Edit Text Files In Your Dropbox From Your Browser With TextDropApp

Edit Text Files In Your Dropbox From Your Browser With TextDropApp:

Edit any text file in your Dropbox from your browser. It’s easy to with TextDropApp, a web-based text editor that uses Dropbox for storage. Whether you want to edit text documents from Chrome OS or just want a simple way to do some writing while on the go, TextDropApp is easy to use and quick.

You can’t edit formatted documents with this tool, but if you at least do your first drafts in TXT files you’ll find this tool useful. Even better, it connects with Dropbox, meaning your work will sync with all of your computers. Jessica pointed this tool out when she showed you how to edit and compile code online, but TextDropApp isn’t just useful for programmers. It’s also perfect for the writer on the move.

Using TextDropApp

Ready to check this out? Just head over to TextDropApp, click the “login” button and you will be re-directed to Dropbox. You will have to log into Dropbox, assuming you’re not already, and then you will need to give TextDropApp permission to read and edit your documents.

This makes sense: the app can hardly edit anything without permission. Still, some people might be worried. That’s smart, but according to the app’s creator Sam Nguyen, there’s not much to worry about:

TextDrop does not save your password. It doesn’t even see your password because it uses Dropbox’s OAuth system.

So rest assured, your password is safe. TextDropApp, as a text editor, is very low-frills. You can’t customize much of anything, and there is no code syntax highlighting. This is a simple tool for simple purposes.

The minimalist interface works well on a variety of devices, so give it a try on your tablet or your smartphone as well as your browser. It’s a great, simple way to quickly edit a document in your Dropbox.

You can open any file in your Dropbox, provided it has a “.txt” extension.

You can also create new files and save them to whatever sub-folder you prefer. It’s a very functional tool.

Security Concern

I mentioned above that your Dropbox password is safe via this service. You should know, however, that the information you write may not be. Again, from app creator Sam Nguyen:

[TextDropApp] does transiently transmit the contents of your files through its servers, although it never saves any of your contents to disk. The transmission from your browser to the TextDrop server is unencrypted, so please only use TextDrop for non-sensitive material.

In summary, don’t use this app to make a list of your credit card numbers, because that information won’t be encrypted. Grocery lists or blog posts should be fine, though.

Conclusion

I have to say, I’ve been looking for something more or less like this for a year or so. I’m glad I found it, and will be making more use of it in the months to come.

What do you think? Do you like being able to quickly edit text documents in your Dropbox, or would you prefer something more full-featured, like Google Docs integration for Dropbox? Let us know in the comments below, along with any other useful Dropbox tools we might not know about.