If the person you’re sharing the document with is not a technophile like you, then the easiest thing to do is a web meeting where one of you opens the document and shares your screen. If you and your collaborator need to work on the same document simultaneously, I have two questions for you: 1) how tech-savvy is your collaborator, and 2) how complex is the shared document ( e.g., complex formatting, lots of images, etc.)? If you decide to buy, the bar’s Member Benefits page provides discounts for many top contenders. Visit our Practice Management Center to get an idea of features, comparisons, and considerations regarding client portal services. Actionstep’s portal, on the other hand, is restricted to document sharing. Cosmolex offers a similarly rich portal experience. Clients can even upload documents and send you secure communications through it. Vendors offer a wide array of features under the umbrella term of “client portal.” Clio, for example, lets you share just about anything through the portal.
There’s even a web-based version if you’re collaborating with someone who doesn’t want to download the free app. OneNote is available on all the major platforms (Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android).
Create a notebook, share it with your collaborator, and either of you can put just about anything you can imagine in there: lists checklists images (whose in-image text, like a billboard or street sign, is searchable like typed text) other documents like Word, Excel, or PDF files and even handwritten notes from an Apple Pencil (via the OneNote iPad app) or Surface Pen (via a Microsoft Surface device). Microsoft’s OneNote is the most cross-platform of the note-taking or “everything bucket” solutions.Some word processors also allow several individuals track their suggested edits. Each person can now edit the document.If your collaborator doesn’t have the same word processor as you, they can access these free versions to edit the document you share, although they must create an account with the vendor if they don’t already have one. Apple’s Pages, Google’s Docs, and Microsoft Word offer free web-based versions of their respective word processors.
In fact, Apple (iCloud Drive), Google (G Drive), and Microsoft (OneDrive) all offer free space, but I think they’re just a bit more challenging to share from compared to Dropbox. The easiest sharing platform is Dropbox, although there are plenty of competitors in this market. To collaborate over the Internet, your document must be accessible to your collaborator.After scanning the document, programs like Adobe Acrobat or ABBYY FineReader can convert a PDF to an editable Microsoft Word document. If you’re not on the paperless bandwagon, start by getting a scanner to turn important papers into something that can be shared easily.Here are tips to make asynchronous collaboration better: New Yorkers can collaborate with counterparts in the Far East. Early birds can collaborate with night owls. How often do you text or email from your smartphone compared to making actual phone calls in a day? AsynchronousĪsynchronous collaboration allows people to work from anywhere at a time convenient to them. We generally prefer asynchronous communication – text messages, emails, and voicemails – over real-time communication. By Jeffrey Schoenberger, senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLCĬollaboration happens in two forms: asynchronous and real-time.