Things You Shouldn’t Do with an IPad

There are many things you can do with an ipad. There are also many things that you shouldn’t do with an Ipad. 

An IPad is not a full service computer. Trying to make it one will be a frustrating, labor intensive waste of time. It will probably also make it an immobile mobile device.
Here’s a few things you should not do with your IPad.

• Don’t try to fully format a document up to and including footnotes. (Even if you have an app that will do that, getting it out of the IPad will probably destroy part of the formatting.)

• Don’t try to do track changes in a word document. (If you need this much of the functionality of Word, use a laptop or desktop computer.)
  
  
• Don’t lug a keyboard twice the size and weight of the Ipad unless you know you will be
  a) typing a lotb) in a space where you’ll have a table to set up on. (It’s supposed to be mobile device.)

• Don’t expect to find one app that will handle all your writing requirements - ability to take both stylus and typing input, lots of formatting ability, multiple options for importing and exporting documents. Different apps excel at different parts of the writing process. No app does it all.
  
  
• Don’t try to use Numbers to create Excel spreadsheets. Don’t go from one spreadsheet to another. Pick one and stay with it.

The right tool for the right job, I always say. An IPad is not a computer.

Previous rant on the same topic is here.