Chris Woods

If like me you are affected by the decision to shut Google Reader, then chances are you might be an avid fan of Dropbox too.

Quickoffice has been an elegant way to edit Microsoft Office format files on the go. It has integrated fully with Dropbox, allowing the user to download from the cloud storage service, edit and then upload, replacing the original file. Being able to do so on an iOS device has until now made Quickoffice Pro the bee’s knees of productivity apps across the iPad/iPhone ecosystem — better than Pages, Numbers and Keynote. It has been a great tool for business travel, as I wrote about in Business Review Europe after a Eurostar hop to Brussels in May 2012. Dropbox integration was why I purchased the Quickoffice app in the first place.

Google bought Quickoffice in June 2012 and has since integrated it with Google Apps for Business. Whereas Google has retained Quickoffice’s integration with its own cloud storage service Google Drive as well as rival services Box, Sugarsync and Huddle, on April 4 it announced that it is withdrawing support in Quickoffice for Dropbox. This announcement was made quietly within the iOS app via an in-app alert; on its own help forum; and within the Google products help forum.

The latter post advised:

Due to some technical issues between Quickoffice (versions 4.6 or earlier) and Dropbox, you will no longer be able to connect to Dropbox after April 30th. Please note: this issue affects both iOS and Android users and Dropbox files will not be affected. In the meantime, we recommend installing the Dropbox app on your device to access files.

-Your Quickoffice community

Within the iOS Quickoffice app, you no longer have the option of adding a Dropbox account:

(You can still add Dropbox in Quickoffice Pro HD on iPad.)

However, the help section of the iPhone app still details instructions for adding Dropbox:

Does this mean that a licence agreement between Dropbox and Google has ended in a similar way that Google and Twitter parted ways? Is this a technical issue that will be overcome in a future update of Quickoffice? Has Google decided Dropbox is a threat to Google Drive? Or perhaps simply too few people use Dropbox with Quickoffice to continue to support the integration? Whatever the case, from the end of April a workflow I use frequently will no longer possible. I will be asking both Dropbox and Quickoffice to comment on the matter and if they respond, I’ll update this post.

Google Reader’s demise makes it an exciting time for RSS service and app developers. The news that Google’s Quickoffice will say farewell to loyal Dropbox customers at the end of this month is an opportunity for Dropbox to add edit functionality to its own apps. Or another provider to come along and fill the gap. In an ideal world of wishful thinking, Apple would allow Dropbox to operate alongside iCloud in its iWork productivity suite or Microsoft would do the same alongside SkyDrive in its reported upcoming Office release for iOS.

*** UPDATE MAY 16, 2013 ***

Thanks for everyone’s comments to this post. Firstly, it should be noted that QuickOffice Pro HD (iPad app) still integrates and works well with Dropbox (which is the good news). The problem is with QuickOffice Pro (iPhone app) which no longer supports Dropbox. Which is odd, considering the QuickOffice HD features webpage still claims that Dropbox is supported.