DTTG working with External Writing Tool

Is there a work flow to create a new document in DTTG that can then be externally edited on the iPad but yet the file remains in DTTG for synch back to the Mac, similar to what can be done on the Mac? So the external editor could be Pages or QuickOffice. New iPad/DTTG owner, so apologies if this has been addressed but I didn’t find it in a search of the forum.

Yes, although it is not as convenient as the Mac workflow due to limitations and restrictions on iOS.

Here are the steps you can use:

  1. Create a new text file in DtTG.
  2. Tap the button in the upper-right corner (see screenshot below).
  3. Select the app you wish to open the file with (if you don’t have any apps that can open this type of file, no menu will appear). This will send the file to the other app (such as Pages).

Open In Menu.png

Unfortunately, with Pages this technique only works one-way. To get the file back out of Page, you will have to email it to yourself or find another way of transferring it. Some apps will let you send files back to DtTG with a similar process so you can have the file in DtTG for syncing.

I’m not familiar with QuickOffice, but there are apps that support the two-way transfer, such as GoodReader.

Couple of things. After creating a text file in DTTG, one needs to click-away from it and then back, otherwise DTTG doesn’t seem to know the new file exists and won’t do an “Open In” transfer with the file.

One can do “Open In” from DTTG to another app that itself can “Open In” DTTG (e.g., Notify), but when the document comes back it is a separate document. So, now you have two documents.

It’s actually faster to create the document in the other app in the first instance and then use Open In to send it to DT.

Jon,
Thank you for the suggestion.

I have tried this and it works to a point. When I email from Pages I have 3 options: Pages, PDF, Word. When emailing a PDF or Word version DTTG can recognize and view the files. Word had some minor formatting issues that I think are an issue with Pages since those issues appear in email preview and DTTG. However when I choose “Open in…” with the Pages file type from Mail and choose DTTG DTTG reports “The document is either not available or cannot be displayed for other reasons.” Are there issues with viewing the Pages file type in DTTG? Sync’ing the Pages file was also problematic (PDF sync’ed fine).

Just as a follow up …
I opened the Pages file on my MBP, saved it from MBP based Mail to DTPO., moved it to an appropriate db/folder, made minor modifications (adding CR/LF and moved a vertical line), saved it back within DTPO, sync’ed from DTTG, and could now view the file within DTTG.

There have been reports of issues when viewing some iWork files and newer MS Office files. I am looking into the problem and will be posting a free update to improve this as soon as I can.

I own DTP for my laptop, and am considering by Devonthink Pro to go for my iPad. I’ve read online reviews of Devonthink Pro to go, and have concerns about its syncing capacities. I am planning to use my ipad to annotate PDF’s and documents, and am wondering if Devonthink Pro to go works better with a particular word processing software (e.g., Documents 2 Go) and a particular PDF annotating software (e.g., GoodReader). Any suggestions? Thanks!

DTTG’s syncing issues don’t affect its interaction with other apps on the iPad. You’d need to be sure that the word processor and annotation apps can receive documents from other apps, and do also support “Open In” in order to get the document back to DTTG. I know for certain that the two apps you mentioned support in-and-out-bound documents from DTTG.

Ok, good to know. Thanks! Does anyone have any suggestions re: particular good word processing software and PDF annotating software for the iPad?

And how do people generally like the syncing functionality w/ DTTG and DTP? I’ve read a lot of misgiving on online reviews, and it they seem discouraging. It would be ideal if there was a way to seamlessly sync documents and PDFs between my iPad and laptop!

IMO, “particular[ly] good” and “word processing” don’t go together on the iPad. :confused: Other than some basic text stuff and templates (e.g., in Pages), there’s no comparison to the features available on the desktop. But, I’m a heavy-duty writer of client-ready products, so I wouldn’t be satisfied with anything available for word processing on any i-device. So, YMMV depending on your needs.

Annotating – IMO, GoodReader is superb, and iAnnotate is a very close runner up. GoodReader is more than annotations - it is a very good document hub and interacts with a lot more file storage platforms than DTTG. Unfortunately, DTTG does not (yet) display any annotations.