Roger Fingas
Dropbox on Wednesday launched the first open beta of Paper, its Google Docs-like Web collaboration platform, simultaneously releasing companion apps for iOS and Android.
Paper was first announced almost a year ago, but until now has only been accessible in private testing. As a part of entering open beta, the service now has more pratical table support, including easier cell creation and deletion, and the ability to resize column widths. Among other changes are enhanced search functions, and refined image galleries, for instance letting users comment on a single image.
Perhaps the biggest addition is a new notification system, which gathers together comments made on a user's documents, while also tracking mentions and replies elsewhere. Notifications should be visible on the Web, in the Dropbox desktop app, and on mobile.
Rather than attempting to mimic Paper's full interface, the mobile apps offer notifications, comment replies, and simplified document editing, excluding some embedding options but allowing text changes and the ability to insert images from a device's camera roll. Any document marked as a favorite can be edited offline.
The iOS app runs on iPhones and iPads with iOS 8.1 or later. Dropbox cautions, though, that the Paper mobile apps are only "coming soon" to users in the European Union.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
William Gallagher
2 Comments
Looks great! Offers real-time editing, which is crucial for meaningful collaboration. Our office unfortunately uses Microsoft Excel on iPad for spreadsheet collaboration, which does not support real-time editing. So, if someone has a specific file open, anyone else cannot get access to edit said file unless they are willing to fork it by duplicating the file. At that point, you're not collaborating. Colleagues just have copies of now differing files. As a result I am often calling colleagues asking them to close a file they left open so I can have access for editing. So lame.
Does Apple Numbers offer real-time editing yet?
There is already an iPad app called Paper. Facebook tried to hijack that name and the product died. Now Dropbox is taking its shot.