Our Verdict
While work on my iPhone spreadsheet apps round - up , one of the apps I was most impressed with was MobileFiles Pro ( ) , which was a compounding of an Excel editing program and a file transference / viewer solution .
File Flow : Quickoffice Files ’ file cabinet interface shows the single file on your iPhone ( or iDisk ) , and button to add a new folder , move files , send file , and delete files .
Things move fast in the iPhone app worldly concern , though , and MobileFiles Pro has now morphed intoQuicksheet . I ’m not sure what the difference of opinion between the two apps are , other than the new one is $ 3 more than the one-time one .
File Flow: Quickoffice Files’ file interface shows the files on your iPhone (or iDisk), and buttons to add a new folder, move files, send files, and delete files.
As part of this change in merchandise name and positioning , another ware was affected : MobileFiles 2.0 , which was essentially MobileFiles Pro minus the Excel redaction capableness . As of today , the program is now calledQuickoffice Files , and it offers four canonic feature :
As a Indian file transference and storage prick , Quickoffice Files work quite well , peculiarly when mounted as an outside drive on your Mac . To do this , you first enable file transfers — and I ’d recommend enabling hallmark as well , which will require someone to provide a user name and password of your choosing before they can connect to your iPhone . With file transfers enable , you ’ll see your iPhone ’s IP address next to a small AirPort symbol at the bottom of the screen door . In the Finder on your Mac , select Go - > Go to Server , and enter that IP address , then provide the username and password when prompted .
After verifying your login , your iPhone will show in the Shared segment of the Finder ’s sidebar , and you could then interact with it as you would any other partake in gimmick — drag - and - bead files and folders onto or off of the iPhone , rename or delete file and leaflet , and so on . This is , by far , the easiest way to shape with the files you want on your iPhone .
There ’s also a Web web web browser port , which is well designed and easy to use . However , your doings are specify by the Web web browser : you ca n’t use retarding force - and - drop to move files , you ca n’t rename files or brochure , files must be uploaded one at a time , and there ’s no progress index showing how long the transfer will take . Given how well the iPhone full treatment when mount in the Finder , the Web interface is best suited for browsing the Quickoffice data file from another mobile equipment .
On the iPhone itself , you’re able to also make and delete folders , delete or rename files ( but oddly , not booklet ) , and sort files into folders . These features all worked well , and the port shows a running count of selected items , so you ’ll know how many files you ’re about to delete or move before you do it .
As a file viewer , Quickoffice Files has its good and regretful point . On the good side of the equation , you may reckon many files case , including most image type ( including PNG , which is n’t listed in the support documents ) ; Word , Excel , and PowerPoint file ; iWork files ( though not iWork ’ 09 filing cabinet ) ; PDF ; and HTML WWW pages . The political platform even fend for connection archive written document , but only those create by Internet Explorer ( .mht extension ) , not Safari ’s connection archive .
On the regretful side , there are other many omissions in the watcher ’s file cabinet type support . In addition to the want of sustenance for iWork ’ 09 and Safari Web archives , Quickoffice Files wo n’t display full-bodied text ( .rtf ) file , nor can it play AIFF audio or m4v video , despite that being the nonpayment TV format for the iPhone . In addition , I observe it to be very subordinate on file extension ; I was n’t able-bodied to view a plain school text file relieve without the .txt extension . As before long as I added the telephone extension , though , it viewed perfectly .
I tested the viewer with a numeral of file types , and it worked quite well with most all of them . There were occasional minor formatting glitches in Word and Excel files , but certainly nothing that would forestall you from being capable to see what was in the file . Zooming in worked really well on mental image , but whizz out was sometimes jumpy . you could view in both portrait and landscape manner , and the purview switches automatically when you spread out the iPhone . ( you may only exit the looker when using portrait mood , though — in landscape mode , the Back push vanishes . )
The vitamin E - mail feature in Quickoffice Files is easy to apply and well think out . ( you’re able to e - post any filing cabinet you ’ve stored on your iPhone , not just those you’re able to view . ) solicit the gasbag icon , then take any numeral of files from the list ( they must all be at the same level ; you ca n’t send files in two unlike folders at once ) , then tap Send . A new message windowpane appears , and you have access to your physical contact if necessary . you could add text to go along with the single file , and optionally include a contact that lets users add the attachment to Quickoffice Files — in case your recipients have iPhones and use the app as well .
The last feature of speech of Quickoffice Files lets you work with your iDisk — or with anyone ’s public iDisk , assuming they ’ve provided you access ( if they ’ve parole protect it ) . After configuring your MobileMe iDisk data , your iDisk shows up as a separate source on the main Quickoffice Files screen . Select it , and your iDisk brochure show up — though this may take a while the first time you tie in , as there ’s a fair morsel of data to transpose .
Once connected , you’re able to apply the files on the iDisk just like those that reside on your iPhone — view them , e - mail them , rename them , blue-pencil them , etc . you may also move them to your iPhone , and move files from your iPhone to your iDisk . In little , Quickoffice Files makes using your iDisk as an always - there data storage source very easy .
Overall , Quickoffice Files is something of a mixed bag . In three of its four tasks , it does quite well . It makes working with files on your iDisk as easily as working with files on the iPhone ; the e - chain armour feature is well thought out ; and when mounted as a WiFi hard ride , it ’s sluttish to move files on and off the iPhone , and to rename , move , or erase the file and folders on the iPhone . The WWW port , while nice look , is much more feature of speech - limited , and not recommended .
The Indian file viewer is where I was most disappointed . I can almost understand not stomach iWork ’ 09 , as that ’s a raw data file format . But m4v , AIFF , and robust text are all well - established formats that the broadcast should handle . Safari Web archives are n’t standards , but they are something that many Safari drug user rely on .
For $ 2 , I think Quickoffice Files is worth the money for those who have a MobileMe account and require to use their iPhone or iPod touch as a filing cabinet transferee gimmick . As a file cabinet viewer , it works well , but the missing data formatting reenforcement may prove an issuing for some user .
Quickoffice Files is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch launch the iPhone 2.1 software update .
[ fourth-year editor Rob Griffiths runs the Mac OS X Hints blog . ]
