Just two suggestions here that come from my particular use of IP.Downloads.

• It would be great to be able to apply tags to different files, as I often find the catagories are too strict. For example if uploading something that could fit in several catagories, you could choose the most important one and then add some tags that are searchable that relate to the other catagories. It would be really beneficial to be able to make it easier to search, and easier for authors uploading their work to think about how easy it is to find their work.
• It would also be help if you could get certain files to open within the browser. So could you open word/pdf files without downloading them first? Not sure if this is just because I use Camino? Alternatively, would it be possible to have the software automatically create an image or a short text extract if you're uploading a .doc or .pdf?

On an aside, would it be possible to include options such as "open this document in google documents"?

1) For tags, it's something we're considering building into IPB. If we do, and we make it (properly) extensible, it could apply for any component really. It would be ideal to use one tagging system for sections of the site, rather than each component using it's own separate tagging system (for uniformity). This is one major reason I haven't added tagging into either Gallery or IDM so far

2) You can already do that. Edit the mime-type in the ACP and set "Show file inline?" for that mime-type to yes.

As for opening in Google documents - I'd need to see how that works exactly.