Alfresco Desktop Client

Alfresco is an open source Document Management System. On the server-side it is running on top of Tomcat. The problem is on the client end. There is indeed a choice between a web interface (HTML + Javascript) and a webdav interface (Webfolder on Windows). To put it another way it forces the user to sacrifice either ease-of-use or stability! Great choice... The idea is to develop a user-friendly client interface, cross-platform, allowing drag and drop and other basic browser capabilities. It would be a replacement for the desktop webdav implementations that are all too buggy out there. The following website provides an example of how the interface would look like: [login to view URL] The solution above relies on Java Web Start which is definitely a great choice. ## Deliverables The tool developed by Wuala can be considered as a great prototype. Basically the client application needs to emulate a standard file browser (like Windows Explorer, Finder on Mac, Nautilus on Gnome, ...). It would display the Alfresco repository content, using yellow icon to represent spaces and file type specific icon for standard files. It needs to support drag-and-drop (desktop interaction). Double-clicking a file would trigger opening the right desktop application depending on the file type (pdf: Acrobat Reader, doc: Word, etc.) When transferring files with a significant size there would be a nice progress bar next to the file icon showing the progress of the transfer. Right-clicking a file would allow to display its properties. Any other idea is welcome. Adding other Alfresco-specific features (like versioning, adding custom tags) would be part of a second project. * * *This broadcast message was sent to all bidders on Tuesday Feb 10, 2009 7:58:25 AM: Please find below some precisions/confirmations about the project: - The client needs to be written in Java/Swing and deployable through Java Web Start - Delivery time frame is flexible, say within 1 month - Esthetic (also ease-of-use, reactivity) is important