The Syncplicity Blog

Open and edit files in web apps right from your desktop

Posted by Ondrej Hrebicek

Updated: Click to read Picnik’s, Zoho’s, and Scribd’s blog entries about Syncplicity.

Announcing new products and features is always the most exciting time for all of us here at Syncplicity. That’s why today was especially fun. We got to launch something big! The big news? Syncplicity is now integrated with Zoho, Picnik, and Scribd in addition to Google Docs and Facebook.

From the very beginning, Syncplicity’s vision has always been to turn your data into something you never even have to think about. When you consider all the places you use it today, you’ll realize that getting it to where you need it, keeping it up-to-date in all the places you use it, and having constant access to it is no small feat. We live in a world that revolves around digital information; it was about time someone made dealing it with it as easy as it once used to be.

Why has dealing with data become so darn complicated anyway? The fact many of us now use multiple computers and devices on a daily basis certainly played a role in it. But that’s only one part of the picture. Even more significant is the rise of the web and its transition from a place where you primarily publish content to a place where you also create it. As the web becomes a serious companion to our desktops and we find ourselves creating and consuming content in both places, keeping it all in sync is a Herculean task.

That’s why we built Syncplicity and why today’s announcement is so exciting. With this release, Syncplicity lets you open and edit your files in any application you like – whether that application is installed on your desktop or lives in your web browser. There are no uploads and downloads to worry about, no additional places to keep your data in, and no out-of-date copies of your files lurking around the web. All your data is always in one place and always available on your computer, just as you’re used to.

While we designed the system to be open and extensible so any website can offer their services to you right on your desktop, we also picked and partnered with three industry leading web applications that you can start taking advantage of right away. They are:

 

Scribd, the best place to store, share, publish, and view your documents.

 

 

Zoho, the leading web-based office suite with an unparalleled feature set.

 

 

Picnik, the simplest to use, yet most powerful photo editing site on the web.

 

Here is how easy we made it: just right click on any supported document or photo, open the Syncplicity menu, and click Preview in Scribd iPaper, Edit in Zoho, or Edit in Picnik. Syncplicity will automatically open your chosen application in a web browser, load your document into it, and, when you’re done, sync any changes you make right back to your desktop. There are no accounts to create, no usernames and password to enter, and nothing to upload or download. Have I also mentioned it’s all free?

Both worlds – the offline world on your desktop and the online one in your web browser – have a lot to offer. With Syncplicity, there’s no need to move to one or the other exclusively. We’ll bridge them together for you so you can take the best from both.

Let us know what you think, what work and what doesn’t, and what other web applications you’d like to see integrated with Syncplicity. If you’re a company or a developer interested in becoming available to users on their desktops, get started at https://my.syncplicity.com/developers.

See you at the forums!
Ondrej