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Google adds Smart Compose autocomplete to its Docs mobile app
You'll need to be a G Suite subscriber to use Smart Compose in Docs, though.
Google caters to productivity pros with macro recording in Sheets
If your work revolves around spreadsheets, there's a good chance you depend on macros -- those automated actions can save you hours upon hours of repetitive effort. They've been a pain in Google Sheets, however, as you've had to rely on complicated scripts. It should be much easier in the next few weeks. Google is adding macro recording to Sheets, making automation just a matter of walking through the necessary steps yourself. You still have to dive into scripts when you want to edit macros, but this should help you spend more time working on budget reports and less time getting ready to work.
Google's productivity suite now shows who viewed your files
If you've ever worked on shared documents, you know the potential for confusion: a coworker may harangue you over an old file without realizing that you made changes hours ago. That shouldn't be a problem with Google's G Suite in the future. Google is introducing an Activity dashboard for Docs, Sheets and Slides that lets anyone with edit access see who has seen a file and when. You'll know if your manager actually read that updated spreadsheet before giving you grief.
Google Docs, Slides and Sheets now feature drag-and-drop on iPad
It was nice to see Google integrate its Drive apps into iOS 11's document-consolidating Files, but it seems they're not done refining. This morning, the search giant updated several of its productivity suite apps for iOS to add two features: Compatibility with iPhone X and drag-and-drop functionality on iPad.
Google Docs version tracking makes collaboration easier
Since adopting the G Suite moniker in September, Google has been steadily beefing up Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Whereas, in the past its updates have targeted select sets of users (like one-tap citations for researchers) its latest crop of tools are all-encompassing. And, they're all about tracking changes on collaborative docs -- even from mobile devices.
Google Sheets uses machine learning to build you better charts
Google spent plenty of time at its I/O developer conference earlier this month talking about how we're entering the age of AI. Today, the company's humble spreadsheet app Sheets is getting an upgrade thanks to Google's machine learning smarts. Sheets has long had an "explore" tool that analyzes your spreadsheets and builds charts automatically, but as of today you'll be able to ask for charts using natural language.
Google makes Docs, Drive and Calendar more productive
If you spend your work days toiling in Google's productivity apps, the first thing you might notice today is that Google for Work is now called "G Suite". Once you get past the new label, you might also notice a slew of smart updates across the board that ought to save you time and keep your workflow moving.
Google Apps for Work has a new name: G Suite
As predicted, Google Apps for Work has a new name. Calendar, Drive, Docs, Gmail, Maps for Work, Search for Work, Sheets and Slides all fall under "G Suite" now. A few of those items might jump out at you as being Google Apps for Work. It all falls under Google Cloud (the backend powering everything), as TechCrunch writes, and will encompass Chromebooks too. Nope, definitely not unnecessarily complicated at all. The whole reason for the change? Proving that the search juggernaut is all about its enterprise customers. "We are the full power of Google in the Cloud," the company's Diane Greene said. "We are Google Cloud." That's one way of showing off your confidence, I guess. The company promises G Suite will continue to grow, with built-in collaboration being the name of the game.
Google Docs finally adds multitasking tools for iPads
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides' most recent iOS updates make them play a whole lot nicer with multitasking on iPads. The patch feels a little overdue at this point, but hey, we'll take support for iOS 9's tablet features like Split View and Slide Over whenever we can get 'em. Supported models include the iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4 and both sizes of iPad Pro, and if the update hasn't hit your device yet, that's what the source links below are for.
Google Docs lets you limit access with an expiration date
In business, many people collaborate with clients, contractors and other small companies for a short length of time. You might want to give them access to some of your documents -- a list of your team's contact details, for instance -- and then revoke access once the job has been wrapped up. Well, Google is now starting to offer that feature to Google Apps customers that use Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides. So when you share a file with someone, you'll also get the option to set an expiry date. Handy.
New Google Docs, Sheets and Slides features make schoolwork less miserable
Google is holding a "back-to-school" event today at its San Francisco office to introduce a set of new Google Docs tools specifically built with the classroom in mind -- though all Docs users will benefit from these changes. Some will only be appearing on Android, some will be in the desktop, and some will be hitting both, but regardless it should make life easier for Docs users. Google introduced six new features, including built-in Search for Docs on Android, voice typing, automatic chart creation for Sheets and more.
Google releasing standalone mobile apps for editing docs, spreadsheets and presentations
Google's long had a Drive app for both Android and iOS, but who knows, maybe you just can't handle that many features in one program. If for some reason you're the kind of person who only wants to edit documents and never see another spreadsheet again (not that we blame you), Google just released standalone Drive apps for Android and iOS, each with offline support built in. These include Docs and Sheets to start; a Slides app for presentations is coming too, but hasn't been released yet. If all you want is a text editor or spreadsheet repository, though, you'll find the appropriate download links below.
Google Drive Sheets gets offline document creation and editing, speedier calculations, smoother scrolling
Google Sheets isn't quite as capable as its counterpart from Microsoft, but Mountain View's preferred spreadsheet platform just got a bit more powerful with an update today. Should you choose to opt-in to the new Sheets, you'll be able to take advantage of several new features and the new version's faster performance. Among the highlight feature additions are the ability to create and edit spreadsheets offline (assuming you've set up offline GDrive access), and a Filter Views feature that lets users customize their view of a collaborative workbook without changing the way that same spreadsheet is seen by other users. Plus, there's now inline access to improved help articles and other tweaks like the ability to assign different colors to sheet tabs. We got to spend a bit of time using the new Sheets before today, and we can say, unequivocally, that the performance improvements are as advertised. Where the old Sheets would get bogged down scrolling through massive data sets, the new version does it as smoothly and easily as when using Microsoft Excel. Furthermore, the addition of sheet tab colors turned out to be more useful than we first thought -- the differing hues made it much easier to find specific sheets within larger workbooks. Don't believe us? Opt in, friend, and see for yourself.
Google Drive for Windows gets desktop shortcuts for speedier editing
Google Drive is as much about productivity as cloud storage, but it's hard to discover this through a cursory glance at Drive's desktop apps. That connection should soon become clearer, at least for some users -- a new version of Google Drive for Windows will create shortcuts to Docs, Sheets and Slides after installation. The editing-friendly aliases should reach Google Drive over the course of the next week. There's no word of a Mac equivalent, but we've reached out to Google and will let you know if a matching update is on the way.
Google Drive apps reach the Chrome Web Store and Chrome OS for quicker web work
It's a long overdue match, really -- if the Google Drive productivity suite is considered the centerpiece of Google's web app catalog, and the Chrome Web Store is the catalog, why weren't the two combined? Google has seen the light by turning Docs (text), Sheets (spreadsheets) and Slides (presentations) into neatly packaged web apps that can be installed through the Chrome browser. New Chromebook owners won't even have to go that far, as the trio will surface automatically in the Chrome OS app list over the next few weeks. The web app bundles might be simple, but they could be tremendous helps for anyone who wants to punch out a few quick edits while on the road.
