GoodReader update lets you save web video - iPhone J.D.
GoodReader is my go-to app for storing and reading PDF files on my iPad. For example, just yesterday I was doing some legal research on LexisAdvance on my computer. I downloaded the cases that looked relevant (which, by the way, is a pain with LexisAdvance; they really need to improve the download interface), I dropped the cases into a Dropbox folder on my computer, and then I pressed the sync button in GoodReader to get all of the cases. Then I could go through each case, delete the ones that were not that important, and highlight the relevant passages in the good cases. I prefer reading cases on an iPad versus a computer to take a break from sitting up and staring at my computer screen all day. And it is much better than reading cases on paper because I can zoom each column to make the text larger, use the more precise highlight function (including undo, which is lacking with real ink), and I don't have to worry the cases getting lost on my desk.
One of the things that I love about GoodReader is that the app receives frequent updates so that it is always improving. One recent update added a handwriting zoom window much like the zoom window in apps like GoodNotes, NoteTakerHD, NotesPlus or Noteshelf. That feature makes it easier to add notes in the margins of documents.
Yesterday, GoodReader was updated to add a few new features, and my favorite is the new ability to save video. You can now save a video from Safari to GoodReader so that you can view it later even if you don't have an Internet connection. It's a useful feature, but the one-time setup is a little complicated. Here are the steps.
First, tap on the Settings icon at the bottom and select General Settings. You will see two large green buttons and the second one says "bookmark for video." Tap that one. This places an address on your clipboard.
Next, go to the Safari web browser. Go to any webpage — in this example I went to www.google.com — and tap the button at the top to create a bookmark as if you were going to create a bookmark to that page. Tap "Add Bookmark."
You will next be given the option to change the name of the page. Do so. For example, I replaced the title "Google" with "Video to GoodReader." What you want to do next is change the address, but Safari won't let you do so yet. As you can see in this next picture, the URL cannot be selected. So instead, tap the blue Save button.
Tap on the address, hit the X button at the end of the line to delete what is already there, and next hold down your finger in the box for a second until the "Paste" option pops up. Now you can paste that long address that GoodReader automatically copied to the clipboard for you.
You're done! Tap anywhere else to save your edited bookmark. You won't have to go through that long process again.
Now that everything is setup, you can use this new feature. When you visit a webpage that has a video on it that can be played on the iPad, just tap to start the video playing and then tap pause to stop the video.
Next tap the Bookmarks icon at the top of Safari and select the new bookmark you created, which in my case was the one called Video to GoodReader. Your iPad will switch to the GoodReader app, and GoodReader will tell you that it has started downloading the video. The video is placed in the Downloads folder of GoodReader and now you can watch the video whenever you want.
You can also use the standard GoodReader functions to manipulate the file. For example, you might want to change the title of the video to something that makes more sense. You can also move the video into another folder on GoodReader, so if the video pertains to a lawsuit that you are handling you can keep it with your other files from the lawsuit. If you put the video into a folder that you are syncing with Dropbox, then just tap the standard Sync button to have the video uploaded to Dropbox. That means, for example, that the video will also be on your computer, where you can play it with a program such as Apple's free QuickTime Player.
I've shown all of this using GoodReader on the iPad, but I understand that this new feature also works with the iPhone version of GoodReader.
As I think about it, this new feature is somewhat indicative of the GoodReader app as a whole. It can be a little confusing at first, but there is a lot of power at your fingertips once you learn how to use it.