GOOGLE DOCS  - Nov 2012

Google Docs is Google's on-line competitor to Microsoft Office featuring a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation suite, and a database/form. In April, 2012 Google Drive was introduced to be your online storage for every document including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and more.

Because all the documents are hosted online, you can access your work from any computer anywhere else in the world -- but it also means that without the Internet you cannot access your work. Being online also makes it possible to collaborate with other Google users to edit and change the same document via the Web. You never have to save your work, because Google Docs quietly saves your document whenever you make a change. Each program also has the ability to export its files to the appropriate Microsoft format. When appropriate, files can also be exported to PDF, text, OpenOffice extensions, or other file formats.

To access Google Docs, you must have or sign up for a free Google account. Then, simply click on the button “Drive” on the top line of the Google home page. Click on “Create” to start a new document and Google will ask if it is a document, presentation, or spreadsheet. Or upload existing documents in current Microsoft Office formats and let Google Docs convert it to its own internal format.

DOCUMENTS

After opening up a new document, a word processing editor comes into view that features useful editing tools. The single menu bar allows changes using a relatively small list of fonts, styles, and text sizes. The formatting options are reduced compared to Microsoft Office, but the necessary options are there. What is included is more than enough to create resumes, letters, thesis documents, or anything else needed. Other must-have features like bullet lists, highlighting, superscripts, and subscripts are easily available in the tool bar or the menu bar at the top of the screen.

Images can also be added into documents, but it is not as easy as copying and pasting into the document since users need to manually upload the images. Images can be aligned to the left, right, and center, but advanced layouts are limited. Charts are not available in this program.

Google Docs does have a spell check feature that is enabled by default. Words with spelling suggestions are automatically underlined in red. Right-click the underlined word to see the suggested correction and replace the misspelled word. There is no ability to check the grammar in the document. But Google Docs does let users browse through the history of the document, view changes between revisions as the document is edited over time, and shows which users have made what edits and when. That is really useful for when you want to retrieve that paragraph you deleted a week ago -- it is as simple as browsing through the history of the document.

SPREADSHEET

Instead of using a manual approach to keeping your books, etc., a spreadsheet program is a computer program that is like a paper worksheet or an old time ledger. It consists of rows and columns that make up a grid. You can enter a formula in any of the cells in the grid that will automatically total a list of numbers.

Spreadsheet basically does everything that Microsoft’s Excel can. It has a very limited set of supported fonts and sizes but it has the necessary basics. Formatting particular cells for financial spreadsheets or other needs is user friendly. Google's solution also supports sorting through columns, and other features such as advanced formulas and look-up functions are found as well.

GOOGLE PRESENTATION

Having high-quality visuals is a key to success in public speaking. Presentation software is an excellent tool to help you stay organized and on subject in front of a crowd. And using effective presentation and slideshow software will help your audience connect to the subject, whether it’s professional or personal.

Google Presentations hopes to rival Microsoft’s PowerPoint as the presentation tool of choice. A new version was released last year with faster collaboration and great new features. Features include:

• Transitions – animation-like effects that occur when moving from one slide to the next, from simple fades to 3-D effects.
• Drawing tools to build designs, layouts, and flowcharts within a presentation.

The more than 50 new features also include enhanced animations and improved tables functionality.

CONCLUSION

Some of Google Doc’s tools may not be as refined as Microsoft Office's solutions, but most of them can hold their own against their larger competitor. While Google Docs does suffer the same vulnerabilities as cloud computing (if Internet access is not available, work cannot be accessed), this suite certainly offers a host of collaboration and productivity tools that are definitely worth a try for home and office users alike.

Google Docs has a free storage limit of 5GB. If you reach the free storage limit, everything will still be accessible, but you won't be able to create or add anything new over the free storage limit. If you run out of free storage space, Google offers a way to purchase additional storage space shared across Google Drive and Picasa Web Albums. With the purchase of any Google storage plan, your Gmail storage limit will also increase to 25 GB of total storage.

If you are on a budget and are looking for a word processing software application that can handle an average work-load then Google Docs is an option that you should look into.

Pros 
Google Docs offers great functionality at no cost. Can access from any computer with Internet access. Multiple users can collaborate and work on the same document.
Cons
This application does not offer an abundance of in depth features and the Internet is needed for access.

The Verdict

If you are looking for a free program to meet your word processing/spreadsheet/presentation needs and always have the Internet available, Google Docs is an excellent choice.