Google Docs , Google Sheets , and Google Slides are their respective word processors, spreadsheets and presentation programs, all part of the free web software device-based offices offered by Google in its Google Drive services. These three apps are available as web apps, mobile apps for Android, iOS, Windows, BlackBerry, and desktop apps in Google ChromeOS. This application is compatible with Microsoft Office file formats. This package also includes Google Forms (survey software), Google Images (software diagram), Google Sites (web creation software), Google My Maps (map view editor), Google Apps Script (editor code for the G-Script Encoding Language) and Google Fusion Tables (experimental database manager).
This suite allows users to create and edit files online while collaborating with other users in real-time. Edits are tracked by users with revision history showing changes. The position of the editor is highlighted with a special color and cursor editor. The permissions system governs what the user can do. Updates have introduced features using machine learning, including "Browse", offering search results based on document content, answers based on natural language queries in spreadsheets, and dynamic design suggestions based on slideshow content, and "Action items", allowing users to assign tasks to other users.
Although Google Docs has been criticized for not having a Microsoft Office function, Google has received praise for its simplicity, ease of collaboration and frequent product updates.
Video Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
History
Google Docs comes from two separate products, Writely and XL2Web.
Writely is a web-based word processor created by the software company Upstartle and launched in August 2005. It began as an experiment by programmers Sam Schillace, Steve Newman and Claudia Carpenter, tried out new Ajax technology and "editable content" in the browser. On March 9, 2006, Google announced that it had acquired Upstartle.
XL2Web is a web-based spreadsheet application developed by 2Web Technologies, which was acquired by Google in 2005 and transformed into Google Labs Spreadsheets. Launched as a trial run for a limited number of users, based on a first-come, first-served basis on June 6, 2006. A limited test was later replaced with a beta version available to all Google Account holders, around the same time as an official announcement press release was issued.
In September 2007, Google released a presentation program for Google Docs, which came from its acquisition of Tonic Systems on April 17, 2007.
In July 2009, Google dropped beta testing status from Google Docs.
In January 2010, Google Docs began allowing users to upload any file type up to 250 MB, with 1 GB of free space and paid storage available for $ 0.25 per GB per year. This cloud storage feature is ultimately reworked when Google Drive was introduced in 2012. Google Drive now serves as Google's cloud storage service, while Docs, Sheets and Slides serve as office devices within Google Drive.
In March 2010, Google acquired DocVerse, an online document collaboration company. DocVerse allows many users online collaboration on Microsoft Office compatible document formats such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Improvements based on DocVerse were announced and disseminated in April 2010.
In June 2012, Google acquired Quickoffice, a "leader in office productivity solutions", with particular emphasis on "seamless interoperability of Quickoffice with popular file formats".
In October 2012, Google Docs, Spreadsheets and Presentations are each named Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. At the same time, the Chrome app is released, which provides a shortcut to the service on Chrome's new tab page. Google announced in August 2016 that support for Chrome apps will end up on Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, and Linux computers between 2017 and 2018.
Maps Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
Platform
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are available as supported web apps in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari web browsers.
Users can access all documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, among other files, collectively through the Google Drive website. In June 2014, Google began launching a dedicated site homepage for Docs, Sheets, and Slides that only contain files created with each service.
In 2014, Google launches custom mobile apps for Docs, Sheets and Slides for Android and iOS mobile operating systems.
By 2015, mobile websites for Docs, Sheets, and Slides are updated with a "simpler, more uniform" interface for each, and while users can read files via mobile websites, users who try editing will be redirected to a custom mobile app , thus preventing editing on mobile web.
Features
Editing
Collaboration and revision history
This suite serves as a collaborative tool for simultaneously editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Documents can be shared, opened and edited by multiple users simultaneously, and users can see character changes as characters go through when other collaborators make edits. Changes are automatically saved to Google servers, and revision history is automatically saved so that last edits can be viewed and reverted to. The current editor position is represented with a custom cursor/editor color, so if other editors happen to see that part of the document, they can see the edit as it happens. Sidebar sidebar function allows collaborators to discuss edits. Revision history allows users to view additional made to documents, with each author differentiated by color. Only adjacent revisions are comparable, and the user can not control how often the revisions are stored. Files can be exported to a user's local computer in various formats (ODF, HTML, PDF, RTF, Text, Office Open XML). Files can be tagged and archived for organizational purposes.
Explore
Launched in September 2016, "Explore" enables additional functionality through machine learning.
- In Google Docs, Explore shows relevant Google search results based on information in documents, simplifying information gathering. Users can also mark the text of a particular document, press Explore and view search results by text marked only.
- In Google Sheets, Explore lets users ask questions, such as "How many units are sold on Black Friday?", and Explore will return the answers, without requiring user formula knowledge.
- In Google Slides, Explore dynamically generates design suggestions based on the content of each slide.
The "Browse" feature in Docs follows the launch of a more basic research tool initially introduced in 2012.
In December 2016, Google introduced the quick quote feature to Google Docs. The quick quotes tool allows users to "enter citations as footnotes by clicking the" button on the web through the Explore feature introduced in September. The citation feature also marks the launch of the Explore function in the G Suite for Education account.
In June 2017, Google expanded the Explore feature in Google Spreadsheets to automatically create charts and visualize data, and re-expanded it in December to showcase machine learning capable of automatically generating pivot tables.
Suggested editing
In June 2014, Google introduced "Suggested edits" in Google Docs; as part of "comment access" permissions, participants may submit suggestions for edits that can be accepted or rejected by the author, in contrast to full editing capabilities.
Action items
In October 2016, Google announced "Action items" to Docs, Sheets and Slides. If a user writes phrases like "Ryan to follow up the main script", each service will intelligently assign that action to "Ryan". Google says this will make it easier for other collaborators to see who is responsible for what task. When a user visits Google Drive, Docs, Sheets or Slides, any files with assigned tasks will be highlighted with a badge.
Add-on
In March 2014, Google introduced the add-on; new tools from third-party developers that add more features to Google Docs and Google Spreadsheets.
Offline
To view and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations offline on a computer, users must use the Google Chrome web browser. The Chrome extension, Offline Docs Google , allows users to enable offline support for Docs, Sheets and Slides files on the Google Drive website.
Android and iOS apps natively support offline editing.
File
Supported file formats
Files in the following format can be viewed and converted to Docs, Spreadsheets or Slides formats:
- For documents:.doc (if newer than Microsoft Office 95),.docx,.docm.dot,.dotx,.dotm,.html, plain text (.txt),.rtf,.odt
- For spreadsheets:.xls (if newer than Microsoft Office 95),.xlsx,.xlsm,.xlt,.xltx,.xltm.ods,.csv,.tsv,.txt,.tab
- For presentations:.ppt (if newer than Microsoft Office 95),.pptx,.pptm,.pps,.ppsx,.ppsm,.pot,.potx,.potm
- For images:.wmf
- For optical character recognition:.jpg,.gif,.png,.pdf
File limitations
There are limits, specific to file types, listed below:
- Documents (Google Docs)
- Up to 1.02 million characters, regardless of the number of pages or font size. Document files converted to.gdoc Docs format can not be larger than 50 MB. The inserted image must not be larger than 50 MB, and must be in.jpg,.png, or non-animated.gif format.
- Spreadsheets (Google Sheets)
- Up to 2 million cells.
- Presentation (Google Slides)
- Presentation files converted to slide format.gslides can not be larger than 100 MB. The inserted image must not be larger than 50 MB, and must be in.jpg,.png, or non-animated.gif format.
G Suite
The free Google Docs, Sheets and Slides suite are used for individuals, but also available as part of Google's business-centric G Suite service, which is a monthly subscription that enables additional business focus functionality.
Other functionality
A simple search and replace tool is available.
Google Docs includes a web clipboard tool that allows users to copy and paste content between Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drawings. Web clipboards can also be used to copy and paste content between different computers. Copied items are stored on Google servers up to 30 days. For most copy and paste, Google Docs also supports keyboard shortcuts.
Google offers extensions for Google Chrome web browsers called Office edits for Docs, Sheets and Slides that allow users to view and edit Microsoft Office documents in Google Chrome, via Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps. This extension can be used to open Office files stored on your computer using Chrome, as well as to open Office files encountered on the web (in the form of email attachments, web search results, etc.) without having to download them. Extensions installed in Chrome OS by default.
Stopped function
Google Cloud Connect is an add-on for Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and 2010 that can automatically save and sync any Word document, PowerPoint presentations or Excel spreadsheets to Google Docs (prior to Drive introduction) in Google Docs or Microsoft Office formats. The online copy is automatically updated each time a Microsoft Office document is saved. Microsoft Office documents can be edited offline and synced later when online. Google Cloud Connect maintains versions of previous Microsoft Office documents and allows multiple users to collaborate by working on the same document at the same time.
However, Google Cloud Connect has been discontinued on April 30, 2013, because Google Drive achieves all the above tasks, with better results.
Google Forms and Google Images
Google Forms
Google Forms is a tool that allows gathering information from users through personalized surveys or quizzes. The information is then collected and automatically connected to the spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are filled with surveys and quiz responses.
The Forms Service has also received updates over the years. New features include, but are not limited to, menu searches, randomize queries for random orders, restrict responses to one-time per person, shorter URLs, custom themes, automatically generate answer suggestions when creating forms, and the "Upload file" option for users answer to share content through.
In October 2014, Google introduced an add-on for Google Forms, which allowed third-party developers to create new tools for more features in the survey.
In July 2017, Google updated the Form to add some new features. "Smart Response Validation" is capable of detecting text input in a form field to identify what is written and asking users to correct information if incorrect input. Depending on the file sharing settings in Google Drive, users can request file uploads from individuals outside their respective companies, with storage limits originally set at 1 GB, which can be changed to 1 TB. The new checkbox enables multi-option answers in a table. In Settings, users can make changes that affect all new forms, such as always collecting email addresses.
Google Drawings
Google Drawings allows users to collaborate on creating, sharing and editing images or images. Google Images can be used to create charts, diagrams, designs, flowcharts, etc. It contains some features in Google Slides but with various templates. Its features include placing images appropriately with alignment guides, snap to grid, auto distribution, and inserting images into other Google documents, spreadsheets or presentations.
Reception
In a December 2016 review of the software, Edward Mendelsohn of PC Magazine wrote that the suite was "visually elegant" with "easy collaboration" but that the Docs, Spreadsheets and Slides were "less powerful than desktops - based suites ". Comparing Google's office suite with Microsoft and Apple, it states that "Documents exist only in your Web browser", meaning that users have a "more limited set of features" than "broad and high-power settings of a desktop app ". He writes that offline support requires a plug-in, describing it as "less convenient than desktop apps, and you should remember to install it before you need it". Mendelsohn praised the user interface, describing it as "elegant, very useful" with "fast performance", and that revision history "reminds you of recent changes, and keeps excellent revision notes". Regarding the Explore function, it credits it as "the best new feature" in the suite and it goes beyond comparable features in Microsoft Office. He described the import quality of Office files as "impressive loyalty". In summary, he praised the suite for having "the best balance of speed and strength, and the best collaboration features, too," noting that "lacks some features offered by Microsoft Office 365, but it's also faster to load and store in our tests ". In 2011, Paul Sawers of The Next Web described Google Docs as "a powerful set of free tools that are increasing monthly". In a 2016 review of Google G Suite's business subscription service, Eric Grevstad of PC Magazine stated that Google Docs followed the "80/20" rule: "that is, 80 percent of users will not need more than 20 percent of features".
Problem
file sharing incident 2009
In early March 2009, privacy errors caused documents to be shared without user consent. Google released a statement, stating that "sharing is limited to people with whom you, or collaborators with sharing rights, have previously shared documents". This issue was fixed by Google, and followed by a statement that "less than 0.05% of documents" has been affected by this issue. In addition, Google says it has "extensive protection in place to protect all documents, and believes this is an isolated incident".
However, in the same month, security consultant Ade Barkah wrote on his blog about security issues with the software. Issues include that images embedded in private documents can be viewed publicly on the Internet (even after document deletion); when a user gets access to a document that includes a diagram (a new feature at the time), the new user can see the previous version of the diagram (including any deleted sensitive information before sharing); and in some scenarios, users with deleted access rights from documents can still access documents without the owner's knowledge. Google released a statement that it takes "the security of our user information very seriously", but "based on the information we receive, we do not believe there is a significant security problem with Google Docs". The statement concludes with, "We will share more information as soon as it is available."
2017 phishing incident
In May 2017, phishing attacks mimicked the spread of Google Docs email on the Internet. The attack sent an email pretending to be someone who was known to be the target, asking to share documents with them. Once the link in the email is pressed, the user is directed to the actual Google account permission page where phishing software, a third party application named "Google Docs", requests access to the user's Google account. Once provided, the software receives access to users' Gmail messages and address books, and sends new fake document invitations to their contacts. The phishing attacks were described by the media as "massive" and "widespread", and The Next Web ' Napier Lopez writes that it's "very easy to fall in love". One reason the attacks were so effective was that their email messages were forwarded through spam and security software, and used the actual Google address. Within hours, the attacks were stopped and fixed by Google, with a spokesman stating that "We have taken action to protect users against emails that mimic Google Docs, and have disabled offensive accounts. We have removed fake pages, pushed updates via Safe Browsing , and our abuse team is working to prevent this sort of spoofing from happening again ". On the same day, Google updated Gmail on Android for feature protection against phishing attacks. Media outlets noticed that, while additional protection was announced on the same day as the attack, it "may not prevent this week's attacks, but, because the attack involves a malicious and fake" Docs "app hosted on Google's own domain". In early May 2017, Ars Technica reported that "at least three security researchers" have raised issues about threats, one in October 2011, and that the attacker or assailant behind the actual incident "may have copied the technique from proof of concept posted by a security researcher to GitHub in February ". In addition, the report notes that Google has been repeatedly warned by researchers about potential threats, with security researcher Greg Carson telling Ars Technica that "I do not think Google fully understands how badly this can be misused, but the hacker must do ".
Error "Terms of Service" 2017
In October 2017, Google released server-side updates to its code base, which began mis-marking random documents as an unspecified violation of its "Terms of Service" policy. Improvements were released shortly thereafter, although this issue is important for the extent to which Google controls user content, including its analysis of document content, and its ability to shut down users at all times, including critical times of work.
See also
- Cloud collaboration
- Collaborative software
- Comparison of survey software
- Document collaboration
- Google Fusion Tables
References
Further reading
- Conner, Nancy (2008). Google Apps: Missing Manual . Sebastopol: Pogue Press. ISBN 978-0-596-51579-9.
External links
- Google Docs is part of Google The Keyword blog update
- The Google Drive section of Google Blog update Keywords
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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