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Buzzword

Buzzword Start Sharing

Welcome to Buzzword, the breakthrough online word processor from Adobe. Buzzword is currently in preview and free to use.

Built on the Adobe® Flash® platform, Buzzword looks and behaves like a normal word processor but operates inside a web browser. A version for the Adobe AIR™ platform is in development.

With Buzzword you can:

  • Access your documents from any Internet-connected computer.
  • Work together with others to create, comment on, revise, and publish your documents, without the need to email documents back and forth.
  • Avoid editing and reviewing conflicts, since everyone works with the same version of the document.
  • View and edit your documents exactly as others will see them, and exactly as they will print.

All this — within an innovative and intuitive user experience — makes writing easy and fun.

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Getting Started

Follow these steps to get started with Buzzword:

  1. To use Buzzword, you only need Flash Player 9 (version 9.0.47.0 or higher) on your computer. You can check your version by going to the Adobe site at http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/, and that page will report the version on your machine.

    Note: you need administrative privileges for your computer to install or upgrade the Flash Player. If your computer is administered by someone else, they should help you in this process.

  2. To use Buzzword, simply go to http://buzzword.acrobat.com and click "Sign Up". After you've set up your Buzzword account, you can log in and start authoring.
  3. You start in the Document Organizer, where you can create a new document, or look at the Welcome to Buzzword document that is included with each new account.
  4. You can import your Word, TXT, or RTF files using the Document, Open File... menu.
  5. You can also share your documents with collaborators by clicking on the Share button in the lower left corner. If they don't yet have a Buzzword account, they can easily create one by following the link in your email invitation.

Community

For more information, or to participate in the discussion about Buzzword, check out the links below.

Online Forums

The Buzzword team actively participates in a user forum, where participants post and respond to questions and issues related to Buzzword.

Weblogs

The Buzzword team maintains a blog that provides some useful background information on the product, the platform and the market.

Buzzword developer David Coletta also maintains a very popular blog that takes more of a technical perspective.

Resources

If you want to learn more about releases on Labs as well as other Adobe technologies, visiting a user group or connecting with an Adobe Community Expert is a great place to start.

Product Details


Features

The features in the latest version of the application include the following:

  • WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get"): In Buzzword you are always working in "print preview mode." You will see exactly how document pages, layout, headers, and footers will print. No need to copy and paste back into a desktop word processor to finalize the formatting.
  • Comments in context: Buzzword comments are easy to use; simply select the text to which you are referring and add your comments in the comment box. Comments appear adjacent to reference text, and each reviewer has his/her own color so it's easy to distinguish.
  • Easy and robust image placement: Buzzword imports JPG, PNG and GIF images, and provides very straightforward tools for sizing and placing those images. Buzzword flows text around images like powerful desktop word processors.
  • List handling simplified: Buzzword offers a much easier way to add, delete, or skip bullets, numbers, or symbols in a list.
  • Granular access control: You can share your documents with others, and provide them one of three levels of access: Co-author (full edit privilege), Reviewer (ability to add comments only), Reader.
  • Useful and compelling document dashboard: The Buzzword document organizer allows access to all your Buzzword documents, listing them in a variety of convenient ways. And the Organizer is dynamic, notifying you when your documents have been changed by your collaborators.
  • Version History: Buzzword auto-saves your document regularly and keeps record of recent changes, so reverting to former versions is simple.
  • Collaborator Awareness: Buzzword always displays a gallery of collaborators on each document. The Collaborator Bar also shows when others have the document open for reading or editing.
  • Leverage existing work: Buzzword imports Word, TXT and RTF files so you can continue to work on existing documents. You can also export to Word, TXT, RTF and HTML.
  • No installation required: Buzzword runs in most popular browsers using the ubiquitous Adobe Flash Player 9. You no longer need to worry about whether your collaborators have compatible word processing software.
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FAQ

What is Buzzword?
Buzzword is a web-based, highly collaborative word processor built on Adobe's ubiquitous Flash platform. Buzzword stores files online so that they are available in a single repository for document collaboration. Work is underway to support Adobe AIR to allow for offline work.
How can I try out Buzzword?
You can sign up for a preview account at buzzword.com. Buzzword is open to the public and free to use.
Which browsers does Buzzword support?
Buzzword supports Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer.
Is there an Adobe AIR version?
The Buzzword team is working on the Adobe AIR version. Adobe Labs expects to have an early version of the Buzzword for Adobe AIR release before it officially launches, but no date has been specified yet.
What file formats does Buzzword support?
Buzzword currently imports and exports .rtf (Rich Text Format), MS Word (.doc and .docx), and Word 2003 XML files. Buzzword also exports to HTML. Adobe plans to add additional support for standard open file formats such as PDF, ODF and others over time.
How long has Buzzword been available?
The product has been in limited preview since May 2007, with users in over 100 countries.
What are some of the upcoming Buzzword features, and when will they arrive?
The Buzzword team is actively working on new features, and expects to release updates frequently. In the next few releases, you will see PDF export, track changes, named styles, support for working offline using Adobe AIR, and many other features.
Will Buzzword continue to be offered free of charge?
There are no current plans to charge for Buzzword use.
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System Requirements

The minimum system requirements for the Buzzword preview are listed below.

Windows

  • Internet Explorer 6.0 or Mozilla Firefox 2
  • Adobe® Flash® Player 9,0,28 required, recommend upgrade to 9,0,124

Macintosh

  • Mac OS 10.4.11 (Tiger)
    • Safari 2.0, 3.0 or Mozilla Firefox 2
    • Adobe® Flash® Player 9,0,28 required, recommend upgrade to 9,0,124
  • Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard)
    • Safari 3.0 or Mozilla Firefox 2
    • Adobe® Flash® Player 9,0,115 required
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Release Notes

Buzzword is a preview technology distributed in cooperation with Adobe and Virtual Ubiquity.

Not all features of Buzzword are complete and the application is still considered in development. Please see the Buzzword Terms of Service upon signup for more information.

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