Jan 20, 2017
Mobile Apps — PDF Content Management in a Digital World
We’re All Mobile — Help Yourself and Your Clients / Customers!
How Prevalent is Mobile Today?
“KPCB mobile technology trends by Mary Meeker. Her deck is nearly 200 slides, so we have selected the statistics which best summarize the importance of mobile devices today.
The latest data shows that we are now well past the tipping point… Mobile digital media time in the US is now significantly higher at 51% compared to desktop (42%).
The implications are clear — if you’re not able to reach your audience through mobile search or display, or you’re not providing a satisfactory mobile experience you will miss out compared to competitors who are.
Source — “Mobile Marketing Statistics compilation” , October 26, 2016
Ok, so we know we need to do better with mobile content — not only with how we manage our own professional life, but provide information to our clients as well!
In this post, I highlight three mobile apps any user can leverage and show you a few examples of how I use them. This is described for Apple iOS devices, but the concepts apply to any mobile device.
I use all three of these apps, for different purposes on both my iPhone and iPad. They are each indispensable to my workflow routine. GoodReader is, hands down, my favorite app!
1 — Apple iBooks
Apple’s default eBook reader. iBooks is also a basic PDF reader and document manager that it great for housing a library of materials and sharing content.
Key considerations include:
- No need to purchase / install a separate app on your device
- Easily manage content across your devices via iCloud (Apple’s cloud service)
- Search functionality enables easy word searches throughout the PDF
- NO annotation or highlighting of PDF functionality
Here’s what it looks like:
- Bookshelf of PDF’s — shown below is a “Collection” for Invenio Advisors content
- Full view of PDF document, with floating menu displayed
- Thumbnail view — quick way to scan and access pages of the PDF
2 — GoodReader
“GoodReader is the super-robust PDF reader app that Mashable describes as “a Swiss Army knife of awesome!” Millions of users and reviews worldwide hail it as “essential,” “the best,” “magnificent” and “the killer app”. With GoodReader on your iPad or iPhone, you can read virtually anything, anywhere: documents, books, movies, maps, pictures.” — Apple app store
Key considerations include:
- Easily manage content across all your devices via the cloud (Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.)
- Easy annotation, highlighting, marking up, etc. — tools are robust!
- Search functionality enables word searches across the app (file names) and within each PDF (when open)
- Handles various types of content, not just PDF’s (video, audio, pictures, etc.)
- Does NOT handle PDF fillable forms
Here’s what it looks like:
- Content library view — list with menu options on right-side. Only relevant menu items are accessible. For instance, choose a document and ALL menu items are active.
- Tap a document to open. It appears full screen. From here, you can read, annotate, etc. Goodreader also provides the capability to have the document read aloud to you. This is very handy when you need it!
- Tap the center of the screen and a “floating menu” appears. From here, you access all of the capabilities and annotation features of GoodReader. The menu will disappear automatically if it is not touched after a few seconds (or tapping the center of the screen again hides it!)
- From the menu, you can access the “thumbnail” view, where you can shift, delete and modify the PDF pages.
- Access all of your content in the cloud. Seamlessly connect with all of your services (Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.). You also have the ability to SYNC contents from the cloud (select folders, etc.) to your Goodreader app, so content always stays in sync.
2 — Readdle PDFExpert
“PDF Expert 5 is a must-have app for anyone who reads, annotates or edits PDF documents on iPad or iPhone. It allows you to mark up documents with highlights and handwriting, insert text and stamps, sign and even merge PDFs. Moreover, PDF Expert 5 is the best choice for filling out PDF forms right on your iPad and iPhone.” — Apple app store
Key considerations include:
- Capable of handling PDF fillable forms (love this feature!)
- Easily manage content across all your devices via the cloud (Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.)
- Easy annotation, highlighting, marking up, etc. — tools are robust!
- Search functionality enables word searches across the app (file names) and within each PDF (when open)
- PDF Expert is a more expensive app — $9.99 vs GoodReader at $4.99
Here’s what it looks like:
- Content library view — list with menu options on left side.
- Tap a document to open. It appears full screen. From here, you can read, annotate, etc.
- Tap the screen and a “floating menu” appears. From here, you access all of the capabilities and annotation features of PDF Expert. Tap the screen again the the floating menu disappears.
- From the menu, you can access the “thumbnail” view, where you can shift, delete and modify the PDF pages.
- PDF Expert handles fillable forms flawlessly. This feature sets PDF Expert apart if you work with forms a lot!
So, how do you get started? Pick one of these apps for your PDF document management and commit to 30 days of use. It does not take long before you are hooked on managing content digitally!
Good luck!
About Don
Don Tomoff is a “recovering CPA”, who is passionate about helping professionals and organizations keep up and adapt to the changing business world that we operate in.
One lesson learned over the years is that all of us, regardless of organization type or size, struggle with similar issues — primarily information management and presentation, and effective use of our time. Let’s change that…one person at a time!
“On a mission to challenge the status quo to a more productive and effective end…”
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