Is there a way to save a pdf on an iPhone 6

[StephenG1CMZ]

Specifically, the latest Prime documentation.

I tried it the other day and all seemed well: within the book symbol were a pair of reading glasses and within them was a list including what I wanted and I could read it. Of course the iPhone hasn't got a file browser that I can tell, so I couldn't be sure I had the long document rather than the quick start guide.

Then, I moved to an area with poor signal coverage.

Now all I see is a message about not being able to read that because I have no signal.

Does that mean that I have wasted untold Terabytes of bandwidth re-loading something that as far as one could tell was local?

Is there a way of storing something locally on an inferior phone such as an iPhone 6?

And what is the reading list for if it can't read???

[StephenG1CMZ]

Can anyone else confirm this behaviour?
(You can simulate the poor signal by using a Airplane mode)

[Maximilian Hohmann]

Hello!

The "reading glasses" symbol in the bookmarks menu of your Safari browser is the so called "reading list". It is supposed to be a one-time only bookmark. When you find something interesting on the internet but don't have a good connection/poor bandwith, you put it in your reading list. Later at home where there is Wifi or better net coverage, you can access your link from the "reading list" and it will be downloaded to your browser just like any other bookmarked site. Only that it will be automatically deleted from the reading list once it has been downloaded into the browser completely, whereas normal bookmarks will stay in the bookmark list.

To permanently download your pdf file to your iPhone, you need an app that can display pdf files. I would take Apple's own iBooks (freely downloadable from the iTunes store) because it integrates seemlessly with everything else on the iPhone. But there may be (technically) better pdf readers out there. Once you have iBooks (or any other reader) installed, you can transfer the pdf file from the browser to that program: After downloading the file into your browser completely, press the little icon next to your bookmarks icon that shows an empty square with a litttle upwards pointing arrow coming out of it. You will get a selection of apps that can display your pdf file. Choose iBooks and your pfd will be permanently transferred to the bookshelf of iBooks.

I hope this is what you were looking for! (has been working like this with almost all versions of iPhones, iPod touches and iPads so far).

Regards
Max

[StephenG1CMZ]

Thanks for that very clear explanation Max.

I'd assumed a one-time reading list would be something you only had to download one time, not something you can only read one time before trying to get it again! Perhaps the iPhone 7 will expect me to eat it too?!

I had an android about 5 years ago that required a pdf reader to be downloaded. All the more recent ones can do so out of the box. And they allow the pdf to be downloaded and exported to a PC via SD card or Bluetooth, neither of which the iPhone can do.

It sounds like it will be easier to just use the Android than try to read a pdf on the IPhone. But at least now I know it's not just an obvious hieroglyphic that I had missed.

Thanks again

[smp]

(08-08-2015 05:36 PM)StephenG1CMZ Wrote:  Specifically, the latest Prime documentation.

The best way to achieve what you want is to e-mail the manual to yourself, then open the e-mail message on the iPhone. When you touch-and-hold on the attachment to the e-mail message, a menu will pop up asking how you want to open the attachment. If you then select iBooks from the list (I hope that you have already downloaded iBooks) the PDF file will be stored in iBooks and opened up for reading. After that, the PDF file will be permanently available to you in iBooks whenever you want.

Good luck!

smp

[Dave Britten]

(08-09-2015 02:30 PM)StephenG1CMZ Wrote:  Thanks for that very clear explanation Max.

I'd assumed a one-time reading list would be something you only had to download one time, not something you can only read one time before trying to get it again! Perhaps the iPhone 7 will expect me to eat it too?!

I had an android about 5 years ago that required a pdf reader to be downloaded. All the more recent ones can do so out of the box. And they allow the pdf to be downloaded and exported to a PC via SD card or Bluetooth, neither of which the iPhone can do.

It sounds like it will be easier to just use the Android than try to read a pdf on the IPhone. But at least now I know it's not just an obvious hieroglyphic that I had missed.

Thanks again

I do this all the time on my iPhone and iPad. First, install a PDF reader. iBooks is a good choice, since it's free, and designed around reading books, of which user manuals are a subset (usually). If you're dealing more with forms and want to be able to mark them up, make edits, extract/combine pages, etc. then PDF Expert is very good, though not free.

Then when you're viewing a PDF in Safari and you want to save it on your device, tap once on the page, and you should see a toolbar with two buttons appear: "Open in 'iBooks'", and "Open in..." Just tap "Open in 'iBooks'" and the PDF will be saved in iBooks for your offline reading pleasure. Or tap "Open in..." and choose an app if you want to save it for use in something else.

I think at least half of the iBooks libraries on my iPad and iPhone are composed of various user manuals and board game rulebooks.