Web-based Word Processors

[Gil Heiman]

Tired of defaulting to MS Word for writing documents? Need to work on a document that needs to be accessed and edited by other team members?
Might want to try some of latest, most popular, web-based word processors.

As these lists get outdated very quickly, please add any new ones that you come across as well as additional feedback on those that made the list.

Source: http://www.solutionwatch.com/ (Oct. 6, 2006)

1. Writely (Now Google Docs & Spreadsheets): Online Word Processor allowing users to create and edit documents collaboratively online, import Word documents, publicly or privately share documents, publish to a blog, and more.
http://docs.google.com/

2. Zoho Writer: Similar to Writely, Zoho Writer is an Online Word Processor where you can create, share, and collaborate on documents. Users can also publish to a blog, import and export documents, and make documents public.
http://www.zohowriter.com/jsp/home.jsp

3. Writeboard: Writeboard is a collaborative writing tool where users can write, share, revise, and compare their documents online with others. It is not an advanced system featuring a WYSIWYG editor, Ajax, and flashy effects, but that’s what I like about it. Writeboard is a personal favorite of mine and as a matter of fact I am using it right now for this very post. It includes version control with text comparing and is great for essays and writeups of any kind. More on Writeboard.
http://www.writeboard.com/

4. ThinkFree Write: ThinkFree Write is a free word processor that, at this time, is probably the closest you can get to an online version of Microsoft Office with features and appearance in mind. You can perform formatting options, create tables, add a header/footer, and spell check as you type just like your average desktop word processor. Pretty impressive. You can also open and save Microsoft Word and OpenOffice documents as well as share documents online with others. Note: There are two versions of ThinkFree Write: Quick Edit (Ajax-based) and Power Edit (Java-based).
http://www.thinkfree.com/common/main.tfo

5. AjaxWrite: Lightweight word processor that can read and write Microsoft Word and other standard document formats, display multiple documents at once in tabs, and feature basic formatting. However, feature wise, it just does not cut it for me. What I do like about it is that it’s very quick and there are no signups – get in and get out.
http://www.ajaxlaunch.com/ajaxwrite/