I've been investigating possibilities on editing remote files from a website without having a need to download and upload the files manually while editing. So far I've ruled out WebDAV as a possibility since it is cumbersome to use on any platform (it either requires manual setup or works unreliably).

Currently I'm looking in to various Applets, but they mostly target either uploading or downloading, not file editing. What I'm currently looking for is an applet that downloads the document, launches the application that is meant to open the file and then monitors the file for changes and uploads the changed file (either automatically or by prompting the user first).

I know that I'm not alone with this scenario, so i'm looking for solutions that others have thought of.