Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
There are sharp differences between Google Docs and Zoho Writer in layout. I prefer using Zoho Writer due to its easier interface and increased options. However, my work uses the Google Ecosphere, so I typically write my files in Zoho Writer. I then upload the finished work to Google Drive for collaboration. Another reason I use Zoho is to lessen my dependence on Google. To access my Zoho Writer, I enter docs.zoho.com in my browser. I usually use my Google+ for logging into it. Zoho opens up to your cloud folder with your saved work like Google Docs.
As a random thought, I mentioned the Zoho for Linux for convergence capability. I would not install that option onto your Ubuntu machine. The app is incredibly cumbersome, slow, and difficult to remove. I simply use my browser. I have used Zoho in Firefox and Qupzilla.
Google Docs has a traditional feel of classic word processors like LibreOffice. The formatting options of fonts, table insertion, etcetera, are located at the top. Zoho Writer has the formatting options to the left of the document. Zoho Writer immediately saves your work to their cloud, similar to Google Docs. The documents can be saved and exported to a .PDF, .DOCX, or .ODT file format. Zoho Writer can open .ODT formats easily, unlike Google Docs.
What are the options that make Zoho better than Google Docs? An online guide can be found here: https://www.zoho.com/docs/writer/help/content_category.htm. This guide explains some of the features and a general how-to for various tasks. The features that make Zoho Writer attractive are: interactive spell check, personal dictionary, thesaurus, electronic signature, and text to table conversion. I do not use their Mail Merge or Wordpress options.The insert picture option within a document is rather unreliable.
The interactive spell-check has numerous sub-features. Auto-correct can be enabled and customized. Auto-complete is available for typing. The personal dictionary does a better job than Google's personal dictionary. The thesaurus is useful for my abstract writing. The electronic signature uses the Adobe Sign option. The text-to-table conversion is useful for my data analysis sections for manuscripts.
There are numerous options to Zoho Writer. It is not a perfectly polished online cloud processor, but the wide range of options trumps the bad areas. So exactly what are the bad areas? You can do co-editing with track changes in Zoho. However not many people employ Zoho Writer, unless it is mandated at the enterprise level. Therefore the co-editing is useless. The one option that is extremely annoying is the Zoho Contact Chat. If the chat server goes down, Zoho Writer will attempt to contact the server consistently. There is no way to remove Zoho Contact Chat. Sometimes there is a slight lag in using Writer, this lag can be frustrating. Yet the app does a nice job of mimicking Google Docs with the consistent document saving to the cloud.
Zoho Writer is not a Google Docs killer, but it is an acceptable replacement for individual use. This entire article was written using Zoho Writer. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.