Offline mode for Dropbox Paper web?

[Martin1024]

Will Dropbox Paper for web consider support offline mode for Dropbox Web just like google docs in the future?

[Tinchohs]

I hear you... I've had a few meetings with several people on the product team for things I'm helping test. None have been with the paper team itself, but I've hammered this over and over, because I absolutely believe, especially with travel starting to pick up now, that without, this is not a sustainable solution. Hope they are getting the message. 

[Jaime Sanchez]

Frequently I get an error message telling me I lost connection, when this isn't real for the other tabs in my browser, then it doesn't let me edit my documents.

I really hope for Dropbox Paper Desktop to get a strong update with:

• Offline mode without bugs
• Better image editing (annotating [handwritten maybe?] and resizing of gallery images).
• Split view between documents

[Steve M.45]

This is kind of a big deal with major shifts in the way people work.  We really need an offline-capable version of paper.  If that is not on the table we need some sort of live translation into an offline MS Word, rich text or other common format.

Cloud-only apps assume 24-7 connectivity.  That doesn't always work well with phones.  It is completely unworkable with a laptop. 

I've resorted to using SimpleText on Android instead of Paper.  At least that way I have an interoperable file that I can get at in Windows when I don't have connectivity.

[Remco D.]

Edit: seems the "waiting skeleton gif" doesn't display 🙄 

[lukeyo]

One can hope indeed.

The endless delays of Paper '2020' (cruel name) have put many off, but I do remain hopeful.

[Tinchohs]

@lukeyo Without sharing anything you are not allowed to do so. Can you confirm if there is still commitment from the product team to release offline support for Paper. 

It would be really helpful to know this. I am in the middle of the process of evaluating alternatives to Dropbox and Paper for my small business. I just paid the annual subscription, and yet, without offline support I cáanos foresee how to continue to use the platform. 

Thanks for any guidance you might be able to share. 

[lukeyo]

There is still commitment to Paper, and I understand that they are working on updates but I haven't actually seen any specifics on features yet.

I would assume that the basics of paper 2020 (like paper docs in the file system) would need to be implemented for everyone first, then other upgrades.

Sorry I can't give you any real clarity yet.

[Tinchohs]

Thanks! Appreciate it. 

[Emmet]

Thank you for your idea, while we can’t take every idea forward we do regularly re-review and will update you if anything changes! 

If you are editing a Paper Doc on web, you can temporarily make edits in a doc that’s open in your browser, but those edits don’t save to Paper until you’re back online. If this changes in future, we will let you know. 

[Emmet]

Thank you for your idea, while we can’t take every idea forward we do regularly re-review and will update you if anything changes! 

If you are editing a Paper Doc on web, you can temporarily make edits in a doc that’s open in your browser, but those edits don’t save to Paper until you’re back online. If this changes in future, we will let you know. 

[Tinchohs]

@Emme Thanks, Emmet. Appreciate the insight. What I would say is that although this is in fact true, it does not work if you want to work on the plane. It helps if you lose connection while taking notes, but it's not a sustainable and reliable approach. Neither does it work if you need to open a related note as part of your work. 

I just flew to Europe for work, and for 14 hours I could NOT work at all. Granted that I sleep part of the time, I did have a lot of wasted time that would have been great to work reviewing and preparing my notes for the sessions I was going to facilitate. 

What happened in practical terms is that I moved my notes to Evernote and worked there. It's unproductive, it creates duplication and leads me to pay for two services. 

As I said before. While I was not traveling, this was a minor issue. Now is making me reconsider the investment I've done in working on the Dropbox platform and considering moving away to a different solution altogether. 

It saddens me because I really like Dropbox | Paper. But is becoming a deal-breaker, and the lack of clarity and visibility of the product roadmap, added to the lack of commitment to delivering this feature is becoming unsustainable for me and our company. 

Thanks again and I hope you read this with the best intention as constructive feedback. Thanks. m.