Good luck!!!

~ab

Google (as always) feels our pain. Google Docs provides an alternative to the madness of the above scenario. This is software that you don’t have to install (if you were really paying attention it’s a thin client) and if you have a Gmail account, you’re already signed up and ready to go. Your documents are available online; everywhere you have an internet connection. There are three services available in the Docs family and each has good features worth knowing about.

Documents
The word-like feature of Google Docs is surprisingly strong. Most users of Microsoft Word will find the controls to be very simple and straightforward. You can import documents you’ve already created, start new ones, and save in a variety of formats (including DOC and PDF) for work off-line. The important point here (and in the other applications) is that Google hasn’t tried to make a gorgeous competitor for Word’s off-line features. Those who use extremely complicated templates in Word may not like the result of an import into Docs (although I recommend trying – I’ve been surprised before). The real magic of the Google solution is in the share tab.
When you share a document via Google Docs, you are avoiding the rabbit-like multiplication described above – your document is sent as a link to your collaborator. This person works on the same document. No one has to worry about finding the newest copy, as the link perpetually points to the unique instance of your work. This is a bit like you and your friends typing on the same computer, except you avoid the complication of trying to coordinate all those fingers… The changes are all saved to one place. Moreover, your collaborator’s edits are tracked and can be reversed, as necessary. Want to allow viewing but no changes or comments? Just change the way the document is shared and your critics are silenced. In the past, I’ve written the first paragraph of a document, while colleagues built the supporting arguments at the same time!

Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets come with (nearly) all of the functionality of excel. The layout is easy to use and if you’re a formula wiz, you’ll be happy to see that your carefully coded worksheets will still calculate and recalculate with each change. Spreadsheets can be saved as excel XLS or a variety of other formats. There are even widgets that display information is rather novel ways, like a map that displays any recognizable location or a thermometer for fundraising for your favorite blog (cough). This application captures all of the essentials from excel, but again we find the magical share tab, just like in the text editor. From here you can send out links and invite collaborators, setting the level of control allowed to your invitees.

It’s worth noting that when collaborating on the same document, at the same time, each user is assigned a color which is then highlights the cell that you are viewing/editing. Other users can see where you are on the sheet and this prevents two people changing the same cell at once. Each time you make a change, everyone viewing the page sees the newest version. I’ve used this feature in the past for tracking the progress of a task list. While I updated the status of my tasks, others updated their own and our boss could review the overall status of the project (and see if we were logged in and editing as promised in the morning status meeting). No saving, no emailing, and no copies required… Pretty slick eh?

Presentations

The PowerPoint-like editor completes the Google Docs tour de force , although it may be the weakest of the three applications. My theory is that PowerPoint, at least for now, is pretty darn hard to make web-based. All of those images floating around make it simply too complicated to replicate in a browser. That said, the slide show application does function quite well and shouldn’t be discounted. From here you can collaborate on uploaded Microsoft PowerPoint files and create/save new ones. There are a few beautifying themes and graphics can be uploaded from your computer. I wouldn’t come to this product to create a brilliant work of graphic design, but I’ve certainly found the standard functionality worth using for simple presentations.

Not to sound like a broken record, but as always the sharing functionality is what makes the application worth using… Feedback can be provided by anyone invited to edit the document. For large projects, where each person prepares a portion of the presentation, a single document can be created where everyone can create their assigned content. This avoids the never-ending attachments sent to some poor guy who has to copy and paste it all together.

As always, there’s much more that could be said, but that’s Google Docs in a nutshell. I should add that there are alternatives to Google Docs (the most impressive of which is Zoho). However, if your digital life (like mine) is already focused on Google products, you’re most likely to stick with what you know – and it wouldn’t be a bad decision. Google Docs has a ton of great functionality that deserves further exploration.

~ab