Harmon.ie for Google Docs

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on September 07, 2010

Google Docs untethers business users, and Microsoft Outlook anchors the business world; when they meet, they make harmony. Or, more precisely, Harmonie makes them: it's a free add-in from Mainsoft that brings easy access to your Google Docs from inside Outlook. You can edit, export, organize, star, hide, share, and search for documents from Outlook, and drag documents directly into the Harmonie for Google Docs sidebar to automatically upload them to your free Google Docs account. You can even share documents with selected contacts in your Outlook and Gmail address books, and recipients can view and edit the documents using their own Google Docs account. It replaces attachments with links for improved speed, flexibility, and accessibility.

When you first open Outlook after installing Harmonie, you're prompted to sign in to Google Docs. A wizard walks you through the process of configuring your account with Outlook, and there's a link on the sign-in dialog that you can click to quickly create a new account, if you need to. The sidebar is a simple, neat affair; it's just an icon-based toolbar, address bar, and document list, but it packs a lot into a small space. After signing in, our Google Docs appeared in the Harmonie window. Clicking on them opened them in Outlook's view, and any changes we saved were saved online, just as claimed. We sent some Google Docs links to a spare e-mail address; when we clicked to open the documents, we were prompted to create a Google Docs account to view them. Adding files to Google Docs by dragging them into Harmonie is pretty cool, but we especially appreciate the software's ability to save Google Docs in other formats, including Office formats and several image types.

Nearly everyone can find a use for Google Docs, and many users rely on Outlook every day. Combining the two improves each; quick access to your Google Docs directly from Outlook saves time, whereas Google Docs add capabilities to Outlook. With Harmonie for Google Docs, it's a win-win situation.