Documents: File Manager & Docs Reviews

by C.M. Cook

I have used this app for years. I also use Spark and PDF Expert… for years. But today I needed to access a file that I have saved as a favorite and needed now for a business meeting. The reason you save it as a favorite is so it immediately opens, without the need to download. However, after the last iOS update, the favorite area is devoid of files. So, a file I needed to access immediately, was not there–I navigated to where it is on the iCloud drive and attempted to access it, but was notified that it needs to be downloaded. Problem is, this app was also trying to download every other file on the iCloud drive. I could not stop all the other files, nor reorder a queue, so I am stuck red-faced in my meeting, wholly unable to access the file.

I have used numerous Readdle apps without a thought for many, many years. However, I was just royally screwed by this app. The morale is that Documents is unreliable in a business context: the moment you don’t even consider that it may be unreliable, it will screw you over.

by JB102112

I use Documents everyday for PDF annotation with my apple pencil. Previously you could have 4 different pens saved with different colors, opacities, and thicknesses. Now you only get one and you have to manually change the settings every time you want to use a different color. The only way around this I can find is if you pay $50 a year to save different writing utensils in the favorites. I am extremely disappointed as I don't have the time to manually change the color and thickness every 30 seconds while I am switching back and forth for work. Also, before with the apple pencil, I could use the pencil once with one of the mark up tools and after that my finger would only scroll. Now each time I switch writing utensils, when I attempt to scroll with my finger, it writes instead of scrolling. Even when selecting the utensil with the pencil, it often requires me to select it several times before it will write. When switching between different lined pdf this app, the lines will often disappear and I will have to quit Documents and restart it for the lines to come back. Used to be 5 stars, now down to 1 until they fix these issues. I am really disappointed, this was the most useful app and I loved everything about it, but this update has made me want to find a new app to replace this one.

by Kitten Lover Cat Lover

I am a long time explorer of this app ( Documents) I do a lot of changing like mov to mp4 but over time I realized I wanted to use mod for Minecraft (I’m 12) so I used this app changed it to Mc pack and..... bingo it worked. But a update came along and I decided to update Documents . I load in because I need to do pdf editing and boom. It hit me. 50 dollars a year just for a simple pdf and .file editor wow. Documents has just baited and switched us they wanted to make us pay money to use a small editor. Kids have small Standards but this is unreasonable people have things to pay for I can just use google docs for free. And on top of that I clicked the x on the top left and it said starting subscription... done! Like why? It billed 50$ then I clicked cancel and it taxed another 50$ and said after the next payment it would cancel but oh guess what it never canceled! So I contacted apple and they said it was canceled. So they have been taxing us! So my mom cancel her credit card. And Documents said unable to pay. And the costumer service hung up. So DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT IS A SCAM!!!

by Ellis Jaiye

I have used the this app app for some time now, but just recently became aware of the fact that I cannot permanently delete data I have removed from Documents via the in app deletion tools. I have done the initial deletion, and then the secondary “permanent” deletion, but the data itself still remains somewhere in the iPad.
Here is an example of what I mean. Recently I needed more space on my iPad. I checked how much storage the this app app was taking up, noting the total being used was 6.98 gigs. After deleting several hundred megs worth of files (using the two step deletion process), I checked the storage situation again. The total storage being used by Documents had increased to 7.05 gigs. (I also previously removed the this app folder from the iOS Files app.)
In short, I am being robbed of storage by Documents . I don’t appreciate being robbed.
Of course I could try and fully delete Documents and see if that would solve my woes, but why should I have to? Why does the two step delete function not actually delete the files I want to delete? Uninstalling and reinstalling would mean I would have to move all my information back over and reorganize it as well. Why should I have to do that instead of simply being able to delete my files permanently?

by RickAndHisSprkle

Been having issues with my phone ever since it updated Documents. Since I exceeded the allotted VPN time it’s been trying to reconnect to it constantly and is seemingly interfering with my ability to connect to cell service and wifi. I couldn’t understand what was going on until finally I went into Documents settings and manually disabled the VPN and now everything is working again.

Also, I don’t know why you decided to hide a lot the features that previously were on the bottom bar into sub-menus in Documents . It was fine before. I liked having the computer connect button accessible. I had to look for 5 minutes just to find it. Now all the video files I send over to edit on my phone have no preview images and the font for the file names all cut off. In making things look all flashy, you took away from the simplicity that made Documents easy to use.

I’d probably have more issues if I used for more than 5 minutes but I haven’t received an email or text message or been able to connect to websites or refresh my social media feeds in 12 hours since it updated.

by Danny Bastidas

Documents is very nice, very clean design and easy to use, however I only ever used it for music and the music player was fine at first, it did its job. However as I used it more, it started to be more and more unreliable, I would play songs in my car and when it went to the next song, it’d play for one second and then just pause. I had to manually play the next song, every time. I eventually got used to it, but then it got even worse somehow. Songs would randomly skip to the next song in the middle of one and if I tried to play it back, it would proceed to skip to the next one at the exact same time. At this point, I had stopped using this app as a music player, and tried it again at the time of this review but not even using it in my car, instead just my phone and with headphones. Somehow, the same problem is occurring. Songs would actually seamlessly play after the other, but the songs still skip in the middle of one, which is purely unusable.

All in all, very good file system management app, buggy unreliable music player.

by Gunslinger Gk

Documents used to be absolutely fantastic for file managing and such. Recently, I updated Documents to gain access to some new features; I've been putting off installing the updates, due to the fact my fears might be realized (which they were). I'll just get straight to the point, because I want this fixed as soon as possible: I cannot download any jpgs/pngs directly to Documents online anymore. I can only download them to my camera roll. I thought this might be a change in some sites I've been using for some time now, but not a single one works! I can only convert them into PDFs. I want there to be an option for BOTH. This is the biggest drawback to me, as I use Documents almost exclusively for this purpose. I hope this issue is addressed soon, as this was a feature that I relied on heavily. This should not be something locked behind a subscription service (this is a basic function and should not be something I am charged for, the rest of the premium features I understand).

Sincerely, Anna Kakomanolis

by Haleyoxo

I’m not sure if maybe I haven’t figured it out yet but so far to my knowledge I can’t save only one video to my camera roll, I have to go through a process in which I have to copy the video to my iCloud, go allll the way over to my files app & click to save that one video because I have to save at least 2 videos to my camera roll if I only use Documents. It’s frustrating because there’s videos I don’t want to save but end up saving just so I could download one. I also use Documents to download twitter videos (mainly) & there are occasions I download a twitter video, it’s downloaded, shows a preview photo & everything but I come back a couple hours later & it says the file can not be played so that entire video is gone & I can’t find it again. It’s again very frustrating & confusing. But it’s a very useful app other than those problems I pointed out. If it’s a problem on my part I’d love to get feedback on how to fix it so I can change my review to 5 stars!

by Roxiepup6

Very nice app to help organize all the files as well as see them...and then do something with them as needed. It is an Efficient app and I use it a lot. But I do wish they would do a better job INTEGRATING their apps to work together much more efficiently, and auto magical...and not need to go searching through the next doc or pic managing app u need. Like the printer app they have should open automatically after u send a web doc or photo to it but you have to hunt for Documents ...THEN name and save the file or pic to manage the data! That’s very cumbersome. I also wish the printer app work with Documents.
I’d love for them to make an app that allows us to manage our photos and screen shots right away as we take the photo or screen capture. I have 1000s of screen shots in a mess even though I try to use photo folders. But they are too small of photos to see to do mass classification. I like this Doc app because u can tag things easily and also see them reasonably well (although I Wish there was a “space less” version that has the images as big as possible so we can see them and peg it with the correct tags when we are doing group classifications.

by Mxkerr2012

I am a student of languages and use this app for all it's worth. I have hundreds of books. Some of which number in the thousands of pages including multivolume encyclopedias and dictionaries. It is absolutely excellent but there is room for improvement. I am using a 2020 iPad pro with 256GB of storage and 6gb memory, but it still fails to display covers of my books. This is seemingly random happening to some big books and other small this app. The covers still show up in apple files app. I use the apple pencil 2nd gen and sometimes Documents does not reject my palm. It really struggles with notebooks imported from good notes in the PDF format. Sometimes my this app kick me out while Im reading them. Not sure if this is a readdle issue or an apple issue but it's really annoying when Im reading and it has to close, update, then I can reopen. For the time it saves me and the usefulness it is the best app out there, but there's still room for improvement. Hopefully my feedback doesn't fall on deaf ears.

by Honey Peach Tea

I’ve been using Documents for a little over a year now and there was never really any problems. I use this app to download all of my music since I can’t use the common app for music on my phone. It’s been working fine until now. It would work fine but after a couple of songs, one song would come up and I would listen to it for around 1 minute, then suddenly it stops and skips over to the next song. It’s not just one specific song but it happens to other songs too. One time it skipped two songs right in the middle. I’ve tried replying the same song and refreshing the page but it still does the same thing. I even went and updated it to the recent version but the issue still appears. It’s really frustrating. Now I use the common app but I can only listen to one artist a time, so when I want to listen to another artist song, I have to stop what I’m doing and search for the artist. this app is the only app I can use for my music that gives me everything I want without making it complicated. Overall, it’s a good app to use with no fuss.

by Square Emperor

This is one of the rare app reviews I will actually take the time to write.

this app by Readdle is a file management app that iPhone lacked for as far as I can remember, with a convenient browser for downloads, a pdf reader, music and video player, and other file management capabilities. Files is child’s play in comparison. this app is especially great for its convenient browser, which allows you to download content straight into Documents , whereas with the Files app you have to make awkward downloads in Safari and switch to the comparatively crude Files app to access them.

this app has provided the integrated media access abilities that Apple itself failed to for so long that even now while Apple is catching up, this app remains a clearly superior app.

Looking to download & watch videos quickly and conveniently? this app has got you covered

Want to archive a webpage for safe keeping or viewing offline? this app has your back

Looking for a good way to organize your mp3 files and make playlists? this app is here for you

Want an app to both download & read pdfs with? What are you waiting for?

Readdle could not be more generous in making Documents free—I would pay good money for it if it weren’t

Enjoy the integration, ease of use, and functionality that only Readdle’s this app can provide.

by Bobcatukbb

I wrote a review and gave 3 stars that I will leave intact in case someone else has the same problem I had. I was able to fix the issue myself with a soft reboot of my iPad Pro. I saw a review on another app that had an issue that was fixed this way so thought I would try it. It worked! In love with Documents!

This has been a WONDERFUL app, but in the last few days some of my PDF files are EMPTY! Working on an iPad Pro with everything updated. Readdle’s PDF Converter working great, but when I choose to open in this app it’s EMPTY! Will open as a good PDF file just fine in Google Drive.I know you guys can fix this quickly. This is the FIRST problem I’ve had after years of using your app on my iPads. Ready to give 5 stars again as soon as it’s fixed. You guys have ALWAYS had a great app here ... it’s ALWAYS been my “go to” PDF app even with downloading and testing many others.

by Holland Daly

As a new iPad user, I became rather frustrated over how locked down the iPad’s file system is, almost to the point where I wanted to take it back for a refund. It’s nearly impossible to move files around or open them up in other apps unless you hook up to iTunes via a desktop.

I stumbled across Documents by pure accident and it has completely changed the way I use my iPad for the better. I use it as my file system where I organize my files, and can easily open them between apps. I’ve connected my google drive and Dropbox for easy file access across my phone and pc without ever having to deal with iTunes. I’ve even been using it as my photo viewer and MP3 player.

Overall this is an essential app that I would highly recommend using rather than subjecting yourself to Apple’s ridiculous file prison system they have in place.

by ThordenViking

I had tested a lot of apps and this one was by far the best! It opens really quickly and it’s very responsive and easy to edit. The printer also works really good on it. However it’s not 100% perfect right now. Hopefully my review may change that. When I want to create a new blank document. I have to first click on edit and then tap more and then tap create text icon. That is three steps which is very annoying when I’m creating several new this app a day. There should be a button that you just tap once or A double tap. That would literally saved me a lot of taps per month. But that is my only complaint and nothing is perfect in life. Documents has save me so much time and has made it possible for me to get a lot of work done on my phone that I normally have to do on my desktop. Thanks again for creating a great reliable app

by Jimbob1924

Works perfectly and never fails. I can’t say that about any of the other apps that I have ever downloaded. Out of hundreds and hundreds of apps this one is my absolute favorite because it just does what it’s supposed to do and it was free. They don’t pester me to rate them or leave a review. There is not a constant barrage of annoying ads that forced me to waste 30 seconds of my life watching some annoying commercial for games that are going to make me a millionaire just for playing bingo. Nope, none of that and I greatly appreciate it and that’s why I’m leaving a review, because they didn’t ask me to. They earned a good review and rating. Spent their time making a quality product instead of begging for accolades or promising free stuff in return for a good review like so many other do. So thank you for making a app that I enjoy using just as much today as I did 5 years ago when I first downloaded it! 🙏

by Saeid Moridi

I don’t write reviews at all. In fact, I may have only written two or three in the past six years; but I love Documents so much that it seemed unfair not to write one. It has made my life so much easier!

I have had it for so many years, since I had a 5S. I was looking for an app to transfer data to my phone without having to sync it with iTunes, which was a nightmare. I googled and found this app. Oh, how much I love Documents! It was my download manager way before Safari added the option, and the fact that the downloads run in the background means that I can use other apps at the same time. (Some users don’t know what a huge help this is.) I use it to play music, movies (it freaking supports the MKV format, you guys are dope!), and so much more. I just wanted to thank the team for making such a great and smooth app! Well done.

Greetings from Iran.

by A Car Kid

I have downloaded Documents about a month ago, and during this time I have had no issues with it whatsoever. Obviously with more time I may find a bug or two, but not yet. Documents itself has many features, not all of which I have needed to use, but cool ones which I was pleasantly surprised to learn about. Documents features a built in VPN, although limited in the free version, is still useful as is, it has a browser within Documents , along with all of the expected document managing features like cloud access and whatever it may be. There are for sure some features I don’t even know about. I have dropbox and apple’s files, and neither have as many features as this, I mean, theres only so much improvement you can do to a document app so Documents is the same as the other plus more. The only thing that wasn’t optimal for me was during the initial launch where you have example files loaded which simply caused confusion on my part.
I’d recommend Documents 5/5

by Binky The Hand

Documents is a real Finder, letting you organize files any way you want to instead of only separated by app. You can set apps such as Pages to use this app as their default storage area for new files. (Unfortunately there are permission errors trying to move or copy existing this app from app-specific storage so you have to share/open in this app from Documents the first time.) this app uses the exact same interface for local this app, photos, and multiple cloud storage services. It has full text indexing and many other features Files lacks. With one glaring exception it uses screen real estate more intelligently - the exception being the big floating plus sign (and occasionally media player) that covers up part of the file list and individual file controls.

by Gsteemso

I've been using Documents for years, and can safely expect to enjoy every interaction with it. (NOT a thing I say lightly - I used to suffer a significant anxiety disorder.)

However, it seems this app contains a most dire surprise for the unwary.

Today the PDF viewer offered me a free trial of a Reader Mode. As expected, it looked excellent; I fully expect it would be a significant improvement to my reading experience.

Nevertheless, prudence requires checking the actual price of a feature before trialling its use, and there I discovered the booby-trap under the seat: The iOS app store describes ten possible in-app purchases, at three price points... about $12-13; $50; and _$90_!!! Even stranger, three of the offered purchases are duplicates referencing a single other app by the same developers; while the remaining seven are duplicates of a single upgrade to something called “this app Plus”, at - SOMEHOW - two very different price points.

Now, I don't really care how awesome this app Plus is. If only one feature, and a luxury _convenience_ at that, has induced me to even LOOK at the upgrade in the whole time I've used this app... that is _not_ going to be worth $50 or $90 to me. What are you people even thinking?!

by Syncnester

Honestly this app by Readdle was the best of the best in AppStore and also my most favorite app for many reason. And i loved the newest Document 7 with plus button (7.0.1 i think) when I updated last 1 and half week ago. By far at this update I was still satisfied even with the changes in some areas. But last night I did the usual “update all” for my apps via AppStore along with the latest current version of this app by Readdle (7.0.2) by the way my iOS version is (13.2.2). And then this morning when I opened the this app (7.0.2) I couldn’t open it. I tried to open Documents after clear my Ram, I tried to open Documents after I restarted my iPhone XR, I tries to open after power off my phone and then I tried to open it again. However if doesn’t work at all so I leave it alone for a while and last few minutes ago when i tried open Documents again and there was a pop up message and it says AppStore needs to verify Documents to open the this app app, so connect to internet and open it again. So I did exactly like pop up message says but j couldn’t open it. Now while I’m about to write a review and I checked the latest reviews and I read that they couldn’t it or crashed like crazy i saw those reviews too. So pls fix these ASAP because there were a lot of data in download folder I haven’t transfer to iTunes files yet. So I couldn’t upload to my computer too. Please fix this please.

by Yo Boo Roro

I love this music it download my needs and so on well I don’t know why or what’s the reason but I recently play music that’s allready downloaded I never had a problem.. and now it plays but pauses for some odd reason and I need it play on my playlist in order... and like freezez and .. so I would allways open Documents play music download any music that comes out without a problem so I play it and then close it when needed..no this issue am having is it plays but it starts playing 15-20 seconds in the song it it repeats over and over and then stops playing and have to press play and does the same thing over and over again.. I download over 200 songs and I don’t want to delete this amazing app..please fix this issue! And for anyone downloaded it it’s perfect very smooth but for some reason it stops playing and this is the past 2 days

by SoloPocono

I use Documents for everything from my class materials, keeping important correspondence and storing copies of important pictures and sound files, song lyrics, webpages, business this app-you name it! The ONLY other app I use close to D is Keep-which I use for quick notes and often store a copy in D. Being able to back everything up to Dropbox, Box or iCloud with just a tap or two has been a LIFE(Work)-SAVER! When I get a new iPad every year or so, this is the first app I install and organize. The utility of Documents is unmatched and I can’t remember EVER having any glitches! As an older person, taking classes despite my age & severe ADD; I desperately need things to keep me organized, make sure I have doubles & triplets in some cases, and a self-explanatory GUI-this app provides it ALL AND MORE! THANK YOU!

by SkyNet.236391

Your app is the one of best for all document and file manger apps, however it is lacking a few important items needed for a true document manager and editing app.

It is strongly suggested that you add these capabilities before Apple develops a full file manager app that includes them and steal your competitive edge:

1. Ruler and protractor to draw curves for hand drawing and drafting capabilities.

2. Custom pdf importing where a user can import any size template he or she wants. For example, an engineering student can easily write engineering calculations with ease with a pen and a rule. IOS does this but lacks all the features in this app. It is steps ahead but will lose ground if it does not evolve and adapt.

Give it full writing, drawing and drafting capability as if it was pencil, mechanical pen or pen and paper and notepad.

Keep it simple and treat a pdf as if it was a sheet of paper any size with any texture.

Continue to make your app adaptable to the users needs instead of forcing the user to adapt your tools. Again, the best approach is to treat a pdf as a sheet of paper and giving flexibility.

Documents has potential to be the best but still is lacking. Once Documents is like using real paper then it will be truly a 5 star app. I hope you act on my suggestions.

AW

by DarkDrag0n8262

Documents is great and allows you to download your music offline for free. It does take some of your space, however. But with hundreds of files easily stored in one app makes Documents convenient. In my this app, I mainly use it for downloading music offline. However, the controls Documents allows you when listening to music hasn’t been working very well for me. The music that I first play works. But when moving on to the next song, It usually freezes. The play/pause buttons on Bluetooth headphones and so on do not play the song when facing the issue. So it becomes a pain to open your phone in order for a single song to play, especially when working out. Despite the control issues with music, it’s a great app which allows you to do so much more!

by RbB62

I've been using Documents for quite some time and it is AMAZING. It is as close to the Finder in the Mac as you can get on iOS. Being able to manage this app, download files from websites and even zip and unzip this app. I thought the Files app in iOS 11 would destroy this this app app in iOS 11, but find I'm using this app still. It's just so far ahead of anything else out there right now, and if you use Scanner Pro and PDF Expert they work seamlessly together. I love Documents and use it on a daily basis. Also they recently added support for playing different video types, which has basically eliminated the use for VLC player app as well. Very happy with Documents and would highly recommend, plus it's free! Which is even more amazing. Good job Readdle.