If you have some books in PDF file format and you want to read them in iBooks, there are many different ways to get them on your iPad. The most obvious is with iTunes, but this is clunky and requires syncing. A much simpler, and elegant solution is to use one of our favourite apps, Dropbox. Find out how to do this after the break.
One solution that may work for you if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch is to copy the link to the PDF from the Dropbox app, then paste it in Safari. At that point you’ll be prompted to open it, and you can select iBooks. This method won’t work if you’re running iOS 4 on your iPhone or iPod Touch until Dropbox updates the app to work with iOS 4.
Another solution for folks using and iPhone or iPod Touch (including those using iOS 4) is to use Safari and navigate to the web version of your Dropbox account. From there, you can tap the PDF (in Safari) and it will prompt you to download and then open with iBooks.
Dropbox is a fantastic service that allows you to store files (2GB for free, or $9.99 per month / $99.00 per year for 50GB) online. It also syncs those files across all of the computers you own that have the Dropbox software installed, and, you can access all of your stored files via a web browser on any computer.
1. Lets get started. Add a PDF file (or several) to your Dropbox account. Once the PDF has been uploaded, open up the Dropbox app on your iPad (iPhone, iPod Touch…).
2. Tap the “Dropbox” button in the very upper-left corner of the app. Navigate through your Dropbox folders to locate the PDF file that you want to add to iBooks. Select it by tapping it once.
3. Depending on the size of the PDF (and your current Internet connection speed) it may take a while for the PDF to load.
