The virtual data room (or VDR) is an efficient and secure way to share information with your clients, but it only works if the documents you’re sharing are easy to understand and use. In this article, we’ll walk through five features that can make your documents easier to find, download and read—and thus more likely to be used by both you and your clients in the long run.
Use a strong OCR system
You can use OCR to convert your documents from images into text files. This allows you to store and access them more easily than if they were in image form. It also makes it much easier for other users who do not have access to the original document or file, such as those who are reviewing a contract.
Make it easy for you and your client to search for everything you need in seconds
It’s no secret that one of the most important aspects of any professional virtual data room is its ability to make it as easy as possible for you and your clients to find what they need, quickly and efficiently. You should be able to see all of your documents in one place, with each item conveniently tagged so that you can get a quick overview of everything. This can help streamline the process when looking for specific information or files within the VDR.
Make your documents download-able in high-quality and multiple formats
There are several ways to turn your document into a file that is usable by different users. It’s important to remember that not everyone has the same device or software, so you need to make sure that your documents are in the right format for them. For example, if you’re creating a PowerPoint presentation and want to allow people who don’t have Microsoft Office installed on their computer to view it without having to download an entire application just because they want the file, you can upload your presentation as a PDF instead of just leaving it as a .ppt file on Google Drive or Dropbox.
Your documents should be available in multiple formats so users can choose which one works best for them: Word docs converted into PDFs, Excel spreadsheets converted into Plaintext, PowerPoints made compatible with all computers; etc. This way no matter how someone views or edits your document—whether through an email attachment or web browser—they will still have access to and understand what they are reading.
Create digital documents that are easy to find, access, and download
The most important step to creating documents that are easy to find, access, and download is to create a searchable database. This means making sure that your documents are properly tagged with relevant tags and categories so that they can be easily located by anyone who is looking for them. This can easily be done with the advanced tagging features of a VDR.
The second step toward creating digital documents that are easy to find, access, and download is providing multiple file-formats including PDFs, Word docs & Excel spreadsheets wherever possible. This allows users who have different needs (particularly those who may not have the latest version of Adobe Reader) the ability to open up their files without any issues whatsoever.
Conclusion
All in all, implementing a virtual data room is a great idea for any business. It will help you streamline the document management process and improve communication between various departments, as well as make it easier to share information with clients and partners. With these five features in place, you can make sure your documents are always accessible and up-to-date.