Huddle launches desktop app for easier collaboration

Business collaboration specialist Huddle is launching a new desktop app for Windows and Mac aimed at improved productivity and greater integration with other products.

Huddle Desktop comes with plug-ins for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook to deliver deeper integration into the user's existing desktop applications. Documents stored within Huddle can be opened, edited, and saved natively from within Office programs. Users can also view team members' comments and sync their own comments back to Huddle.

"Our goal is to make document collaboration as simple and intuitive as possible," says Stuart Cochran, CTO of Huddle. "Huddle Desktop is all about personal productivity: the app provides instant access to recent work, allows users to manage offline availability, controls and prevents version conflicts, and enables you to search all of your Huddle content. Huddle's cross-platform recent files mean you can pick up on a document you were just reading on your iPhone or iPad, and start editing on your Windows PC or Mac immediately".

Features of the new product include Full integration with Microsoft Office with the ability to read and make Huddle comments directly from Office applications and archive any Outlook email and its attachments to a Huddle project workspace or attach Huddle files to email.

Huddle Desktop provides quick, direct access to relevant files, along with instant search from the desktop to give users access to the files they need most, across all their projects and teams.

Users have the ability to lock a document, preventing any overlapping edits and providing full transparency into the status of any document at any time. Up to 50 files can be made available offline for when users don’t have a connection.

"Huddle Desktop is the perfect bridge to connect the desktop experience to the industry’s most powerful cloud-collaboration platform," adds Cochran. "For example, if I know I'm going to be without Internet connectivity, I can quickly make a file available offline through the Desktop App, then edit it, review team comments and save from within Microsoft Word. When I reconnect, Huddle Desktop will automatically manage the synchronization of the file -- and my comments -- back into the cloud for the rest of my team".

Huddle Desktop is available now for all new and existing Huddle users and you can find out more on the company's website.

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