DocAS Review

Our Review by Kevin Stout on March 2nd, 2012
Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: POWERFUL
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DocAS is a powerful, PDF-focused file manager for the iPad

Developer: 9 Square
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 4.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2

iPad Integration Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
User Interface Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

DocAS is a powerful file manager for the iPad. Since it’s so feature-packed, some features aren’t always easily or noticeably accessible. But it has a nice interface and is probably one of the better PDF-focused file managers I’ve used on the iPad.

DocAS organizes documents into folders and “notebooks.” On the main screen, all of the folders are accessible at the bottom. The app has various template folders with icons that match their function (like Books, ToDo, Mail, and Pictures). Within the folders are the documents. DocAS allows users to merge documents into one notebook easily by dragging and dropping one document on top of another.

Blank notebooks can be created and individual pages from other documents can be “pasted” from the clipboard into the notebooks. The blank pages, as well as any other document pages, can be annotated, drawn on, and various other editing tricks. My personal favorite editing option was adding sticky notes. The handwriting engine mentioned in the app’s most recent update is decent (I’ve definitely seen worse). Perhaps I just don’t have an interest in writing by hand on my iPad. There’s even a setting that keeps annotations on the documents when they’re exported out of the app.

As for exporting, documents can be emailed, accessed via iTunes, uploaded to Dropbox and Box.net, Google Docs, and more. Documents can be imported in the same ways and even downloaded from websites with a built-in web browser.

There are a lot of buttons in DocAS. Having so many features in an app like this is always going to lead to tons of drop-down menus and roundabout ways to certain functions. There are quite a few buttons and menus, but it didn’t take me long to get used to using everything in DocAS. A sacrifice of ease-of-use for functionality always seems to happen with this sort of app, but the developers of DocAS seemed to strike the best balance possible.

DocAS has probably replaced GoodReader as my file manager of choice. Its simple, functional user interface and plethora of features makes it an attractive app. A “lite” version is also available with limited document capacity and exporting features.

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