Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Documents to Go—a must have for da Droid

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I saw an immediate problem when I opened the Motorola Droid for the first time. My first response was almost to put it back in the box and send it back for the same reason I was never interested in the iPhone when it first came out. It had no built in software for handling Microsoft Office files such as Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint, not to mention PDF files. A serious PDA user interested in mobile productivity needs to be able to access, edit, and crate programs in these formats on the go.

What is the solution? Don’t buy anything but a Windows Mobile device? Well, there are some note taking programs that will allow you to do word processing after a fashion. There are some programs that allow you to view various kinds of documents, but you cannot edit them or create new ones, which make them next to useless.

There is, however, one magnificent solution, and that is Documents on the Go. It is the only program that will allow you to view, edit, and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. It also lets you handle PDF files.

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If you want to try it out before you buy, or if you only need Word and Excel documents, try the free version, which doesn’t expire. With the trial version available in the Market on your Droid, you will have full access to all the features of this product for both Word and Excel.

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Should you need the full version with the additional ability to process PowerPoint and PDF documents, you will need to purchase the full version, which normally sells for $29.95, but for a limited time, it is available in the Market for only $14.95. My advice is the grab it now while the special is still in force.

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The Word module allows you to view, edit, and create Word documents including .doc and .docx formats. What I particularly appreciate is the ability to edit docs and track changes and even email them to other contributors while you are on the road. You can literally do almost anything in the Documents to Go program that you can do on your desktop version with some exceptions that wouldn’t matter to most users. The original formatting is preserved when you send or open a document in your desktop.

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Sheet to go is Documents to Go’s version of Mircosoft Excel. It will open, view, edit, and create new Excel documents right on your handheld device. It supports both .xls and xlsx versions of Excel. I am amazed at the power of this portable document processor. It can crunch your numbers, update values, insert functions, and monitor your data on the go.

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Slideshow to Go is the functional equivalent of Microsoft PowerPoint that, as you may expect by now, view, edit, and create actual PowerPoint docs. What a great tool to have in your pocket on the road when you need to tweak a presentation or quickly create a new one. No, it doesn’t have all the features of the desktop version, but it will serve most of your needs in a mobile environment. It could really save your bacon. You can use it to review slide notes and monitor your timing. It handles both .ppt and .pptx files.

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The quadruple suite of document processors is completed with the ability to handle Adobe .pdf files. While you cannot edit or create new .pdf files, you can view them, specify screen format rendering, zoom, rotate, create bookmarks, and search for quickly finding what you need. You can also select, copy, and past text from a .pdf doc. It also lets you deal with password protected files. Now you can manage files in this popular format while you are at home or away with your handheld.

Documents to Go will allow you to open password protected files in all formats, as long as you know the password.

For your convenience, its file manager lets you open recently opened files and gives you the ability to browse files and folders in main memory or on the expansion card.

You can send files as an attachment with your Gmail account or through Road Sync, another DataViz program.

Here is an excellent video on the capabilities of Documents on the Go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iicDyaCrk14

My recommendation

If you are in the least bit interested in mobile productivity, you should not leave home without Documents to Go on your non-Windows Mobile device. It is the only application available that allows you to view, edit, and create Microsoft documents on an Android unit. Do take advantage of the half price offer now in effect before it disappears. It’s available in the Android Market on your mobile device or visit www.dataviz.com .