. Certainly it is a good idea for you to get this $2.99 application on your iPad, as without a doubt it is the best PDF reader for iPad. It is in my top 10 of must have applications for the Amazing iPad.