If selecting files with the trackpad of your Magic Keyboard, click the button below the first file (i.e. not selecting the first file) then drag the trackpad to complete the selection.
EDIT: not necessarily below. Just click somewhere in the FIles App but not on one of the files. Off to the side works if you have a window full of files.
With touch, select the first file, drag a bit until the file is moving with your finger, then click all the other files that you want.
Two ways to open new windows that might be convenient for you. if you want to open a tab in a new window, long press it and at the bottom of the window there is an option for āopen in a new window.ā
Second, click the three-button icon, add another window, and select Files. It will open on the same stage you are working on.
Additionally, to move files, you donāt have to have multiple windows open. If using your finger, you can navigate your folder structure and release the files when you find the folder that you want.
See if any of those work to accomplish what you are trying to do.
Another thing Files canāt do: Open file types in an app that supports it. If I try to open an .xlsx file, it doesnāt open Numbers or Excel, it shows me a (broken) preview of it.
Edit: is there a place to enter default file types like on a Mac to tie an app to a file type? I canāt find it if so.
It very much does sound like there is a learning curve to it, and I do need to spend more time in it. Thank you for the suggestions, I will give it a try later when I have more time to dive into it.
No, thereās no way to pick a default app, and thatās been one of the major complaints. The workaround sometimes is to use the share sheet and share the file to the app, requiring scrolling through endless list of apps and more scrolling than should be necessary on a user-friendly operating system.
In fairness, on a Mac, wouldnāt you have to do the same thing? If you are trying to open a document in an app other than the default, you have to right click (or otherwise open the context menu), select āopen in,ā and scroll through a list of compatible apps? The only thing different is that on Mac, you can select a default. Thatās an important difference. It would be ideal to have that facility on the iPad, especially because some third-party apps try to hijack the defaults.
I know this is kind of not the point. But there are tools like LaunchBarās Instant Send and Alfredās Universal Actions that make this extremely fast and easy on a Mac.
Lol, well, I watched the video anyway and itās perfect. I very well done side-by-side. Iād done the same thing as a blog post with images and a lot of text. Frankly, I think marketing via video on social media has been one of Appleās biggest fails. Just demos to show people whatās possible. I looked a few days ago and the official Apple YouTube account had 4 videos in its iPad playlist and one of those was for the āAll New iPad Miniā from 2 years ago.
A couple of notes, yes, as you mentioned, later in the thread, you do have to use it, practice with it a bit. Itās very similar to the Finder but not identical. It really does take a bit of practice.
Some things, particularly selection with a trackpad can be tricky and I tend to only use it in icon view.
Touch is best for multi file selection in list and column views via a two finger drag up or down a list. Or touch a file then hold down Command key to make different selections. Or touch a file and hold the shift key then select another file further up or down to select all those in between.
The keyboard works pretty well in navigation and selection. But yes, again, there are some quirks to be aware of. For example, using the keyboard with shift and arrow key to multi select files/folders seems to work best in List view. Itās a bit wonky in the column view.
Command-C to copy then paste in another location. Just hit return on a selected file to rename. I think many/most of the same keyboard shortcuts work on iPad Files as on a Mac.
Maybe it is beyond the point, but I confess that I agree with you. It would be nice if macOS allowed for universal utilities, like LaunchBar. My own view is that the absence of functionality for universal utilities is not a āproblemā with iPadOS, but would be a vast usability improvement.
I predict theyāll add some cool stuff for iPads, but Apple siliconās been ahead of the curve on ML cores for generations and only the iPad has an M4 so I donāt anticipate much M4 exclusive capability.
And whatever they do it wonāt be sufficient to change the narrative on iPads.
Inspired by this thread, I figured I would update one of my spreadsheets on my iPad this morning. The file is on my Synology, using Synology Drive (SD). I opened SD on the iPad first, made sure the file was there and current, it was, last updated May 12. Opened the Files app, went to the SD section and the file hasnāt been updated since January. I opened it in iPadOS Excel to verify the data was old, it was (I didnāt save, but MS does auto save on iPadOS, which I donāt believe can be turned off). Forced closed all the apps, and reopened them, still showing January, although other documents are showing correct updates.
But then I went back to my Mac to open the file, and it has been reverted to the January version. So I assume that when I opened it in Excel, it saved that version and replaced my May 12 version. So I am now off to recover the correct version from my NAS or Time Machine.
Now this could be a Synology issue, but when I was a regular OneDrive user I used to have syncing issues as well. There were multiple failures here, and even if they arenāt all iPadOS fault, it is just a reminder to me that I canāt use the iPad for anything important.
Edit: First time I had to use Synologyās versions feature. Took less than a minute. Far quicker than using Time Machine. I would still be waiting for it for load.
One major problem Iād love to see fixed is a way to permanently download folders in iCloud Drive via the Files app, a la Dropbox. That would resolve a lot of sync issues for me, and iPad storage is generous enough these days that I donāt see why it should be a problem to allow the feature.
Why canāt you? I just went on a 1 week business trip. In the Files app, long pressed and selected Download Now. Almost 2 weeks later the files are still downloaded to my iPad. Whether that will be a permanent setting remains to be seen, but this solves 90% of my scenarios.
Thatās just to immediately download it. Thereās still a big difference between Download Now and Keep On This Device. I donāt know what triggers iOS to remove files available in the cloud, but Iād like to pick a subset of files that will never, ever, ever get removed.
Trueā¦kind of. Even though Apple never publicized it that I know of, the results are a lot different than what it used to be. Used to be I would do the Download Now and 2 days into my trip, the files were no longer on my iPad. Now they stay on my iPad much longer. I will make a Reminder for 3 and 6 months down the road to see if they are still there.
iCloud Driveās eviction algorithm for āoptimizing storageā depends on a number of factors, including how much storage you have, how big the file is, and how recently it was viewed or modified. The specifics of the algorithm, unfortunately, are unknown to both users and app developers. I doubt that itās changed, though ā more likely one of those other factors changed for your particular devices/files.
The lack of a āstop offloading my filesā feature is probably the most condescending example of Appleās iPad āProā paternalisms.
You could be right. However I judge an app by what else is available, not what is my ideal. I assume that it is impossible for Apple or Google or Microsoft to please everybody all of the time, so my odds of getting exactly what I want is pretty minimal. And that is assuming that I know enough to know exactly what I want.
Due to business purposes, I also use Google Drive and OneDrive with less positive results than iCloud Drive.
Google Drive Much more friction as you have to select one file at a time for Available Offline. More often than ICloud Drive, I find that files I have specified for offline are not available. Havenāt been able to determine the reason.
OneDrive I can select an entire folder to make available, but the results are uneven as well. And the sync is considerably slower.
Dropbox It has been a number of years since I used them. Used to love Dropbox until they changed their business practices and became a little too invasive.
Like I said previously, I will be monitoring this just to see how long they stay on device.
I can understand Appleās position though as the iPad caters to the consumer as well as the professional. Probably concerned that a user would not be able to download movies or music without knowing why, therefore Apple needs to help out. I am OK with that
