Adobe’s Buzzword – Online Word Processor

There is no lack of online word processors out there, from the now-fairly-standard Google Docs and Zoho Writer to the Writeroom lookalike Writer and the collaborative Writewith. Is there really any need for another online word processor?

Adobe’s Buzzword is completely Flash-based, which may be a deterrent to some, but in my opinion it has allowed Adobe to create a word processor that provides a richer user experience than is found in other online word processors.

When you first sign in to Buzzword, you are presented with an alphabetical list of your documents, which you can re-sort by author, role (author, co-author, reviewer, reader), date viewed, date modified, or size. You can select a document or select “New” from the Document drop-down.

The main document window takes a no-frills approach to getting the task done, but it provides just enough sleekness and eye candy to make the user experience a bit…dare I say…fun? Instead of describing each feature, I have provided several screenshots of the Welcome document that appears in your account by default.

Here’s a list of some of the things that have caught my attention while using Buzzword

  • Page numbers in the vertical scrollbar
  • Document ruler
  • Clean inline commenting system
  • Paragraph alignment feels like a feature rather than an afterthought
  • Ability to add headers and footers
  • Dropdown menus have “native OS” feel
  • Unobtrusive auto-save/synchronization
  • Ability to save as Word doc, docx, xml, rtf, plain text, and zip

You can sign up now for Adobe Buzzword as they are in public beta phase.  Also, check out these other reviews, a video review, and an article about Adobe’s acquisition of Buzzword from the original developers.

* Note that Buzzword currently “supports” certain browsers, but I have not run into any issues using Firefox 3 which is currently my default browser, except the lack of paste support, which apparently is available when using other browsers.