Dropbox feature request

We have a lot of customers using Dropbox with Curio. Why? It's a great way to keep Curio project files in sync between home and work. Just store the project files in your Dropbox folder and all your machines have instant access to the latest version.

(Big requirement: make sure you close the project before opening it on another machine so all changes are flushed to disk.)

Dropbox also supports public folders for their registered users which is getting a lot of recent attention, particularly in the Zengobi forums. With a public folder in your Dropbox you can easily share a Curio project with lots of people. This is a great way to distribute information to your team, family, or colleagues.

One idea which is percolating is a method for marking a Dropbox file as "checked out". In other words, mark the project file as locked so you can make changes to it. Then check it in, or unlock it, so other users with access to that file can check it out and make changes, too.

This isn't simultaneous access -- since Curio doesn't support smart merging (yet) -- but it would be a great way for multiple users to share a Curio project as long as they abide by this one-at-a-time access control.

Turns out, this is not a unique request. Dropbox has a wonderful Votebox section on their website for registered users of Dropbox. You can vote for your favorite feature requests and their development team has a better idea of what they should work on next.

They have several very related feature requests currently in the Votebox queue:

• Stating if a file is open and locked in another computer
• Add the ability to lock a shared file so that others cannot edit it at the same time I edit it
• Check-in Check-out

Turns out lots of Dropbox customers would love this kind of functionality for all sorts of files.

If any Curio customers out there would like to vote on these issues we would certainly encourage you to make your voice heard by voting on their website. The Curio army can make their voices heard! :-)

I'm not trying to shirk Zengobi's responsibility here. Of course, long term Curio needs to support a smart merging capability. That way it can notice that an already opened Curio project file has been changed by someone else and can dynamically sync in the changes. We definitely want to implement this kind of functionality in a future release of Curio.

Personally I'd love a Dropbox API so we can integrate with Dropbox the same way we're integrating with Evernote. I've already cast my vote for that! :-)

Tablet dreams

A few customers have asked if we're working on a version of Curio for the tablet which is expected to be announced by Apple in just a few days.

The legal answer: even if we were we certainly couldn't admit it, right? ;-)

The honest answer: nope.

That said, I'm personally pretty excited about the announcement. If the rumors are accurate, which is always a major issue, then it should be a pretty cool product that I'd love to get. Both for fun and for professional reasons. :-)

Sighting: Macworld UK

Looks like Macworld UK just reprinted the Macworld US review of Curio 6 that came out a couple of months ago.

For those in the UK who checked out the review, please read this follow-up I posted on our blog regarding the US review. The Macworld UK review didn't make any corrections since the original US review so my blog clarifications are still worth reading with regards to list and table importing.

Aside from those corrections it's a very nice review and it's wonderful to get some international press! :-)

Curio Attached Text

Here is a brief demonstration of Curio 6.4's new attached text feature:

Simply select or edit a text figure then hold down the Command key and click elsewhere on the idea space to create a new text figure with a sticky line attaching the two text figures together.

Holding Command will create a single arrowheaded line, Command+Shift will create a double arrowhead, and Command+Option will create a plain line with no arrowheads. This is a great way to create quick flowcharts without the formality of a mind map.

Have fun!