iPad at Work For Dummies

Galen Gruman

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781118949566
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Hardware
• Index: Computer Science

Get the most out of using your iPad at work

iPad at Work For Dummies provides essential and in-depth coverage for a variety of productivity-related tasks made possible on the iPad, from basics such as setting up and starting out with an iPad to tips on the best practices for enterprise-level word processing, spreadsheet creation, presenting, task management, project management, graphic design, and communication. Beyond that, it also includes down-to-earth examples of how to use an iPad at work, including synchronization, data backup, and communicating with Windows networks.

Written by an experienced and well-known iPad user, writer, podcaster, and lecturer who has taught many other professionals how to get the most from their Apple devices in the workplace, iPad at Work For Dummies goes beyond simple coverage of iWork to show you step-by-step the iPad's capabilities to quickly, professionally, and effectively create and interact with typical office documents and systems.

• Covers the best software and practices for productively integrating the iPad into a work environment
• Shows you how the iPad goes beyond use as an at-home device to make work easier
• Includes examples that bring the information and instructions to life

If you're considering integrating the use of an iPad at work, or have recently begun and want to grasp the full spectrum of its capabilities in the workplace, iPad at Work For Dummies has you covered.

Part I

Getting Started with iPad at Work

Visit www.dummies.com for great For Dummies content online.

In this part . . .

• Finding out where the iPad can replace a computer and where it can supplement it.
• Learning about all the extra hardware you can add to your iPad so that it does more and better.
• Making sense of that iCloud thing: What it does and why you need it.
• It’s all in the setup: backup, mail, contacts, calendars, and Wi-Fi — oh, my!
• Keeping your iPad — and your data — safe.
• Discovering how to be a road warrior: The right apps for that.

Chapter 1

The iPad Is Your New Computer — Much of the Time

In This Chapter

Understanding how the iPad fits into your work

Deciding which iPad model to get

Surveying helpful peripherals for your iPad

The iPad debuted in 2010, and early analysts dubbed it a “media tablet,” tarring the iPad as “merely” an entertainment device for watching movies, reading books, playing games, and surfing the web. Yet from the get-go, Apple delivered world-class productivity applications in the form of its iWork suite, and since then, many developers have created thousands of apps that make the iPad a serious computer for industries of all types.

Still, many people continue to think of the iPad as an entertainment device, not as the new type of computer it truly is. If you’re reading this book, you’re not one of those people. You know that the iPad is a serious business tool — even though, like a PC, it’s great for entertainment, too.

You can do a lot of work on an iPad — with the right apps and accessories. You may use the iPad exclusively as your only computer. More likely, you’ll use it as a supplement to your computer, broadening where and how you can work.

In this chapter, I explain the iPad's role in everyday business, and why it's a great replacement or supplement for a laptop. Then I explain how to choose the right iPad model for your needs and suggest some key peripherals to complete your iPad “toolkit.”

Envisioning the iPad in Your Work Day

When I go on the road for work, I no longer bring my laptop with me, and I haven’t done so since 2011. I can do most of my work on my iPad, so why lug around the laptop? Plus, my iPad is one of the cellular versions, so I can access the Internet from almost anywhere. That means no hunting for the nearest Wi-Fi cafe.

If I do need to do work that my iPad has no apps for, then I can still bring the laptop with me, leaving the computer at the remote office or hotel room to do that special work when I need to. Meanwhile, my iPad is with me all the time, ready to use when needed for the many things it can do.

But you don’t have to be a road warrior or work in the field to benefit from an iPad at work. I find that it’s really handy in the office, too: I bring it to conference rooms to take notes that are instantly available on my computer when I get back to my desk. I look up information during the meeting to make sure decisions aren’t based on bad assumptions. I show people that presentation or those budget numbers or that how-to video.

There are also times I use both my computer and iPad at the same time for work at my desk. In that case, the iPad becomes a second screen, letting me check some stats for a report or monitor my email while Word and Excel fill my computer’s big screen. Or I can monitor a conference on my iPad while working away at my computer.

Where the iPad Can’t Do the Job

As convenient as the iPad is — you can bring and use it almost anywhere — its limits are real:

• The small screen means you can’t scan and work across multiple open windows as you would on a PC’s larger monitor. In the iPad world, you’ll find yourself focusing on one app at a time.
• The iPad doesn’t support a mouse, which allows for much finer control for delicate and precision activities like drawing plans.
• A PC’s physical keyboard is much faster to type on, and more accurate, too. Don’t get me wrong: After you adjust to it, the iPad’s onscreen keyboard is quite usable, but it ain’t a computer keyboard. And you can buy an external Bluetooth keyboard for your iPad if you prefer to type on physical keys.
• Some applications don’t run on the iPad at all. Some — like Microsoft Office, AutoDesk AutoCAD, and Adobe Photoshop — have iPad versions that drop some desktop features that your work may require you to use.

So, for most of us, an iPad doesn’t replace our computer. But it does let us do more than a computer alone can do.

Equipping Your iPad

Before you can use an iPad at work, you need to get an iPad. Whether you buy it yourself or requisition it from your employer, you’ll want to review the choices you need to make both for the iPad itself and essential peripherals for it.

Choosing the right iPad model

At any particular time, chances are that Apple has four versions of the iPad available for purchase. There’s usually the current full-size model (historically with a 9.7-inch screen, diagonally measured), such as the iPad Air series, and the current smaller model, a.k.a. the iPad Mini series (historically with a 7.9-inch screen). Figure 1-1 shows the iPad Air and iPad Mini. Then there’s usually the previous model of each kept on sale for those on limited budgets.

Figure 1-1: The iPad Air (left) and iPad Mini (right) represent the two basic size options available from Apple for its tablets.

The iPad Mini is very portable, fitting into lab coat pockets and suit jacket pockets. But the screen can be hard on older eyes — you’ll want reading glasses — and touch-typing is harder on its smaller onscreen keyboard. It’s a great choice for folks who are rarely at a desk, which is why it’s a favorite of physicians in hospitals, field technicians, construction foremen, and insurance adjusters.

The full-size iPad, the iPad Air, is also quite portable, but you can’t stick it in a pocket when you need both hands to do other stuff. If you carry a briefcase or backpack, or tend to move from desk to desk or desk to conference room where you can set it down safely and easily, the iPad Air is a great choice. Its larger screen is easier to read for older eyes, and touch-typing is easier on its onscreen keyboard.

Both iPad models come in versions that support cellular networks in addition to Wi-Fi networks, and both are available in a range of internal storage capacities from 16GB to 128GB. (Note that the older models Apple sells are typically available only in the 16GB, Wi-Fi-only versions.)

The cellular option costs $130 more than the Wi-Fi–only version, but it’s very handy because it lets you work almost anywhere there’s a 3G or 4G (LTE) signal. Even better, cellular access is cheaper than Wi-Fi in many cases: You can pay $20 to $30 for 30 days’ service of 1GB to 3GB of cellular data usage (depending on your carrier), versus $15 to $25 per night for Wi-Fi at a hotel, plus potentially additional Wi-Fi fees at conference centers and so on. Note that you don’t need a contract for an iPad’s cellular data service, though some carriers will try to sell you one. You’re best off s...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part I: Getting Started with iPad at Work
• Part II: Gearing Up for Productivity
• Part III: Collaborating and Communicating
• Part IV: Accessing Online Resources
• Part V: Structuring and Sharing Documents
• Part VI: The Part of Tens
• About the Author
• Cheat Sheet
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement