Zoho Writer

Earlier this year Google bought out an innovative little start-up operation called Writely. Writely was a collaborative word processing tool that worked in your Web browser. It had most of the features offered by expensive Microsoft Word, and a few more, like PDF output. Unfortunately, after Google bought Writely, the service closed down to new members while they transferred things over to the Google systems. It took a lot longer than they thought, and while the Writely Blog promised that people on the waiting list would receive invites in early July, we are entering the second half of the month with no opening in sight.

In the meantime, several other companies have been working like crazy to put out a better service. There are almost more Web-based word processing tools now than I can count, although they all have different strengths and weaknesses. (For an excellent review of the services available last year, see this article.) Some of the services now offered online that compete with Microsoft Office include gOFFICE, ajaxWrite, Writeboard, ThinkFree Office, and Zoho Writer. I’ve tried all of those services, and a couple of them are very strong publishing platforms. They offer features that a normal word processor, such as Microsoft Word, doesn’t offer. For example, many of these services allow you to write a document, complete with spell-check and photos, and then post it directly to your blog. The collaborative aspect of these services is also quite powerful — you can work with several other people in developing a document, and everyone is working off the same version. Not only that, several of the Web-based word processors save every version, so you can always go back to an earlier draft if something goes wrong. It is worth noting that gOFFICE, Zoho, and ThinkFree offer other Web-based programs such as spreadsheets, presentations, etc. When Google finally gets its online office suite up and running, it will face competition from these companies as well as the traditional powerhouse, Microsoft.

While Google takes its time, the heir-apparent to the throne of best Web publishers seems to be Zoho. In my opinion, Zoho has the widest range of features and tools available, and the service is easy to register for. Zoho Writer has all of the features listed above, and a few more that I haven’t mentioned yet. You can create a document with Zoho Writer and store it online or on your hard drive. You can even import an existing document and edit it with Zoho Writer. The program supports a wide variety of document formats, including MS Word, PDF, RTF, HTML, SXW, ODT, and a plain text file. Zoho Writer allows you to post or share a document online through a public link, or you can post it directly to your blog. It currently supports Blogger, TypePad, LiveJournal, and WordPress.

I think Zoho Writer does a good job of balancing features with speed. It opens in your browser in a matter of seconds if you have broadband, and works well with Explorer and Firefox. The program makes good use of AJAX to allow a lot of functions in one browser window. Over all, Zoho Writer feels smooth and using it is very easy. Unlike some of the other services, there are no ads (the company is supported by their business products). I have hit a few glitches occasionally, but I notice that Zoho is continually making improvements to the program. For example, the scroll bar for the writing window used to be a problem but now it works with the scroll wheel.

While Writely may have been the king of the hill in March when it was acquired by Google, Zoho has been working hard to close the gap. Until Writely goes public, Zoho Writer gets my vote for best Web publisher. And unless the new and improved Writely comes out soon, with a lot more features, Zoho Writer might supplant it as the biggest online contender in the office suite market.