New tool aims to add back pages to Web documents

Lunarr, a Portland, Ore.-based start-up, Wednesday unveiled a beta version of a Web-based service that aims to eliminate the need to attach documents in e-mail for collaboration efforts.

Instead, Lunarr adds a 'back page' to Web pages and digital documents, similar to that of a real piece of paper, where users can store all the history behind the creation of a document such as e-mail communication, revisions and linked documents, the company said.

A user starts on the front of a document and clicks on an icon to 'flip' to the back of the page and access all the related data. The front can display Web pages, Microsoft Office files, any local file program, audio files and video files. Users also can link to any file type on the back of the document.

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Lunarr, a Portland, Ore.-based start-up, Wednesday unveiled a beta version of a Web-based service that aims to eliminate the need to attach documents in e-mail for collaboration efforts.

Instead, Lunarr adds a 'back page' to Web pages and digital documents, similar to that of a real piece of paper, where users can store all the history behind the creation of a document such as e-mail communication, revisions and linked documents, the company said.

A user starts on the front of a document and clicks on an icon to 'flip' to the back of the page and access all the related data. The front can display Web pages, Microsoft Office files, any local file program, audio files and video files. Users also can link to any file type on the back of the document.

Mark Hendrickson, a blogger at TechCrunch noted that Lunarr offers potential advantages to users via its wiki-like editing and an e-mail-like messaging system that associates messages with particular documents. The messaging tool allows users to notify others via e-mail whether they are Lunarr users or not, he added. These messages can be used to discuss or to allow access to documents, Hendrickson noted.

"The messaging system provides more competitive value than the wiki functionality," he wrote in a blog post. "Currently, only documents that are created on Lunarr can be edited via wiki (no luck if you upload a Word document)."

But to gain widespread adoption, Lunarr needs to work with other online office tools providers and provide a superior messaging system than those offered by other vendors, Hendrickson added (Compare Messaging products) .

"The discussion capabilities of Google Docs, for example, is currently quite primitive; you can chat with other people editing a document, but there's no way to send e-mail-like messages to targeted individuals," he added. "Lunarr also has its simplicity and ease of use going for it. We'll have to see whether it can build up its functionality without losing these core qualities."

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