Document Management Roll-up: Chrome Gets a PDF Reader, Oracle Adds Document Collaboration

By David Roe (@druadh20) Jun 22, 2010

There has been a lot made this week of the announcement that Google is to offer a new PDF reader with Google Chrome that will add web-like functionality to documents. Appian integrates with AnyDoc to combine on-demand BPM with automated document capture.

Google Chrome Offers PDF Support

Google has announced that it will integrate a PDF reader with its Chrome browser that can be downloaded from Chrome plug-ins initially, but which will eventually become part of the default settings.

In a Chromium Blog entry recently, the company said it was introducing the new functionality because “the traditional browser plug-in model … presents challenges in compatibility, performance, and security.”

It also said that Linux support is on the way, and it will be enabling the integration by default in the developer channel in the coming weeks.

With the new reader integration Google says:

It will render PDF files as seamlessly as HTML web pages, and basic interactions will be no different than the same interactions with web pages.
PDF functionality will be contained within the security “sandbox” Chrome uses for web page rendering.
Users will automatically receive the latest version of Chrome’s PDF support; they won’t have to worry about manually updating any plug-ins or programs.

While the new integration does not support all the advanced features of Adobe Reader such as certain types of embedded media, they will be introducing this in the near future.

Google Docs Encourages Sharing

And if you missed it late last week, Google has also rolled out new sharing capabilities for Google Docs that make document collaboration a whole lot easier. As a result Google Docs users can now choose from three different options when it comes to the visibility of their documents on the Web:

Public on the Web: This option enables anyone and everyone on the Web to find and view the document. Share the URL in any public space and the document will be indexed by Google and other search engines, and change the URL to control access.
Anyone with a link: This option closes the document to the public, unless they have a special link to access it (sent via e-mail, for example).
Private: This option restricts access to the creator and anyone the creator has approved to view it.

At any time, users can change the settings, add editors or view who has access. Furthermore, users can batch edit by selecting multiple documents and changing their settings in one straight shot. Likely to be more action in this space soon as Microsoft develops its new web apps as a possible alternative.

On-Demand BPM With Doc Capture

More release news, this time from AnyDoc, which provides automated document, data capture and classification solutions, and Appian provider of on-demand business process management (BPM) technology. The two have announced that they will be getting together for their next release.