FileMagnet for the iPhone and iPod Touch

About FileMagnet:

FileMagnet is an iPhone and iPod Touch application for taking your files with you and viewing them on the go. Once you have learned how it works, copying files to your iPhone is easy and should take less than a minute.

What you'll need:

An iPhone or iPod Touch running the latest iPhone OS update (2.0 or newer.)
A Mac or PC and a wireless network. You'll be transferring files via Wi-Fi, and your computer must be connected to the same network as your iPhone via an ethernet or AirPort connection.
FileMagnet on your iPhone. You can purchase the application via the App Store on the iPhone or in iTunes. It costs $5.
FileMagnet Uploader on your computer. This is an application which communicates with your device. You can download it by clicking "Get FileMagnet Uploader" at www.FileMagnetApp.com

How to get started:

After you have downloaded the FileMagnet application to your iPhone, launching it will walk you through all the steps necessary to connect to your computer:

Connect your phone to your Wi-Fi network. It will need to be the same network that your computer is connected to. When you are connected to a network, you'll see the Wi-Fi icon in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. (It looks like an upside-down, stripey pyramid.)
Open FileMagnet Uploader on your computer.
Open FileMagnet on your iPhone. If it does not detect a connection, it will prompt you to install FileMagnet Uploader on your computer. If you've already done this, check the troubleshooting section below.
When your phone sees FileMagnet Uploader running on your computer, it will display a message asking whether to allow the connection. Pressing "Always Allow" will authorize FileMagnet to connect to your computer automatically in the future; otherwise it will ask every time you try to connect.
To transfer files and folder, drag them into the FileMagnet Uploader window. The file transfer will begin immediately. Any files from your desktop or Finder windows can be dropped into the window. You can also press the + button to manually select a file for transfer.

The FileMagnet Uploader Window:

When not connected to an iPhone, the FileMagnet Uploader shows a list of files waiting to be transferred. Files and folders can be dragged into the window or onto the FileMagnet dock icon for addition to this list. Using the two round buttons on the right side of each item in the list, files can removed or revealed in the Finder.

When an iPhone is detected, the window divides to show the upload queue at the top, and a list of files currently on the iPhone at the bottom. Files on the iPhone can be downloaded back to the computer using the down arrow button, or permanently removed from the iPhone using the x button.

The + button in the bottom left of the window can be used to choose a file as an alternative to drag and drop. The ? button will open a web browser window displaying this page.

The FileMagnet Interface

The File List

Files are displayed in a list on the iPhone. To scroll the list, you can drag your finger upwards or downwards.

To permanently delete files from the list, use the Edit button or swipe horizontally across a row.

Viewing Files

FileMagnet supports viewing a wide variety of file types on the phone including: PDF, Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers), JPEG, GIF, TIF, PNG, HTML, RTF, TXT, Safari WebArchives, WAVs, iPhone compatible movies (see Supported Movie Types for more info), and audio files.

To view a file on the iPhone, just tap its name or icon. If you don't see a little arrow next to the file, then it's not one of the supported types for viewing. Folders can be opened in this same way. When viewing the contents of a folder, you can leave the folder using the back-arrow button in the top left.

Please note that viewing large files may present a problem on the phone, which has a limited amount of system memory available. Long PDFs may slow down FileMagnet or cause it to display a warning. We are working with Apple to address these issues.

When viewing files, you can move around the document by dragging your finger on the screen. To zoom in and out, place two fingers on the screen and move them apart or together (like a pinch).

To view files in landscape (wide screen) mode, simply turn the iPhone sideways and the document will turn as well.

Connecting and Disconnecting:

When FileMagnet is started on the iPhone, it tries to find the FileMagnet Uploader running on your computer. (You'll see the spinning icon in the top left corner.) If it doesn't make connection to the uploader within 15 seconds, it stops looking. If you want to try again, press the connect button (down arrow icon) in the top left-hand corner of the iPhone screen.

To manually disconnect your iPhone from the FileMagnet Uploader, press the iPhone home key to quit FileMagnet, or tap the connection button (down arrow inside a computer icon), located in the top left-hand corner of the iPhone screen. This displays a sheet asking if you want to disconnect.

Using FileMagnet as a Portable Disk:

You can copy files to FileMagnet and then move them to another computer. You will need to follow the procedure listed above to connect your iPhone to the new computer. When the iPhone is connected, a list of the files on the device will appear at the bottom of the FileMagnet Uploader window on the computer. Press the corresponding down-arrrow button on the right side to copy a file from your phone to the Computer's Downloads folder.

Connecting via an Ad-hoc Wi-Fi Network:

FileMagnet uses Bonjour wireless networking to connect your phone to your computer, though not all Wi-Fi networks support it or have it turned on. This is sometimes the case with large corporate or public Wi-Fi networks. In this case, we recommend creating a wireless network from your computer and then connecting your phone directly to it.

If your Mac has an AirPort card, then you can create your own "Ad-hoc" wireless network. To do this, choose the "Create Network" option in the Mac's AirPort menu, which is located in the upper right corner of the screen (it's that upside-down pyramid again!). After naming your network, it should appear on your iPhone's Wi-Fi network list, which appears in the iPhone's Wi-Fi Settings screen. When you launch FileMagnet on your phone and Mac, they should connect directly.

Updating FileMagnet

Since FileMagnet includes both an uploader application and an iPhone application, you must be sure to update both components.

Updating the FileMagnet on the iPhone

If an update is available, you'll be notified of updates either in iTunes or in the App Store program on your iPhone. Follow the onscreen instructions to update FileMagnet. If you update via iTunes, be sure to sync afterwards to install the new version on your iPhone.

Updating the FileMagnet Uploader

Version v1.0.1 or later of the Mac FileMagnet Uploader checks for updates automatically upon launch. If an update is available, you'll be notified of new versions and walked through the upgrade when you launch FileMagnet Uploader on your Mac.

Uninstalling FileMagnet

To remove FileMagnet Uploader from your Mac, quit FileMagnet Uploader and drag its icon to the trash.

To remove FileMagnet from your iPhone or iPod Touch, hold your finger down on the FileMagnet icon without letting up for a few seconds. All your icons will start wiggling and an x button will appear over the FileMagnet icon. Tap the x on the icon to remove FileMagnet and all associated data.

Re-installing FileMagnet

If it becomes necessary to re-install FileMagnet onto your iPhone, just go through the process of buying FileMagnet on the App Store again. When you press the buy button, it will download the application to your phone, though you won't be charged again.

Troubleshooting

Before beginning:

Make sure you're running the very latest version of FileMagnet on your iPhone and FileMagnet Uploader on your computer. To check for updates on your iPhone, open the App Store by clicking its icon from the homescreen, then tap the Update tab at the bottom of the screen, which will display any available updates. Tap update on FileMagnet if you see a new version available. In the FileMagnet Uploader, select "Check For Updates" from the FileMagnet menu. If you don't see a "Check For Updates" command, you are running an old version and should go to www.FileMagnetApp.com to download the latest version.
Read through our FAQ to make sure your problem isn't solved by those answers.

If you're seeing: Screen on iPhone showing: "Check your iPhone Wi-Fi".

You should: Exit FileMagnet using the iPhone's home button. Go to the Settings program on the iPhone and check the Wi-Fi setting. Make sure it's showing a connection to your Wi-Fi network.

If you're seeing: Screen on iPhone showing: "Install FileMagnet on your Mac" or "Cannot connect to Uploader".

You should:

Be sure that you've installed and launched the FileMagnet Uploader as described in the "What you'll need" section.
Make sure that your iPhone and Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network.
If it still doesn't work, it's possible that your router is preventing Bonjour from discovering your iPhone. Try the steps in "Connecting via Ad-hoc Wi-Fi Network" above.

If you're seeing: A message saying "FileMagnet is running out of memory".

You should:

Try rebooting your iPhone. To reboot the iPhone, hold down the little power button for 10 seconds until you're prompted to "slide to power off". Slide, and then once it shuts down, restart it by pressing the power button for a second again.
Turn off iPod playback.
If you still receive the message, it's likely that the file you're trying to view is simply too large or complex for FileMagnet. We're working to allow viewing of larger files in future updates.

Supported Movie Types

At this time, FileMagnet supports movie files in the following format: .mov, .m4v, or .mp4 files. The iPhone processor is designed for low power usage, which means that highly compressed movie files will consume more energy and processing power to decode, so they are not included at this time. These container formats must contain an iPhone compatible media type. Apple describes iPhone compatible movies as: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Anything Else

If you have any questions or comments that aren't covered by this page, check out the FAQ or contact us.