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February 27, 2008 / Filed under: iPaper, PDF, Documents, Services

Scribd iPaper is a fantastic way to preview documents online, without having to download and install the necessary apps for viewing locally. I've already provided an introduction to iPaper in conjunction with Box.net.

It's worth getting into more details regarding the service as a whole.

Overview

iPaper let's you interact with the service in a number of ways:

1. Using the API directly from your site.
2. Uploading documents from your local computer.
3. Passing the URL of a document from another site.

The goal is to avoid having to download documents from the web in order to view them. The process of downloading and viewing locally presents some challenges, which iPaper hopes to overcome:

1. An application is needed to open/view the document.
2. It's extra steps.

iPaper supports PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and many more file types.

Never download again

For documents that you just wish to view, why go through the process of downloading, and trying to find an application that supports opening it? iPaper let's you view documents immediately through a browser.

See #3 above: Passing the URL of a document from another site.

To get started, sign up for a Scribd account, and when you come across documents on the web that you'd like to view, pop the URL into iPaper.

Here is an example of a web page prompting you to download documents for viewing:

Why bother? Go over to your iPaper account and paste the URL of the document:

iPaper imports the document, and prepares it for display under your account. No switching applications required. Do it all from within your browser.

It's worth noting that once sites start to adopt iPaper, you won't even have to copy/paste the URL into your iPaper account. The hyperlink will simply open iPaper immediately.

Integrate iPaper into your site

iPaper integration is extremely easy to get started with.

Features

Document "viewing" is an understatement. Seamlessly navigate between different view modes, much like a desktop application.

Embed into another web page. Email or share with a friend.

Ad placement

iPaper allows Google ads to be placed within documents. This is an interesting concept, since prior to this, there has never been a way to monetize PDF's or other documents.

Social networking

Your Scribd account acts like a social network or community. You can add "friends" and adjust your "profile." Your documents are listed like blog posts, where viewers can comment or mark certain posts as "favorites." You also have the ability to make posts public or private.

On the main page, documents uploaded by users are aggregated together in a YouTube-like fashion, with Featured, Recent, Groups, etc.

Overall

I'm not sure the community aspect of iPaper is entirely necessary. I really just want a tool for quickly displaying different document formats online. iPaper meets this need, and the API is relatively easy to use.