The OffiSync Beta is now available. This tool allows you to work on your Google Docs from within Office Applications. For the purposes of this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to use OffiSync with Word 2007.

Installing OffiSync

You’ll first need to download the OffiSync installer, and run it (closing all Office applications before you do). Once installed, if you open up Word you’ll find a dazzling new toolbar available in the ribbon, under its own OffiSync (Beta) tab.

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Setting Up OffiSync

The first time you use the Open button on the OffiSync toolbar, you’ll need to supply your Google Docs credentials. The setup process is an easy one as the OffiSync wizard takes you through the steps you need to complete. First of all accept the license terms (if you want to use OffiSync).

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The next dialogue box that is presented allows you to supply your Google Docs credentials in the form of your user name and password. OffiSync will need these details to retrieve your Google documents for you to work on.

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OffiSync is now set up. As you clicked the Open button, the next window to open is the Open Document window. This is similar to the file explorer you are used to seeing when you open a document conventionally. Double click on the document you want to open and the Google document will appear in your Microsoft Word workspace.

Saving Documents Using OffiSync

If you click ctrl-s to save the document, OffiSync will update the online version of your document. This means that if you close down Word and access Google Docs to view your document, you will see the updates you made there. Interestingly, Word changes the font originally used in the Google document. There may be other formatting changes that OffiSync performs, so watch out for that. Also be aware that OffiSync does not keep the Word version of the document synchronised with the online version. This means that if you are working on a document in Word, you will not see any changes that your colleagues make in the Google Docs application. However, OffiSync does check for these kinds of updates when you save within Word. If an online user has updated the document since you first opened it in Word, OffiSync will warn you of this to help you avoid overwriting more recent changes. The Word application froze at this point and I had to use the Windows task manager to end Word, so this just emphasises the point that this is only the beta version of OffiSync.

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Collaborating With OffiSync

Inviting colleagues to collaborate on a document is fairly straightforward. From the OffiSync tab click Collaborate and enter the email address of the colleague you want to invite. In this window you can assign the appropriate permissions; whether you want the invitee to be able to update the document or just read it. Use the Add button to add multiple workers.

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When all email addresses are added, click Save. The next window gives you the option of emailing your chosen collaborators or simply giving them permission to use the document without emailing them. This window also allows you to select who to email the notification to: existing collaborators or only new ones.

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One thing I noticed was that there is no cancel button at this point. Should you change your mind about opening this document up for sharing there is no way back.

Each collaborator will receive an email notifying them of the collaboration request.

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Clicking the link in the email takes the collaborator directly to the Google document where they can update or view, depending on the permissions assigned.

Tags | Google Docs, offisync