Google has rebuilt Google Docs from the ground-up. The result is a massive overhaul of Google Docs, including completely redesigned spreadsheet, document, and drawing editors, group chat functionality, and the ability to collaborate with real-time character-by-character mark-up, much like Google Wave. You can preview the new changes now!
Collaboration is the one word that would describe the update. Google believes that “collaboration is broken”: People make revisions to the same document, but one bad save by a late person can ruin the whole document. Thus Google’s belief is that creating a browser version of collaboration software that bridges the gap between the desktop and the web is key to better collaboration and quicker innovation.
The rebuilt Google Docs focuses on addressing those issues, starting with the document editor. One of the biggest changes is that collaborators can now see what others are typing character-by-character. In addition, up to 50 people can now collaborate on one document. The company has also added a chat feature that allows collaborators to discuss a document in a popup that appears on the right-hand side.
You might notice that Google Docs feels more like a word processor like Microsoft Word. This is no accident: Google deliberately added features such as rulers, tab stops, spell-check as you type and floating images.
Spreadsheets have also gotten a hefty upgrade: new features include auto-complete, the ability to drag-and-drop columns and faster load times, which was always an issue with previous releases.
Google’s very proud of the newest version of Google Docs; it compares it very favourably against Microsoft Office.
Interested in trialling it? Contact us to find out how we can help you.