Tag: Google Docs

Google is in the process of rolling out updates to their Android apps for Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides.  The updates, mainly aimed at G Suite customers, brings a lot of improvements to each app individually but collectively brings them all in-app notifications.  Today, the way it works, is if you are collaborating with someone on a document, you get a notification that they have updated it – in Google Drive.  With the update to the apps, now you get the notifications within each app.  It is a bit of a no-brainer really.  Each app’s notifications are separate from the others so you will only see notifications for Google Sheets in Google Sheets.

Read on as there are other improvements beyond notifications.

An update is currently rolling out to the Google Play Store for Google Docs and Google Sheets that further both apps features around collaboration.  Both apps now allow you to create and assign action items to collaborators on a document or file.  For example, if you want to have a team member work on a specific paragraph or the financial figures in a particular part of the document or sheet, you can assign it to them and get notified when that task is completed.  It is a great way for teams to work together on a file and to make sure specific edits are completed.

Google and Box have announced a new partnership that essentially allows the cloud-based storage company to be a repository for Google Docs for Box customers.  This is a big deal for businesses who leverage Box as they can keep all of the documents within Box yet still leverage the power of Google Docs within their SMB or Enterprise.

The integration between Box and Google Docs will enable Box to act as a third-party repository for Docs, Sheets and Slides, allowing users to create and collaboratively edit Google Docs directly from Box.

The integration doesn’t stop there as there are also plans to integrate Box with Google Springboard.

If you are a user of Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, there is a small but nice new update that is rolling out to the web version of these apps.  Google announced yesterday that they are adding the ability for users to see file information on a document that they have open in one of the apps.  This is very similar to a feature that is already in the online version of the apps which is to see file or folder in Google Drive.  It has just been added to the Docs apps for convenience.

Getting to this new file information is pretty straight forward.  Open up a Docs, Sheets or Slides file and from the File menu select Document Details.  This will pop up an overlay that shows you the location within your Google Drive that the file is stored, the owner of that file and the last time it was modified.

The Google Apps team have announced some new editing features for both Google Docs and Google Sheets.  These new features are coming to the apps on both Android and iOS and should be rolling out to devices over the course of the next few days via an OTA update.  Both features are aimed at bringing more desktop-like editing features to the mobile device so you don’t necessarily have to be at a Chromebook, PC or Mac.

For Google Docs, you can now edit documents while you are in Print Layout view within the app.  To edit the doc, just tap on the edit pencil icon and you can make your edits without having to leave Print Layout view.

A new update to Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides is hitting the Google Play Store that brings a more effortless way to get to your files while you are offline.  In the update, recent files you have been working on are automatically downloaded to your device so you will have them when you are offline.  Right now, if you want to work on a file while you are offline, you have to flag that file to download to your device.  If you forget, you are out of luck until you get back online.  This new feature removes this manual step.