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Quick question that I just can not seem to find an answer for. I am wondering whether or not when using Documents to Go on my iOS device (iPad 2), if I open a file in safari, will this app help safari render the .doc or .ppt, whatever office format, correctly. Currently it can open the file but it does display the information and equations that are present in the document.

Does anyone know if this is the case? I want to know before I go and buy the app and am disappointed in its functionality. If this application does not do what I am asking, does anyone know of an app that can do this?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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migrated from stackoverflow.com Sep 23 '11 at 23:47

2 Answers

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Docs to Go doesn't improve the rendering of the .doc or .ppt in Safari on the iPad, but it does register with the system as a compatible app for the file type. Tapping in the document area reveals an action bar with two buttons: Open in (which depends on the apps you have installed), and an Open in... button, which when tapped, gives you a popover with compatible apps.

See this example:

PowerPoint file in safari for iPad

In my experience, you would be better off using Docs to Go to render the documents in any case, as the fidelity of its Office document rendering is quite good.

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No. Safari's behaviour remains unchanged. Documents to Go (as are all 3rd party apps on iOS) is completely encapsulated (sandboxed). However, since apps can register certain document types, you will see places were iOS will allow you to open your MS Office documents using Documents to Go. But as you can see, that is the only level of "integration" provided.

enter image description here

You can watch this YouTube video of a complete rundown on Documents to Go for the iPad.

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Actually, as shown above, Safari's behavior does change a bit, so you may wish to modify this answer. – Negrino Sep 24 '11 at 4:29
That's a part of Safari actually. It shows any application that has a registered document type to send the file to. It is not an extension of D2G in anyway. So technically, the answer is still "no." D2G does not alter iOS in anyway. Not like in OS X where frameworks can be added to expand the system's native functionality to accommodate the newly installed application. I'll make my answer clearer. Thanks. – cksum Sep 24 '11 at 5:08

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