The one glaring weakness mentioned by both detractors and supporters of the iPad is its lack of Microsoft Office. While Apple’s own iWork suite makes up for much of this shortcoming, it still has a ways to go. Enter hopTo.
Overview
HopTo allows you to edit Microsoft Word and Excel files, and view PowerPoint presentations. The app connects to cloud storage, including Box, Dropbox, Google Drive and your computer to allow file access and sharing.
HopTo also allows you to connect to the online storage services listed above, and search, create, edit, and share your documents. The app also allows viewing and sharing of photos.
Setting up hopTo is simple, as it allows you to enter your login information for the supported cloud storage services, and then offers an easy to use access screen for the various services. The interface is icon based, and easy to follow.
The process of opening and editing Microsoft Word and Excel documents is straightforward, and the editing screens for those documents has a very nice flow to it. I was able to easily load, edit and save Microsoft Word and Excel documents.
The editor is streamlined and simple to use, allowing full control over fonts, styling, and even change tracking. When you exit the document, you are given the option to save your changes.
While tapping a file icon loads the file into the viewer/editor, a tap and hold displays a pop-up menu that allows the user to set the file as a “favorite” for quicker access later, delete the file, forward the file to another user via email, AirDrop, printing, and other options, email the document, or open the document for viewing/editing.
I found the editing options for Word documents more than sufficient for mobile use, and the ability to save the back to cloud storage is a great feature.
I do wish the app gave the option to access files on my Mac, the app appears to limit this type of access to Windows PCs. I also miss the ability to access iCloud, however Apple’s iWork does allow that, and it can be safely assumed that at the very least, new users of iPads will have those apps installed on their devices.
Opening files can occasionally take awhile, even on my reasonably fast internet connection, however, as the app is cloud based, this can be expected. I also found that the app didn’t always show a file in the “Favorites” section of the interface after it was marked as so.
Verdict
I found hopTo a quite useful app, and would recommend any user to install and use it on their iPad. Especially at the current rock-bottom price of FREE. The ability to edit Microsoft Word and Excel files on my iPad proved invaluable, and while I hope they’ll soon include the ability to edit as well as view Powerpoint files, this is a minor issue for me.
The app’s file managing abilities were more than sufficient for my use. While I wish the app connected to more cloud services such as iCloud, or SkyDrive, the developer assures me compatibility with more services is on the way.
Rating:4.5/5.0[rating:4.5]
Price: FREE – Available for the iPad in the App Store. [DIRECT LINK]
Pros:
- Viewing and editing of Microsoft Word and Excel files is priceless.
- File management features were quite welcome.
- Easy to setup and use.
Cons:
- No editing of Powerpoint files yet.
- Needs compatibility with more cloud storage services.
- Occasionally, files I marked as favorites didn’t appear in the Favorites area.
*Note: The above review was commissioned by the developer in accordance with our app review policy, and has been written in an objective, unbiased fashion.
