While it is true that you can't open it from Dropbox on your iPad, it certainly doesn't make OO for iPad useless. There are a number of routes you can take to transfer files back and forth:
- Email (you can tap and hold on the attached document in the iPad Mail app and it will offer to open it in OO for iPad)
- iTunes sync (scroll to the bottom of the Apps section and select OmniOutliner, then select the file you want to transfer)
- MobileMe (copy file to your MobileMe volume, use Import feature in OmniOutliner for iPad)
- Omni Sync Server (copy file to your OSS volume, use Import feature in OmniOutliner for iPad)
- Other webDAV server (use like OSS)
I use the Omni Sync Server for most of my documents (sign up at
http://sync.omnigroup.com, it's free). You can mount the volume on your Mac with the Finder's Go->Connect to Server... command. Be sure to put a trailing '/' on the path name, and you may have to experiment a bit to see which of the https://sync<n>.omnigroup.com values works for you (n=1,2,3,etc.) due to a Finder bug. (Note to Omni: you could make this easier for people if you displayed the information on the website!) Just remember to export the changed document back to the OSS so the Mac can get the changes and similarly, when you change it on the Mac, you'll want to do the import on the iPad again. It sounds like more of a hassle than it actually is, though it would certainly be nice if one didn't have to bother.