January 24, 2017

Using NetDocuments on a Mac – ndOneClick

NetDocuments is a web-based document management service and works on almost any platform or browser. You will recognize and be able to work in the user interface with Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox or Safari. However, NetDocuments includes specific add-ins that enhance usability on Windows platforms and specifically in Internet Explorer.

If you are using a Mac, there are a number of ways to improve your NetDocuments experience. This month we are going to focus on one of those – ndOneClick.

On Windows systems using Internet Explorer, an ActiveX add-in is installed. The ActiveX add-in, sometimes working with ndOffice, controls functions such as automatic download and check-out (For a full list of functions see http://tinyurl.com/h2a3a2b). Without the ActiveX add-in, working with documents requires you to manually download them, save them locally, then re-upload and check them in to NetDocuments. While this process is not necessarily difficult, it does require a number of steps and could potentially lead to accidentally overwriting a document or its most recent version.

ndOneClick is a NetDocuments add-in for browsers other than Internet Explorer. ndOneClick allows you to download and check out a document with a single left click in the same fashion as the ActiveX add-in. It works in any browser as well as on the Mac. With ndOneClick, the process of working on documents is much easier – one click to download and open your document. When you are finished working on the document, another click saves the document. Finally, your NetDocuments interface will tell you that you have a document checked out. A single click checks it back in.

It is important to understand that ndOneClick does not replicate all of the functionality of the ActiveX add-in. In other words, if you use NetDocuments on a Windows computer, you should use Internet Explorer and ndOffice. If, on the other hand, you are using a Mac or must use a different browser in Windows, ndOneClick will save you time and frustration.

ndOneClick is downloaded and activated at the workstation level. While in NetDocuments click Settings, then Application Settings. ndOneClick is about halfway down the list of options. There are links to install and re-install as well as a check box to enable it.