The new Dropbox software extensions let you easily edit files on the web.

Dropbox has a new feature that, he hopes, will make it even easier to work from his cloud storage product. Called Extensions, these third-party software plug-ins will allow you to perform the basic tasks that you normally need to launch a separate application or browser-based window for all in Dropbox on the Web.

The first suite of Dropbox extensions, with partners such as Adobe, DocuSign and Vimeo, will allow you to obtain the required digital signatures on a PDF file and make some slight photo changes. and video annotations, all without leaving Dropbox and in a workflow that immediately saves new files to the cloud. Extensions are launched for all users, including non-professional Dropbox users, on November 27th.

The goal here is to reduce the number of applications that a user must open and use to perform a basic task, such as getting a signature on a PDF file that would normally require the use of whatever something like DocuSign. Increasingly, the value Dropbox is trying to offer its business customers is not just in cloud storage, but in the kind of productivity gains you can achieve with traditional enterprise products. The Extensions feature can be found using an "Open With" drop-down menu, as you'll find on Mac OS or Windows.

Image: Dropbox

Previously, Dropbox had been trying to make its own custom software pillars of productivity, such as the now closed email application, the Carousel Mailbox and Photo application, or the writing tool and from Paper Typing edition, currently active.

Instead of developing more of these products themselves, Dropbox partners with other companies – as is the case with large companies such as Google and Microsoft – to integrate applications that business users rely on every day. in the Dropbox ecosystem. Effectively, Dropbox wants to become a link for all kinds of applications and services that revolve around file management. And features such as extensions help the company enormously to achieve this.