Exporting from Wave to Google Documents Using the Ferry Robot

Have you ever wished that there was an easy way to export material from Google Wave to Google Documents? A new Wave robot called "Ferry" makes this possible. The robot is available via an extension installer in the wave Discuss: Ferry. Once the extension has been installed, you can open any wave, go into the edit mode, and click on the icon that says "Export this wave using Ferry." At this point the robot should be added to the wave and a blip should appear at the end of the wave. In this blip you will be asked whether you want to export the root blip or the entire wave. You will also be asked whether you want to keep Google Docs updated via automatic sync or manual sync. After making your selections, you will be given a link that will enable you to grant Ferry access to Google Docs. After granting access, a message will appear informing you that the wave (or root blip) has been exported successfully. You will also be given a link to the new Google document that Ferry has created. Images will not be exported. An explanatory video is available here.

The creator of the Ferry robot lists the following features:

- Ferry makes secure requests to your Google Docs account without having access to your Google account or password.
- Ferry exports font styles and sizes, text alignment, headers, bullets, images and links.
- You can choose whether or not to export the entire wave (all the blips) or just the root blip (the first message).
- Several participants can use Ferry in the same wave.
- Ferry will continue to sync the Google Docs document automatically or manually if you choose so.
- Ferry is easy to install and easy to use.

The Ferry robot has been entered in Mashable's Google Wave API Challenge. I, for one, am impressed with it.