With the release of Nuxeo Fast Track version 7.3, we added an awesome feature called Live Connect,__ which lets you link the Nuxeo Platform with your cloud-based content residing in file sharing systems such as Google Drive and Dropbox.
The Nuxeo Platform treats your cloud-based files the same as local files - complete with the ability to use them in enterprise workflows, plus full-text indexing, query, preview, export and more. Even better, and unlike other tools, your cloud-based content still “lives” in the cloud, with no local duplication of content required.
As of this writing, Nuxeo Live Connect functionality is provided for content residing in Google Drive and Dropbox - and very soon, Microsoft OneDrive as well.
I will show you the key features of Live Connect in a video that uses a Google Doc. But first, here’s a quick summary of how Live Connect works for end users:
- The user creates a new document. It could be a Google Doc, Sheet or Slide, a Google Drawing (handled as a “picture” in the Nuxeo Platform), or whatever format your cloud file is in Dropbox.
- The Nuxeo user interface lets you choose the file you want to integrate with the Nuxeo Platform; it can be either local or distant.
Select file from Google Drive or Dropbox
- If you want to select a cloud-based file and this is the first time you connect to the provider, the Nuxeo Platform will display the login dialog on behalf of the provider. This is required only once.
- Once the Nuxeo document is saved with the link to the cloud file, everything is transparent: A thumbnail is created, the document is indexed when relevant (typically the full text content of a Google Doc/Sheet/Slide, any “text-based” file from Dropbox, etc.)
- Also, for Google Drive, if you modify the file in its Google Application, the Nuxeo Platform automatically detects the change and re-indexes it! Isn’t life wonderful(1)?
There is also a very important “feature-inside-the-feature”. Whenever possible, the Nuxeo Platform uses the provider to convert the document. For example, when a user downloads a Google Doc as a PDF, it is converted by the Google Doc application itself, ensuring the best possible PDF rendition.
And now, here is our video showing the main features from an end user point of view:
Since Live Connect has already been integrated in a Fast Track version, it will be 100% available in our next Long Time Support version (LTS 2015, set for release in November 2015) according to our release cycle.
For more administrator and developer details on Nuxeo Live Connect, please read the documentation(2).
(1) Yes, it is! (2) It’s always a good idea to read the documentation anyway!