[SOLVED] Question about the documents feature

[bart__]

Hi everyone,

We're currently working on a project for implementing Zimbra as a means of providing an alternative to Google Documents.

For that purpose we have a test environment setup where we've installed Zimbra. (consists of Debian 5.0.8, 32bit installation)

Regarding that I have a few observations and additionally a few questions.

Observations

Documents in the Current Stable (version 6.0.10, Open Source edition):

• I can create spreadsheets, presentations and documents.
• I can't download the by Zimbra created spreadsheets, presentations and documents.
• I can upload .doc, .rtf , .xls and .ppt files.
• I can't edit uploaded .doc, .rtf , .xls or .ppt files.
• I can download the uploaded .doc, .rtf , .xls or .ppt files.
• Zimbra can preview the Zimbra created files (spreadsheets, presentations and documents).
• Zimbra can't preview uploaded documents.
• Sharing works the way I would expect it to do.

Documents in the Current Beta (version 7.0.0 Beta 3, Open Source edition):

• The documents tab is missing, it's also in the CoS list. (it's simply missing, or this part will be different in version 7)
• I can create documents.
• I can't create spreadsheets and presentations. (I don't get this option at all)
• I can't download the by Zimbra created documents.
• I can upload .doc, .rtf , .xls and .ppt files.
• I can't edit uploaded .doc, .rtf , .xls or .ppt files.
• I can download the uploaded .doc, .rtf , .xls or .ppt files.
• Zimbra can preview the Zimbra created documents.
• Zimbra can't preview uploaded files.
• Sharing works the way I would expect it to do.

Questions

Because of the above observation I have the following questions:

• Am I correct to assume that Zimbra, at this moment, can't edit & preview uploaded files? (for both version 6 and 7?)
• In version 6 the spreadsheet and presentation functions are labled as "beta", does this mean that these two features might not make it into Zimbra 7?
• And a little more general, can someone shed some light on how the documents feature will look (feature wise) in version 7? Is it as I've just described or am I missing something in my installation?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,

Bart

[odeleon]

Am I correct to assume that Zimbra, at this moment, can't edit & preview uploaded files? (for both version 6 and 7?)

In the FOSS (Community) edtion, yes. In Network Edition 6.0.x you can preview some document formats online, there's a COS setting for this so you can configure this feature. It's a safe bet that 7.0.x will be the same (or better).

In version 6 the spreadsheet and presentation functions are labled as "beta", does this mean that these two features might not make it into Zimbra 7?

It's a possibility. Check the roadmap for more info .. Zimbra Product Management Portal

And a little more general, can someone shed some light on how the documents feature will look (feature wise) in version 7? Is it as I've just described or am I missing something in my installation?

From what I've seen in the FOSS Beta of version 7, this functionality is being merged into the Briefcase. There is/was some overlap between the two and, from what I've seen, it caused confusion for some users. I've even started disabling the feature when I do new 6.0.x installs because I'm not clear on the migration path once 7 is finally GA.

[bart__]

Thanks for the explanation, that cleared it up for us.