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Talk about fast, you don’t even need to log in to use this real-time document collaboration tool. ShowDocument is a flash-based app and super-simple to get going, simply browse for a document file, click upload, and you have a live workspace to edit your document. Quickly invite others to your workspace by sending them a link, email, or join code. Within your Show Document workspace there is a live chat box with a list of users currently online in your workspace, and a handy set of annotation tools such as a freehand pen, line tool, highlighter marker, whiteout, text tool, and more.

 

One drawback to ShowDocument is that you’re not actually editing the original document, rather annotating on top of a copy, which can then be exported to a PDF file. That’s ok though because this is still a really cool application. What I’ve just described is the Shared Document feature, but there are three other similar collaboration apps available on the ShowDocument website.

 

Shared Whiteboard: Work with a blank canvas.

 

Shared Text Editor: Allows you to create and collaboratively edit a text document online. You can either upload a .txt document or create one with the app and save when complete.

 

Shared Browser: This is not actually a shared browsing experience. This app simply loads the image of webpage from the URL you specify and allows you to draw on top of it with the pen tool. Not as snazzy I would have hoped for but still it has useful applications such as analyzing webpage designs.

 

There is an option to register with ShowDocument where you can enjoy perks such as online file storage, a dedicated Net Meeting room address, and longer session times.