Benefits of online collaborative document editing.

Learn what the advantages of collaborative document editing are and how it can help your remote teams.

Over the past couple of years, remote work has become the new normal. But even in a remote setting, teams still need to work together. Online collaboration tools, like collaborative document editing, let co-workers get things done as if they were sitting around the same conference table. Let’s take a look at the benefits of collaborative document editing.

Which types of work does collaborative document editing benefit?

Online document collaboration is helpful for any document that might need approval or even just a second pair of eyes. You might also collaborate on a document that will serve as a reference within your business. Some examples include:

• Proposals
• Meeting notes
• Client documents
• Training documents

Key benefits of remote collaborative document editing.

Collaborative editing is a simple solution to the otherwise cumbersome process of sending drafts back and forth. Here’s why you might want to try it:

1. Collaborative editing improves document workflows.

2. Collaborative editing saves time.

3. Reduce mistakes and errors with online collaborative editing.

4. Online document collaboration builds team spirit.

5. Online collaborative editing works on all devices.

1. Collaborative editing improves document workflows.

One of the greatest advantages of collaborative editing is that it keeps things in control. Both managers and workers can easily see all changes to the document and keep track of its status. You’ll always know who edited the file last and can tell who needs to work on it next.

2. Collaborative editing saves time.

Both offline and online document editors usually let you share files directly through the editing software. You can save significant amounts of time when you don’t have to bounce documents back and forth through separate email clients. Instead, you can enjoy real-time editing. You can also save time by avoiding mistakes like losing a file or accidentally using an older version.

3. Reduce mistakes and errors with online collaborative editing.

Collaborative editing lets the entire team track all changes to a document. As a result, they can more easily spot errors or mistakes. And if there is a problem, collaborative editing tools let you roll back to a previous file version.

4. Online document collaboration builds team spirit.

Remote work can make people feel lonely. One of the benefits of collaborative editing is that it lets your team work together and share feedback without delay. A better team spirit keeps everyone happier and can boost productivity.

5. Online collaborative editing works on all devices.

Document collaboration online means that you can work with teammates when they aren’t in the office with you. With editing on all devices, they don’t have to be in an office at all. As long as your teammate can secure an internet connection, you can collaborate with them, even on the go.

Version control for stress-free document collaboration online.

Document version control automatically tracks all of the changes within each document draft. You’ll be able to see who changed what and when they changed it. That way, you don’t have to worry too much about making mistakes or tracking changes in something like a contract. You can also always know that you’re working on the latest draft of a document. If you’re curious about the specifics, you can learn more about what document version control is.

Tips to make the most of collaborative editing.

Online document collaboration is a convenient way to get virtual teamwork flowing. Follow these tips to make the most of it:

• Communicate about edits. This could include using comment features or even editing at the same time during a call.
• Take advantage of approval features. Suggest edits and let your colleagues review them before approval.
• Check through the version history if you need clarification on changes. With the version history, you can verify that an edit was not a mistake and restore deleted text.
• Limit access to documents. To keep collaboration going smoothly, use custom permissions to allow editing or commenting on documents.

Finally, every once in a while, show your team how far they’ve come. Break out an old document or an old document version and compare it with your final product. Congratulate your team on their hard work!

Resources for sharing and collaborative editing of PDFs.

Start collaborating on PDFs. Adobe Acrobat makes it easy for your team to collaborate on PDF documents. You can share files, add and review comments and annotations, track documents, protect files with passwords, and more. You can also use Adobe Acrobat online services to create PDFs online.

Here are additional resources for sharing files and online document collaboration:

• Check out these remote collaboration tools to complement your workflow.
• Using Microsoft Word? Learn how to track changes in Word.
• Sharing files you can’t or don’t need to edit together? Learn how to easily share files online.
• Don’t need any more input? Learn how to password-protect a PDF.

Discover what more you can do with Acrobat to improve your team’s collaboration.