A list, but no file content, on my new iPad

[davowolf]

I've just introduced an iPad 10th gen to my mac family of iphone 14 and iMac. But i've run into a problem.

On the new iPad, I see a nice blue files folder, which contains multiple sub files, but selecting one from the list shown to read its contents, the screen just goes blank. It works fine of course on my main iMac.

There is a little cloud next to the icon file title |(which looks like a page with tiny script on ) which strangely disappears when I exit the blank screen. At the bottom of the page is a '58 items Synced with iCloud' message.

What am I not doing ?

 

[MacInWin]

There is a little cloud next to the icon file title |(which looks like a page with tiny script on ) which strangely disappears when I exit the blank screen.

The cloud icon indicates that the document is not stored on the iPad, but in iCloud. Is the iPad connected to the internet when you tried to open the document? Is that connection fast? What may be happening is that the file has to be downloaded from the cloud before you can see/use it.

 

[davowolf]

Thanks for the prompt reply Jake. Yes I'm conncected to the internet as you can see from the screenshots below. I did think yes, that the files had to be downloaded from the cloud but its not happening in any sensible time. When I touch All My Lovin' Chords on the first screen, I get the second screen indefinitely.

 

[davowolf]

I've just tried the Transfer or Reset iPad in Settings but get the following.




Hitting DONE just goes back a screen.

 

[davowolf]

Notice that having tried All My Lovin' Chords as above, the cloud icon is no longer there. Does this suggest that in fact these documents are actually not in fact in the cloud but only on my iMac locally ?

If so how do we get all these documents into the cloud ? Here's my iCloud info.

 

[MacInWin]

I note that the files are .odt format. Do you have an app on the iPad to open .odt files? I found this with a quick search, but know nothing about the app in the article.

How to Open ODT files on iPhone (SOLVED! 2024) – Mobile Tech Addicts

mobiletechaddicts.com

 

[Jimmysb]

Notice that having tried All My Lovin' Chords as above, the cloud icon is no longer there. Does this suggest that in fact these documents are actually not in fact in the cloud but only on my iMac locally ?

If so how do we get all these documents into the cloud ? Here's my iCloud info.

View attachment 40052

Have you checked online in iCloud that the document are there.

In finder this is what I see in my iCloud drive:



When I go online and look at my iCloud drive there:



The folders that have content are identical.

 

[pm-r]

I've just introduced an iPad 10th gen to my mac family of iphone 14 and iMac. But i've run into a problem.

On the new iPad, I see a nice blue files folder, which contains multiple sub files, but selecting one from the list shown to read its contents, the screen just goes blank. It works fine of course on my main iMac.

Is this a brand new or Apple refurbished iPad?

It sounds like it was a used iPad and wasn't erased or set up for new user properly.

Or have you been using it for a while?





- Patrick
=======

 

[davowolf]

Patrick, Brand new 10th gen iPad direct from Apple.

 

[Rod]

I think maybe Jake has hit on the issue; a need for an application to open ODT files.
Do you have MS Word on the iPad? If not the article Jake attached Post # 6 suggests a free alternative I hadn't heard of, Collabora Office.
If you do have Word the article suggests a few other options but the app thing is what I'd try first.

 

[davowolf]

Yes Rod I believe so. I’m new to the iPad and have downloaded ODR document reader. This is new to me. I was expecting the files to appear on my iPad - I’ll need them out and about, the raison d’être for getting it.
I’ll spend some time with this now and report back.

 

[IWT]

@davowolf,

I'm in no way questioning your judgement, but for my sake: may I assume that when you got the brand new iPad, you went through the entire process for setting up the Device:

Including a complete download of all your appropriate Apps and all your data, Photos etc - in fact everything from iCloud - if there was any: If this is your first iPad, there will be none. Some iPhone data will be downloadable, but iPhone Apps and iPad Apps do vary.

OR - did you download any data from elsewhere? - For Example: on your iMac. For the latter, you'd need a cable connection between iPad and iMac.

If the iPad is the very first one, then you will not have synced a previous iPad with the Mac. So you can't restore from there.

Sorry about this, I'm just not entirely clear about what you've done.

Ian

 

[davowolf]

Questioning my judgement Ian, is a good thing, don’t worry about that. I’m only semi IT literate and as you can see have relied on the good advice from yourselves on this forum before to get by other issues.
When I set this iPad up out of the box it did download from a previous iPad I’d got off eBay which claimed it to be New Unused. After setting that one up I immediately returned it, unused otherwise, for a refund as it was scuffed on closer inspection and I didn’t believe it was as described.
So yes it did restore from the cloud from a previous one but I’m not sure if it was comprehensive. When setting up the new one I do recall skipping a stage so that may have led to some incompleteness too.
So, perhaps a novel setting up after a reset might be a good thing ? How would I do that ? Would a transfer by wire as you suggest solve anything ?
Notwithstanding however, I’m still puzzled by the need for that ODR software to read my .ODT Open Office files. I’ve not come across this before. Might a switch to a different Word Processor be a solution ?

 

[MacInWin]

Might a switch to a different Word Processor be a solution ?

Yes, it could. Or even changing them to be PDF or JPG would eliminate the need for a word processor.

 

[ferrarr]

Pages from Apple will work on Apple devices, as well as online.

 

[davowolf]

Pages is installed already on the iPad and shows all the files from my iMac but greyed out and not accessible as below. And its like this on the iMac. So Pages can't read the files I've created on Open Office.

 

[Rod]

@davowolf, What setup step did you skip? Maybe it's not important but just to eliminate it.
And, do all these documents open on your Mac and icloud.com?

 

[MacInWin]

All of those files were, as he said, created with Open Office and then saved in Open Office format. What is easiest is to open them on the Mac in Open Office and export them to something the iPad can show natively. That could be jpg, or pdf, or maybe pages, but definitely NOT odt.

 

[davowolf]

Rod I honestly can't remember what stage was skipped on the new iPad but bacause I had set up a previous one (dishonestly sold as new and unused on eBay) I think the brand new one was updated from that.
And yes all the Open Office .odt files open as normal on the iMac. That's the thing, they don't on the iPad though the titles do appear.
The ODR document reader I've now got thanks to Jake identifying the issue, does work and opens for read only but only if I open that and pull the file in there.
The two other ways would be 1) as Jake suggests converting the .odt files to jpeg or pdf or 2) copying the odt files on my iMac and pasting them into a new Pages document which can then be read (and edited) on the iPad.

So there's 3 solutions, but all 3 are tedious and involve document by document work. I have several dozen song chords and words. A fourth of course is to write any new documents from scratch in Pages.

 

[Jimmysb]

I think the question is do you have the same apps on the iMac as on the iPad, i.e. Open Office, if you don't, then there lies your problem.