It’s time for real time editing, with Dropbox Paper

[Amy]

If you are collaborating with someone, whether it’s for work, school or a home project, teamwork is essential! Part of great teamwork is working efficiently and real time editing is key. Keep reading to learn how to make the most of real time editing! 

What is real time editing?

The name is pretty self explanatory, but real time editing means that multiple team members can work on a single file simultaneously, and that any changes to that file update for every user, almost instantaneously. 

To make sure you and your team are on the same page, real time collaboration only works with online, cloud-based applications that allow any number of users to access and edit files synchronously from computers, tablets, or mobile devices.

Our favorite has to be Dropbox Paper, so keep reading to learn how to edit in real time.

Using Dropbox Paper for real time editing

Not to repeat myself but I love Dropbox Paper. No, really, I LOVE Dropbox Paper, I have written about using Paper for personal uses and keeping yourself on track, but now we are looking at using Paper with other folks to make the most of your collaboration.

First off, you can edit the text within your Paper doc at the same time as others, so if you’re working in a project for school or work, or just planning something together, you can work together in real time. That means you can ‘chat’ in the document without having to hop on a call. Or,  you can work separately, at a time that suits you without having to email an updated version back and forth. 

Beyond simple text, you of course have the check lists and to-do lists that make Paper so useful! When working with others, it always helps to be clear on who’s in charge of what, and a check box and tagging feature makes that easy. 

As well as text and to-do lists, you can add so many different types of content to a document, so you can have all of your project materials in one place. Text files, to links, to checklists, even SoundCloud clips and YouTube videos. That means that you can see an entire project from start to finish in one place.

Using real time editing with Dropbox Paper at a meeting 

When you do meet up in person, real time editing can be used to really make the most of your time together. Dropbox Paper has customizable agenda and meeting minutes templates. So, everyone starts on the same page and everyone can take notes in real time in the same place. No one gets stuck as the note taker - which means you can all pay attention and join in. 

You can also use Dropbox Paper to share the output of your meeting with a wider team - just share the doc with them, or tag then in it and they can join in.

Real time editing with Microsoft Office and Google Docs files in Dropbox

It’s not just Paper files that you can edit in real time with Dropbox. When you integrate your Dropbox account with Microsoft Office, you’ll also be able to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files online, collaboratively. You can also collaborate on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly from Dropbox.com. So, even if you’re not as hardcore a Paper fan as me, (or you are but your team works on something else), you can make the most of real time edits too. 

Do you use collaborative documents? Share your favorite ways of working below, and we can share any extra tips we might have up our sleeves too!