23. Managing Files on Your iPad and in the Cloud
In this chapter, you learn how to manage the files stored on your iPad.
Using AirDrop and AirPlay to Share with Other Devices
How do you get your photos and other files from your iPad to your computer—or vice versa? How do you manage those files stored on your iPad? How can you share your files with others? This chapter shows you how to do all these things.
Managing Your iPad’s Storage
First off, I want to show you how to find out how much storage you’re using on your iPad. You have limited storage, after all; if you fill it, you won’t have enough space to install new apps or shoot new pictures or videos.
Examine Available Storage
You can see how much storage space you’ve used—and still have available—from your iPad’s Settings screen.
From the Dock or Home screen, tap the Settings icon to open the Settings screen.
Tap General in the left column.
Tap iPad Storage in the right column.
The iPad bar graph shows the amount of storage space used by type of file (Media, Apps, Photos, and so on). The lightest gray area shows the amount of remaining storage space available.
Manage Available Storage Space
Which apps are using the most storage space? If you’re running short on space, which apps are the best to delete?
Fortunately, Apple makes it easy to look at storage on an app-by-app basis—and, just as easily, delete those apps and files that you’re not using.
From the Settings screen, tap General and then tap iPad Storage.
At the bottom of the iPad Storage screen, you see a list of all the apps installed on your iPad, with the largest apps (those using the most storage space) first. Tap an app to view more details.
To delete the app but keep its data and files, tap Offload App.
To completely delete the app and all its data and files, tap Delete App.
Working with the Files App
The latest version of the iPad operating system includes an important change to its file management system. The iPadOS 13 version of the Files app lets you manage files and documents stored on your iPad, as well as those stored in the iCloud cloud storage system.
View and Open Files
You use the Files app to view and manage files you’ve downloaded or copied to your iPad.
From your iPad’s Home screen, tap the Files icon to open the Files app.
You can view files stored on your iPad, on your iCloud Drive, or on any external storage device connected to your iPad. To view your iPad’s files, tap On My iPad in the Locations section on the left, then make sure you’ve selected the Browse tab.
You can view files in three different views; swipe down from the right side of the screen to see these options. To view thumbnails of your documents, tap the Thumbnails button.
To view a list of files, tap the List button.
To view files and folders in a column format, tap the Column button. Swipe left or right to see additional columns. (I find the column layout the most useful.)
Files are stored in folders. In the column layout, tap a folder to view its files in the next column.
You can sort folders by name, date, size, kind, or tags. Tap to select how you want your files and folders sorted.
Tap a file to view information about that file in a further column.
Tap Open to open the file.
Work with Files
The Files app lets you share, duplicate, move, delete, or copy files.
From within the Files app, tap Select.
Tap to select one or more items. A white check mark in a blue circle indicates selected items.
Tap Share to share the selected files with another user; then select how and with whom you want to share.
Tap Duplicate to create duplicates of the selected files (in the same folder).
Move the selected files to another location by tapping Move; then select another folder.
To delete the selected files, tap Delete.
Tap More and then tap Copy to create copies of the selected files in another location. Then navigate to another folder, press and hold within that folder, and tap Paste.
Create a New Folder
You don’t have to settle for the default folders created by your iPad apps. You can create your own custom folders and move or copy appropriate files there.
From within the Files app, press and hold within the file or location to display the pop-up menu.
Tap New Folder.
Type a name for this folder.
Tap Done.
Using External Storage
Another new feature of iPadOS 13 is the ability to use external storage devices with your iPad. This might be a USB flash drive or an external hard drive. All you have to do is connect the external drive to your iPad via the iPad’s Lightning or USB-C connector.
Make the Connection
The most difficult part of using an external storage device is connecting it to your iPad. Most storage devices connect via the traditional USB 1.0 or 2.0 Type-A connector. Your iPad doesn’t have one of these. You need to use either a USB Type-A to Lightning cable or connector or a USB Type-A to Type-C cable or connector—the specific type depends on the type of connector on the bottom of your iPad.
A USB flash drive connected to a USB Type-A to Type C connector, connected to an iPad Pro.
From there it’s a simple matter of connecting your external storage device to the cable or connector.
Work with Files
Once the external device is connected to your iPad, it’s recognized and displayed in the Location section of the Files app.
From within the Files app, tap the name of your external device in the location section.
Tap to navigate to the folder and file you want.
Tap a file to view its details.
Tap Open to open the file. Or…
Tap Select to select one or more files.
Tap to Share, Duplicate, Move, Delete, or Copy the selected file(s) either to another folder on your external drive, to your iPad, or to your iCloud storage (discussed next).
Working with iCloud
Apple’s iCloud is a cloud-based storage service, which means it stores your files on Apple’s servers, which you access over the Internet. All files are synced wirelessly when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, so you don’t have to physically connect your iPad to your computer. By default, all files you create with the Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps are stored in your iCloud storage.
Configure iCloud on Your iPad
You probably set up iCloud when you first powered up your iPad. You can change any iCloud settings at any time from your iPad’s Settings screen.
From your iPad’s Settings screen, tap Passwords & Accounts in the left column.
In the right column, go to the Accounts section and tap iCloud.
Tap iCloud.
The Storage section tells you how much iCloud storage space you have free.
Tap Manage Storage to manage your storage or buy more storage space.
iCloud storage is enabled by default. To turn it off for all apps, scroll down and tap “off” the iCloud Drive switch.
To enable or disable iPad storage for any specific app, tap “on” or “off” the switch next to any app.
Tap Photos to manage photo sharing via iCloud.
Tap “on” the iCloud Photos switch to automatically upload and store your photo library in iCloud. (This is enabled by default; tap it “off” to disable this feature.)
Tap Optimize iPad Storage to store all your photos online and automatically delete them from your iPad. Or…
Tap Download and Keep Originals to keep your original photos on your iPad (and copies in iCloud).
Tap “on” the Shared Albums switch to create photo albums to share with other users.
Backing Up Your iPad to iCloud
The data that you store on your iPad—pictures, videos, music, and more—is valuable to you. You don’t want to lose these items if you happen to lose or damage your iPad or if your iPad quits working.
This is why you want to back up all your data—and settings and apps—in case something bad happens. When you have a backup of your important stuff, you can then restore those items to your iPad when it’s found or fixed.
You back up your iPad files online to your iCloud account. It’s easy to do.
When your iPad is connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi, backups happen automatically in the background. All you have to do is configure your iPad for automatic iCloud backup.
From your iPad’s Settings screen, tap Passwords & Accounts in the left column and iCloud in the right column.
Tap iCloud.
Scroll down the list of apps and tap iCloud Backup.
Tap “on” the iCloud Backup switch. (This is probably enabled by default.)
If you want to back up your data now, tap Back Up Now.
Using AirDrop and AirPlay to Share with Other Devices
One nice thing about committing to the Apple ecosystem (that is, using multiple Apple devices—iPads, iPhones, Mac computers, and the Apple TV set-top device) is that it’s easy to share data and files between each device. This is particularly easy using Apple’s AirDrop and AirPlay feature. AirDrop lets you easily sync files between devices, whereas AirPlay enables wireless streaming of music and videos to other devices.
Share Files with AirDrop
Use AirDrop to share photos, videos, locations, websites, and more with other compatible devices. AirDrop uses both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to transfer data; Bluetooth is used to locate a nearby Apple device, and then the devices create a unique Wi-Fi connection between each other.
To use AirDrop, you must have your iPad’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. All transfers are encrypted for security. You also need to turn on AirDrop. To do this, open the Settings app, select General, and then tap AirDrop. You can choose to share with Everyone or with Contacts Only. You can also turn off AirDrop receiving if you’d rather not receive files from others.
Here’s how to share a file with AirDrop.
Within an iPad app, tap the Share icon.
Nearby users are displayed in the top row of the share panel. Tap the name of a user to share this file with that user.
The other user receives an AirDrop sharing request. They should tap Accept to receive the file.
Stream Media with AirPlay
Use AirPlay to stream music and videos from your iPad to any compatible device in real time. You can use AirPlay to stream music from your iPad to an Apple TV box, AirPort Express device, AirPlay-enabled wireless speakers, or other AirPlay-enabled devices (such as some audio/video receivers). You can also use AirPlay to stream photos and videos to an Apple TV box.
To stream media via AirPlay, both your iPad and the target device need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. You may also need to enable AirPlay on the other device.
With music or a video playing, swipe down diagonally from the top-right corner of the screen to open the Control Center, and then long press the Now Playing pane.
From the enlarged Now Playing pane, tap the AirPlay icon.
AirPlay looks for and displays nearby devices. Tap the device to which you want to stream. The current media is now streamed to the selected device. Tap iPad to return playback to your iPad.
Screen Mirroring
Your iPad also offers Screen Mirroring, which lets you display your entire iPad screen (apps and all) on an Apple TV set-top device. Open the Control Center, tap the Screen Mirroring tile, and then select your Apple TV device from the list. (If a passcode appears on your TV screen, enter that code into the appropriate field on your iPad screen.) You now see your iPad screen on your TV display.