Zoho has launched an updated version of Zoho Writer, an online word processor that lets you create, edit, share, and collaborate on text based documents. Zoho Writer 2.0 includes a bunch of tweaks, most of which affect the visual appearance of the web app.

Probably the biggest change is the adition of a new MenuTab interface which saves space at the top of the screen by breaking up menus into both drop-down lists and tabs. Here's how it works. You can click the little arrow next to the buttons labeled Format, Insert, Review, Share, Views, or Page Setup for long lists of commans. But if you click on the tabs (not the arrows), the options in the second row of the menubar will change accordingly. For example, if you click Format, you'll see the usual font and alignment options. If you click Share, you'll see options to post to a blog, email a document, or share with other Zoho users.

The MenuTab feature is a clever way to offer a ton of functionality without a ton of icons cluttering up your toolbar area. If you'd prefer to do everything using drop down menus, you never have to click on a tab. Or you could use the tabs exclusively and ignore the drop downs.

Zoho has also updated the sidebar area of Zoho Writer 2.0, making it look more like the Zoho Sheet sidebar. For a more thorough list of changes, check out the product announcement on the official Zoho Blog.