Apps For Life: GoodReader

GoodReader App

When my family first acquired an iPad, I looked at it as a fancy toy more than anything else – movies/cartoons, games, funny pictures, embarrassing “daddy’s crazy” videos. However in 2010, I became interested in losing my heavy work laptop and “getting with the times”. I wanted to be able to use the iPad on the job. It quickly became my sidearm, my Lightsaber, my portfolio/notepad/file cabinet/work pc/media path/photo album. In order to get to that point, I had to figure out how to organize everything that I needed to serve my company and customers in one place.

“There’s an app for that.”  Ok, Apple, I get it.  When I first started using the iPad for work, there was an app for spreadsheets, an app for notes, one for presentations, word documents, books, photos, videos… Before I knew it, everything I needed was scattered throughout the device, and I couldn’t find anything.  I wanted an app like my PC’s Explorer, a filing area that stores everything in a single place. Then I found GoodReader.

Install the GoodReader app and you can read virtually anything, anywhere, from one location on the device.  All of the file types I mentioned in the rant above are stored in a single place.  I store everything in it: PDF and TXT files, training guides, magazines, books, etc.  I can annotate and mark up details, highlight key points, apply “sticky notes”, draw arrows, edit lines, and run freehand drawings on top of a PDF file.  I can create folders, rename files, zip larger files together and password-protect necessary files. Attachments that are included in emails can be dropped into GoodReader, allowing it to work as a PDF reader, or as your organized electronic-portable file cabinet. You can search for files the same way you might search for a document within your PC.

The Manage Files feature can be tricky to learn at first, but here’s a tip. Think of it as the right click of your mouse on a PC. You can easily cut, paste, email, create a new folder, rename, etc.  GoodReader is also iCloud-ready for easy back-up.

Another neat feature is the ability to create hyperlinks, bookmark, and save website locations.  Even web browsing locations can be saved to a particular folder rather than you having to switch to a browser app.

There are a number of view options to experience true full-screen reading.  It also lets you crop your reading area to get rid of unnecessary margin or page space.

Yes, you can certainly store all of your word docs in your Pages app, your books in iBooks, etc., but why fumble around with 20+ apps when you can go to one organized place? Of course, my iPad savvy 2 year old might prefer to do so with the many colorful touch icons, but I prefer one place.  Most of my teammates are using GoodReader on the job. Maybe it will work for you. Do you use GoodReader or do you have an alternative method for organizing your iPad?

Lou Murray, Southwest Regional Director, Nelnet Partner Solutions