Transfer Files to iPad from a Computer
Need to get a file from your computer to your iPad? If it's a media file, iTunes is usually the easiest and quickest way to get your media content from your computer to your iPad. For other files, there are a variety of cloud services and file transfer systems that can help you transfer your files in just a few clicks.
Contents
Steps
iTunes
- Add your music and videos to your iTunes library. Before you can use iTunes to transfer your media files to your iPad, you'll need to add them to your iTunes library.
- Connect your iPad to your computer using its included USB cable. You should see a button appear in iTunes in the top row for your iPad. Click it to select your iPad.
- Select the Music tab in the left frame of iTunes. When you select your iPad, you will see all of the types of content listed in the left frame. Click the Music tab to start choosing what music you want to copy to your iPad.
- Check the "Sync Music" box. This will enable iTunes to sync music to your iPad. You can then select what artists, albums, playlists, and/or genres you want to copy over.
- Select the Movies tab in the left frame of iTunes. Movies can be full-length videos that you've purchased from iTunes or any video clip that you add to your iTunes library. If the video is not the right format, it won't sync and will Convert-.AVI-Files-to-the-iPad-for-Enjoyment
- Check the "Sync Movies" box. This will allow you to choose which videos you want to sync with the iPad.
- Repeat this process with the TV Shows tab if you have TV episodes you want to copy.
- Click the Photos tab in the left frame of iTunes. This will allow you to select what folders of images you want to sync with your iPad. Because you can't use iTunes to transfer individual images, it's recommended that you Organize-Your-Digital-Photos so that you can easily choose the images you want.
- Check the "Sync photos from" box. This will enable you to copy photos from your computer to the iPad.
- Use the drop-down menu to choose your photo source. In Windows, you can select what folder you want to access pictures from. In OS X, you can also select iPhoto as the photo source.
- Select between "All photos" or "Selected folders". You can also choose to include any videos found in the folders. If you are syncing from iPhoto, you can select specific albums.
- Sync other iTunes content. You can use the tabs on the left to sync apps, ebooks, podcasts, and more to your iPad. Anything you want to sync will need to be added to your iTunes library like you did with your music and movies.
- Click .Template:MacButton or Template:MacButton. This will sync everything that you've selected to your iPad. The sync process may take a little while, especially if you're copying a lot of content.
iCloud Drive
- Download and install the iCloud software (Windows only). iCloud Drive functionality comes built-in to OS X Yosemite. If you are using an earlier version of OS X, you'll need to upgrade to Yosemite in order to use iCloud Drive. iCloud Drive for Windows requires Windows 7 or later.
- You can download iCloud for Windows from the Apple iCloud website.
- You will need to sign in to iCloud using your Apple ID or create a new one during installation.
- Installing iCloud for Windows will install a new folder on your computer that gives you access to your iCloud Drive files.
- Open your iCloud Drive folder on your computer. You should be able to find this in the Favorites section of your Explorer (Windows) or Finder (OS X) window. Remember, you must either have iCloud for Windows installed or be running OS X Yosemite or later for the folder to appear.
- Drag any files you want to share with your iPad into the iCloud Drive folder. It may take a few moments for larger files to be uploaded to iCloud Drive.
- Free accounts have a 5 GB limit on storage in iCloud Drive.
- You can also save files into the iCloud Drive folder if you are editing them in a program.
- Open the appropriate app on your iPad. There is no "iCloud Drive" app for your iPad. Instead, files are accessed through the apps that support them. For example, if you have a PDF reader on your iPad and a PDF stored in iCloud Drive, use the PDF reader app to open the file.
- The app must be updated to support iCloud Drive functionality. Most major apps should be updated with support.
- The process of opening files from iCloud varies depending on the app, but generally there should be an "Open From" or "iCloud" option.
AirDrop (Mac to iPad)
- Open the Finder on your Mac running Yosemite. You will need to have OS X Yosemite (10.10) in order to connect to your iPad using AirDrop. Yosemite is a free upgrade available from the Mac App Store.
- Select the "AirDrop" option in the Favorites section of the Finder window. This will display all of the nearby devices that are AirDrop-compatible
- Your iPad must be running iOS 7 or newer. Make sure it is turned on.
- Enable AirDrop on your iPad. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the Control Center. Tap the AirDrop button and select "Everyone". This will enable you to receive files from your nearby Mac, even if you don't have them linked to the same account.
- Drag and drop the file you want to send onto the image representing your iPad. Your file will be sent directly to your iPad.
- Tap "Accept" on your iPad to open the file. You won't be able to open files that you don't have a supporting app for.
DropBox
- Sign up for a DropBox account. You can get a free account which gives you 2 GB of storage space on your DropBox drive.
- Install DropBox on your computer. You can download the setup file from the DropBox website. Installing DropBox allows you to easily access your DropBox folder from your desktop, but you can use the website if you don't want to install anything.
- Drag the files you want to transfer into your DropBox folder. It may take a few minutes for the files to upload.
- Download and install the DropBox app on your iPad. You can get it for free from the App Store.
- Log in with your DropBox account. Make sure to log in with the same account that you used to add the files.
- Tap the file you want to open. Most files will open directly in the DropBox app. If you need to open it in a specific app, tap the Share button and then select the app that you want to use.
Google Drive
- Open the Google Drive website. You can perform all of your file transferring through the website, so you don't need to install anything on your computer.
- Log in with your Google account. Your Google account comes with 15 GB of Drive space for free. If you don't have a Google account, click here.
- Drag and drop the files you want to add to Drive. Drag the files from your computer into the Google Drive website window. The files will be uploaded to your Google Drive.
- Download and install the Google Drive app on your iPad. You can download the app for free from the App Store.
- You will need to sign in with the same Google account.
- Tap the file you want to open. The file will open in the app that supports it. Drive can open certain types of files within the Drive app as well.
- If no app is set to open the file, tap "Open In" and select the app that supports that file type.
- Click here for more detailed instructions on using Google Drive.
- Compose a new email on your computer addressed to yourself. You don't need to worry about filling out the subject or the body since you're just sending the message to your own account.
- Attach the files you want to transfer. The process varies depending on how you send your email, but generally you can click the Attach button (it might look like a paperclip) and select the files.
- Many email services have a size limit of 20-30 MB.
- Send the message. It may take a few moments to send as the files are uploaded to your mail server.
- Open the message on your iPad. Open the Mail app on your iPad and tap your new message from yourself.
- Tap the attachments to open the files. The files will open in the app that supports them.
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