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app a-z index for musicians help needed

ballynally

ballynally

Lurker
I'm a musician. On stage i need a simple android app with an A-Z index of my songs to chose from.
I've saved over 300 songs in DOCX format which my tablet can read (asus memopad).

Some issues: when using any file manager i see only the songs from a to z to which i either have to scroll down manually ( a hassle going to Z!) or use the (predictive)search function which doesn't react well to only 1 letter and uses too many steps ( 1 for the search button, 1 (or 2) to type in the letter(s), 1 to enter and another 1 to chose. That's 4 minimum in total! Meanwhile my audience gets bored.

One other issue: when i convert from docx to another type of file my chords end up on the wrong spot above the chords. Even when not converting and using Kingsoft that happens. I want to be able to use either doc or docx Word formats. Any tips?
 
ballynally said:
I'm a musician. On stage i need a simple android app with an A-Z index of my songs to chose from.
I've saved over 300 songs in DOCX format which my tablet can read (asus memopad).

Some issues: when using any file manager i see only the songs from a to z to which i either have to scroll down manually ( a hassle going to Z!) or use the (predictive)search function which doesn't react well to only 1 letter and uses too many steps ( 1 for the search button, 1 (or 2) to type in the letter(s), 1 to enter and another 1 to chose. That's 4 minimum in total! Meanwhile my audience gets bored.

One other issue: when i convert from docx to another type of file my chords end up on the wrong spot above the chords. Even when not converting and using Kingsoft that happens. I want to be able to use either doc or docx Word formats. Any tips?
Click to expand...

Try pdf format
 
Microsoft Word for Android, have you tried that? Has to be used online though.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.word

You're trying to read formatted Word documents with perfect rendering. and frankly I hit a similar problem as well but with with Chinese/English Powerpoints, and even Kingsoft still messes things up.

My solution, I bought a Windows tablet, and installed Office 2010(courtesy of Jinan Education Bureau) on it, which doesn't have to be connected to the internet, and renders all Word and Powerpoint files perfectly of course.

One of these actually...very nice, lightweight, good performance and has great battery life.
http://www.amazon.com/Ramos-Screen-Android-Windows-Tablet/dp/B00VRHQ9JG
 
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mikedt said:
Microsoft Word for Android, have you tried that? Has to be used online though.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.word

You're trying to read formatted Word documents with perfect rendering. and frankly I hit a similar problem as well but with with Chinese/English Powerpoints, and even Kingsoft still messes things up.

My solution, I bought a Windows tablet, and installed Office 2010(courtesy of Jinan Education Bureau) on it, which doesn't have to be connected to the internet, and renders all Word and Powerpoint files perfectly of course.

One of these actually...very nice, lightweight, good performance and has great battery life.
http://www.amazon.com/Ramos-Screen-Android-Windows-Tablet/dp/B00VRHQ9JG
Click to expand...

Well, i'm still with my Asus memopad and won't be buying another tablet just to use my documents. I'm trying to sort out the indexing with Word or Kingsoft Office but i find it hard.
You can make an index within a document but i'm trying to build one with multiple docs.
I need some help, especially with Word on android
 
ballynally said:
Well, i'm still with my Asus memopad and won't be buying another tablet just to use my documents. I'm trying to sort out the indexing with Word or Kingsoft Office but i find it hard.
You can make an index within a document but i'm trying to build one with multiple docs.
I need some help, especially with Word on android
Click to expand...


Basically the problem is that things like Kingsoft/WPS Office are not perfect at opening Word .doc and .docx files, and they sometimes mess up the formatting, like your guitar tabs. Microsoft Word for Android I've never tried, because it requires an Office 365 subscription and it has to be online.

Something you can try though and I have done this myself for .doc and .docx files, export them as PDF documents instead, using Word on a PC or Mac. There's quite a few PDF viewers for Android, including Kingsoft, and they open and show PDFs perfectly.

For the indexing issue of multiple documents, try ES Explorer if you haven't already

My issue included Powerpoint .ppt and .pptx as well, same thing non-Microsoft office suites like Kingsoft, were messing up the formatting and not showing them correctly. No choice really, I bought a Windows 10 tablet. Needed it for the job. :thumbsupdroid:
 
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I think the main issue is the way apps manage the index on tablets. Most use the search function ie. keyboard to do this. I already know how to do that. I would like an A-Z index display ON SCREEN, possibly as a pull down option.
There seems to be an issue indexing with standard apps vs pro. I do not want to fork out say 15 euro a month to do this like Adobe wants me to, if i work with PDFs. The Adobe reader doesn't have an index function as far as i can tell. And Adobe programs are large and made for PC. I don't want to start another to and fro about Adobe and tablets/windows/Apple ever again.
And, again, i'm at the moment not interested in pricey windows tablets..
 
FWIW I didn't buy a pricey Windows tablet, such as a Surface, I bought a cheapish, Chinese 9inch one locally, a Ramos, which does exactly what I want. :thumbsupdroid:
 
Ah right. Sorry for my assumption. Actually, i was looking for a cheap 10" tablet at first for precisely the MS features i needed for my songs but was not able to find anything reliable under 100 euro. In fact, all i wanted was an E-ink tablet like a Kindle in that size that would just take text. The larger E-ink readers are presentational ones that cost too much (me thinks).
How's that Ramos working out?
My Asus Memopad cost £90 and has a few features i like.
 
I haven't found the best index option yet but i found out that softmaker's FreeOffice (textmaker) is the best and the fastest Word processor for PC and Android. The format stayed exactly like the original document when i opened it, unlike Kingsoft. It is free..
I also found out that it's best to save text/ Word documents in the old DOC format. Every editor can read that unlike DOCX and ODT which causes problems.
 
I don't have an Office 365 account and my MS Word for Android opens fine. I just use my old hotmail account on it.
 
chanchan05 said:
No. I just logged in and it worked. I've had that hotmail account before Office 365 was a thing though.
Click to expand...

Do you have to log in every time you use it, ie, having to go online? I've read that the program wants to be connected to a Skycloud account. Though i think that's only when you want to change/ save things.
 
Nope. I do have OneDrive if that's what you're saying. Came with my hotmail account from years back. So it's a single login for both Office and OneDrive. I only logged in once at the beginning.
 
ballynally said:
Ah right. Sorry for my assumption. Actually, i was looking for a cheap 10" tablet at first for precisely the MS features i needed for my songs but was not able to find anything reliable under 100 euro. In fact, all i wanted was an E-ink tablet like a Kindle in that size that would just take text. The larger E-ink readers are presentational ones that cost too much (me thinks).
How's that Ramos working out?
My Asus Memopad cost £90 and has a few features i like.
Click to expand...

Can you stretch to about €200? Chinese Windows 10 tablets, have a look on Amazon. I got one, a Ramos i9s. Very nicely made, great battery life. I installed Office 2010 on it.
 
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