Zoho Writer’s Offline Editor Doesn’t Need Your Stinking Internet Connection
Following up on its initially limited functionality, Zoho Writer now offers full offline read/write editing abilities, giving you the full suite of Zoho Writer tools regardless of your network connections.
When you log in to Zoho Writer you’ll see the “Go Offline” link with options to set how many documents to download. As with the previous read-only offline functionality, you’ll need to have the Google Gears plug-in installed in your browser to use the new features.
Using the offline mode is a simple as clicking the “Go Offline” link. Once you’re offline and have made whatever changes you like to your documents you can save the local version and then, when you click “Go Online” you’ll be offered the chance to synchronize your offline documents with those stored on the Zoho server.
If you’re not sure which versions should be current, just head into the history section to see all your recent changes.
The new offline editing features aren’t a complete mirror of what you’ll find online, though Zoho says it will be rolling out more features as time goes on.
For now the two features you’re likely to miss in offline mode are the ability to create new documents and the comments functionality. For the first there’s an easy workaround, just create a couple blank documents and make sure they’re in the offline queue (currently Zoho allows you to download a maximum of 25 personal and 25 shared documents for offline use).
While it isn’t feature complete just yet, Zoho Writer is getting very close to the ideal in online editing with word processing software that works equally well in offline and online modes. With big names like Google Docs, Microsoft Live and even Adobe all vying for your online office loyalty, there’s no doubt that if offline functionality matters to you, Zoho has the lead.
As with all of Zoho’s releases, there’s a video available that walks you through the new features.
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