Review: Office2 HD for the iPad (view, create, edit MS-Word & Excel files)

(Also see my reviews of other writing and note-taking apps for the iPad.)

Office2 HD (iTunes link) (Website)

Last updated April 20th, 2010 (Version 3.2.1)

Size: 2.9 MB - Price: $7.99

Developer: Byte Squared Ltd.

In my continuing search for the perfect app for writing, here's my review of Office2 HD...

Overview:

Enables a user to view, create and edit Word (DOC) and Excel (XLS) files on the iPad. I didn't test the spreadsheet part of the app at all, so all comments below relate only to the writing-related features.

What I liked:

- Unlike the other apps I've reviewed so far, Office2 HD lets you store documents in hierarchical folders (yay!)

- Lots of formatting options, including bold, italics, underline, paragraph indentation. You can insert pictures, tables, bullets and numbering.

- There is an Undo and Redo option (though you have to scroll to the end of the options bar to get at them, reducing their convenience).

- Great customer support. Each feature/bug I reported got a quick response from the developer.

- Integration with other services like Google Docs, MobileMe, Box.net, and more.

What I didn't like:

- Not as intuitive an interface as some of the other apps I've reviewed. To rename a file, for example: Instead of just tapping on a filename and typing the new name, you have to: (1) Tap on the "greater than" sign to the right of the filename, tap on the "greater than" sign again to bypass the "e-mail file" option, type the new name, click "Done", then click "Save."

- I couldn't get any keyboard shortcuts involving arrow keys to work. This is a deal-breaker for me since I'm starting to use the Bluetooth keyboard a lot with my iPad, and find that I can type and edit much more easily if I can keep my hands on the wireless keyboard most of the time.

- No way to set a default font and font size. The default is always Helvetica 12 point. If I prefer another font and/or font size, I always need to manually set it before starting a new document, or do a "Select All" and change for an existing document.

- When I imported an MS-Word document (which I could read fine in MS-Word) from one of my critique partners, the app turned everything black (and unreadable). Turns out that the problem was a few lines of red text. However, I imported other docs with coloured text as well as creating docs within the app with coloured text, and there was no problem. I eventually got around the all-black document by changing the red text to regular black, then importing again. I haven't been able to recreate the problem since, so this might just have a problem with the one document.

Overview:

Good writing app for those who need the formatting options and again, I -loved- being able to store my documents in different folders. If the user interface was streamlined and keyboard shortcuts added, I'd be using this app much more often.

Office2 HD iTunes link