Thing 6-Creating and Editing Docs!

Moving right along to thing number 6!  This time around we are looking at apps you can use to create and edit documents.  This is something I'd never really done on my iPhone, aside from within the notes applications.  That said, I decided to give Quickoffice a try. 

Quickoffice is an app available for both Apple and Android that lets you create and edit Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations and can, if you have a Google account, save your work in Google Drive (note-you also need to download the Google Drive app on your device, if you do not already have it for full functionality).  Of course if you'd like to work on documents on multiple devices you'll have to save them in Google Drive as opposed to a thumb drive or something of that nature and remember to always save them on Google Drive.  I'm traditionally a thumb drive kind of gal myself (there are literally five different thumb drives in my work bag) so that took getting used to. 

Like most apps these days there is a bit of a walk-through to acquaint users with the app and how to best use it after you create your account.  Its a pretty good guide, and gives enough information to get you started but not so much as to bore or overwhelm. 

I did a few things for my trial.  First, I accessed a folder of recipes that have been shared with me by a friend.  I edited one and added a comment and it worked beautifully.  I also like that I now have easy access to the folder-I would much rather use my iPhone (as opposed to a laptop) when I'm trying out a new recipe in the kitchen. 

I also created a trial document.  It was easy to create a new document, and the various features of the app are pretty easy to use.  One grudge-every time I wanted to change a setting (alter font, indent, bullet points, you name it) it took several keystrokes (screen taps?)-one to hit "done" so the keyboard would go away, which then revealed the settings menu, then a few more to get to the proper setting.  Not a big deal, but it slows the process down a bit compared to using a traditional laptop.  This problem may be resolved on larger devices with more screen space.  Another thing I noticed is that when I had to delete something the app lagged quite a bit.  More than once I deleted way more than I needed to because there was a substantial delay between pressing the backspace button on my keypad and something actually being deleted on screen.  Not a major issue, but a small annoyance.  Overall creating and saving a document, and making various layout/font changes was quite easy.  When I opened my document in Word on a regular computer it looked great. 

All in all, I will say that, for my taste, the iPhone is just too small to do in-depth work on a document.  Don't get me wrong, the app is user friendly and easy to navigate, I just don't like doing such detailed work on such a small screen!  I could see myself using this app very frequently if I got an iPad.

I'm definitely going to keep this app as it could be a lifesaver in a pinch.  I also like the collaborative features and the ability to make and track changes amongst multiple users (so long as everyone uses Google Drive).  I was somewhat surprised to see advanced features like that one in the app, but pleasantly so!