imageAs telecommuting becomes more prevalent, and companies spread their offices all over the globe, sharing documents online becomes increasingly important. Your team may need to collaborate on shared documents. Google Docs allows teams to edit documents online simultaneously. While Google Docs is convenient and great for collaboration, it still lacks features that your team may need, so you need to turn to Microsoft Office from time to time.

Once you download a document from Google Docs and edit it with Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, there is always a risk that you will forget to upload it to Google Docs, thus bringing your team’s work to a halt. Fortunately OffiSync allows you to keep local copies of your documents synchronized with Google Docs, and saves you from having to remember to upload your documents when you update them locally.

OffiSync Requirements and Installation:

OffiSync requires Windows XP, Vista or 7 and Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, or 2010. It also requires a Google account or a Google Apps account if you are using Google to manage your domain.

This Microsoft Office add-in is very easy to install. Just follow these steps:

1. Close Microsoft Office.

2. Download the OffiSync add-in.

3. Double-click the OffiSyncSetup application to begin the installation.

4. Install any other Microsoft Office or Windows components that the installer requires.

5. Click Install on the OffiSync Installer and on the OffiSync Setup Wizard.

6. Click Yes on the Access Controls dialog box.

7. Click Finish when the installation is complete.

Once OffiSync is installed, it will appear as a tab on the ribbon in Microsoft Office

Interface and Ease of Use:

The OffiSync setup is very simple.

1. When you switch to the OffiSync tab for the first time, click on the Settings drop-down and choose Accounts.

2. Click on Add, enter your Google Apps credentials, and click OK. Once you’ve set up your credentials click Close.

Add Google Account to OffiSync

3. Once your credentials are saved, you can start using OffiSync. All you have to do is click the Save As button on the OffiSync toolbar to save your document to Google Docs. The Save Document dialog allows you to choose where to save the document in Google Docs, and it also gives you the option to Keep As Office File Format.

Save MS Office Document to Google Docs

4. Once you’ve saved your document, the rest of the options on the OffiSync tab become available.

From the OffiSync tab, you can Share your document by Email, Open it Online, or copy a link to the document that you can send to members of your team. You can also grant both Read Only and Write Access, or remove user access to the document.

Sharing docs with Team Members

One of the most important features of OffiSync is its ability to keep your local document synchronized with the version of the document on Google Docs. If you click on the Update button, you can Check for file updates, Merge Changes, or Overwrite local version.

If you are working on a document with another member of your team at the same time, you can check for updates to the document from the other person. If there are updates, you can either choose to merge them with your document, or just replace it with the current version from Google Docs. This allows multiple people to work on a document at the same time without worrying about overwriting each other’s changes and losing their work.

The OffiSync Toolbar in MS Office Interface

Strengths:

Simplicity – This is an extremely easy application to set up and use. The installation process should not take more than five minutes unless you need to download and install one of the Microsoft Office Updates that it requires.

Works Seamlessly – This application, once installed, fits right into the applications, and does not impede your workflow or change the way you work in the application.

Synchronization – Once you create a document and save it to Google Docs using Save As on the OffiSync tab, you don’t have to think about uploading it again and again to keep the online version current. If you use the File menu to Save As, OffiSync will ask you if you want to keep the new copy of the document you are saving locally linked to the version saved online.

Google Docs Features – OffiSync does a good job of allowing you to control Google Docs permissions directly from the OffiSync tab. Once you’ve saved a document to Google Docs, you can set the permissions without having to hunt it down online.

Cost – The free version of OffiSync is very feature rich, and will be enough for most people. There is a Premium upgrade that adds the ability to save documents in their native format on Google Docs, and adds Google Sites integration. The Premium version can be purchased for $12 per year, or a one-time fee of $30 per user.

Weaknesses:

Operating System Support – Right now OffiSync only supports Microsoft Office on the Windows platform. There are no available versions for OS X.

Office Suite Support – Currently OffiSync only supports Microsoft Office. It does not support OpenOffice or any similar software.

Acquisition by Jive Software – Jive recently acquired OffiSync, and there is no way to know how that will affect future application development.

Conclusions:

If you are a Google Docs user who frequently works with documents using Microsoft Office on your PC, or if you are a Microsoft Office user who needs to collaborate with team members using the cloud, OffiSync is a great solution. It is easy to install and use, and enhances your productivity without getting in your way.

There are more than enough features in the free version to satisfy the majority of users, but the lack of support for Microsoft Office for Mac is both surprising and disappointing. Overall OffiSync is a great application that helps you keep your local documents synchronized with Google Docs, and helps you collaborate with your team more easily.