Around Google Docs in 10 minute

You can do anything for 600 seconds, right? I mean it's only a couple of 5 minutes. How hard can it be? Each minute we will embrace a new platform of Google Docs--immersing us in it and throwing away the tools and software we are familiar with.

I readily admit that I am essentially telling you to abandon MS Office a platform you have used for more than a decade, and try to replace it with something similar cold turkey. But trust me; I share a fairly wonderful experience each day with Google Docs. Suffice it to say, you will not be in love with MS Office anytime soon. 

Google Docs is a very capable platform in many ways, and in the end I found unique features and benefits in Google Docs, that simply don't exist in Microsoft Office. Watch this video

Cool. Now, when I am out and about with no Wi-Fi, or if I happen to be at 35,000 feet in an airplane, I will still have access to my emails.

A new approach from Google monitors certain criteria and considers a range of user behaviors to try to identify activity which should raise red flags.  Obviously we have to keep in mind that these notifications are meant to alert us of suspicious activity. 

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘fidelity' as: a) the quality or state of being faithful, b) accuracy in details: exactness. So, how does Google Docs measure up on the quality or state of being faithful with the formatting and conventions of Microsoft Office, and can it deliver accuracy in details or exactness when working with Microsoft Office file formats?

While these functions might save you some time from manually looking up data like Charlize Theron's birth date, it is better for information that is dynamic and may change frequently--like share price or share volume. To see what other options are available, just type "=Google" in a spreadsheet cell and a box will pop-up that will let you know how you can complete the query. 

I haven't done much with OCR before that’s why I wasn’t apprehensive, but hopeful that the OCR in Google Docs will be an improved experience. To test it out, I uploaded a PDF file from my Documents folder. It was a 4-page PDF document weighing in at 225Kb, but Google Docs managed to upload, and convert it in a matter of seconds. But, the million dollar question is "Did the OCR accurately capture the content of the file?"

The first thing I noticed when checking out my newly uploaded file is that it was now eight pages. Why? Well, Google Docs does something cool that helps you ensure the accuracy of the OCR translation--it included the original PDF / image, followed by the editable transcript of its contents. So, each of the four pages of the original PDF was now two pages--one original image, and one editable content.

With the Google Docs sweet spot--real-time collaboration you can share out a Drawing and enable whole teams of individuals to work on it together online in real-time. Visio is awesome, but it doesn't have the online collaboration piece.

Keeping contact and calendar data synced with my iPhone is crucial. As I travel around, the iPhone is my lifeline to the world, and it needs to have current, accurate, contact and calendar information in order to be of any value.

Thankfully, Google figured out a way to leverage the Exchange Active Sync capabilities of iOS to sync email, contacts, and calendar information from my Google account. Best of all, it syncs wirelessly on the fly so I am not dependent on tethering my iPhone to my PC to make sure I have the most current information.

Google Docs Translations

One of the features touted by Google for Google Docs is the ability to easily translate documents into 53 different languages.

Google Docs saved me today. OK--"saved my life" is a crumb melodramatic and sensational. No, it didn't give me the Heimlich maneuver, or prevent me from seeing that Rebecca Black video, but it did enable me to roll with the punches and remain productive even though I am not using my primary computer today.

Google uses Gears to sync and download Gmail for offline access

The first thing that pops into my mind when I consider using a cloud-based tool or service is "what happens when the cloud is not available?" Most of the attention on the cloud focuses on how you can access things from anywhere and everywhere because it's just ‘out there' on the Web, but fail to mention what happens when you can't connect to the Internet.

Thankfully, Google has a solution for that for Gmail. I just have to click the gear icon in the upper right of the Gmail screen and go to Mail settings, then select Offline from the options across the top. Within these Offline settings, I can select Enable Offline Mail for this computer, and configure the options regarding just how much email should be downloaded, and any limitations I might want to place on the size of file attachments.

Google Protects Gmail Users with Suspicious Activity Alert

Intruder alert! Intruder alert! The new Gmail feature launched by Google won't have any cool audio alert blaring out "intruder alert", but it will alert us when suspicious activity is indicated.

Google Docs 'Fidelity' leaves a bit to be desired

In a nutshell  ...pretty damn good, really. The real answer, though, depends on the composition of your file.

I can tell you that Google Docs has improved by leaps and bounds. I imported a Microsoft Word white paper I had written--complete with images and footnotes, and to my surprise it appeared virtually identical in Google Docs. The only noticeable difference was that the Microsoft Word table of contents (ToC) had been converted to links which corresponded with bookmarks inserted by Google Docs to allow you to jump from the ToC directly to that point in the document.

I was even able to add a footnote, insert an image in the Google Docs file, and include a new comment, and have those changes appear exactly as they should when I saved it back to Word. 

My immediate impression is that working with spreadsheets in Google Docs seems simpler and more intuitive than working with documents--at least for someone like me who was under the shell of Microsoft Office for years.

Google Docs Scripts and Power Tips

 I think we have established that Google Docs is more than adequate for creating simple documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other content. Now, let's take a quick look at some of the features that power-users might appreciate.

For more advanced users, Google offers Google LookUp and Google Finance to automatically search for and add information to cells in your spreadsheet.

It did take me a few attempts to master the syntax. You don't need the quotes at the beginning or end of the queries that I listed, but you do have to include the quotation marks around the entity and attribute conditions so Google knows what to look up.

Another power tool from Google is Google Apps Script--a JavaScript based language. You can create an expense report workflow that automatically converts currencies, catches errors and omissions, and forwards the expense report on to an approving authority.

Google told me J that an update is coming soon which will allow Google Maps to be integrated so that mail merge recipients receive custom driving directions from their location as well. That sounds pretty cool.

These are just a pair of the power tools. At first glance, it looks obvious that Google Docs does not have the bells and whistles of Microsoft Office, but when you start to poke around you find that Google Docs actually has a fair amount of advanced features and capabilities as compared to MS Office for power users as well.

OCR in Google Docs

I was pleasantly surprised. The transcript of the text appears to be flawless. The OCR version loses something in formatting in terms of inserted images or icons on the original, but it even manages to try and match heading sizes and bulleted lists. All in all, the Google Docs OCR is impressive and delivers what it promises.

Google Docs in iPhone

Forms and Surveys Made Simple in Google Docs

Microsoft Word has plenty of cool built-in templates and tons more available online. But…at least to my knowledge--Microsoft Word does not have any wizard-like feature to walk you through creating a form the way Google Docs does, and Word will not automatically track and tally the responses.

Forms in Google Docs are another area of real-time online collaboration where Google Docs seems to set the bar. In Google Docs, you can create a form or survey in a few simple steps using the forms feature. You can use the feature to create sign-up sheets, surveys, product feedback, etc.

Google Docs on the Go

Let me explain. I have been working from a different office lately, and yesterday when I left I decided to just leave my laptop there rather than carting it back and forth. Then, this morning there were some adjustments in the social calendar and a change in plans which caused me to stay home and work.

Google Docs let me jump onto the nearest PC and stay productive without missing a beat. Had I been reliant on solely on Microsoft Office and locally-stored files, I would have been screwed. I would have had to drive over to the office just to get my laptop and bring it home.  I had access to half-finished writing projects I had started yesterday--all nicely organized into my various collections. I could start writing from virtually any PC and when I get back to the office tomorrow all of those files I created and worked on today will be there waiting for me. There is something to this cloud thing.

I have to admit that there are a number of things that I found to be unique benefits of Google Docs that Microsoft engineers should be looking to emulate in Microsoft Office.

All in all, I would say that Google Docs is a solid productivity platform, and it delivers most of what you need at a price that can't be beat.

I had a bit of culture shock in adopting Google Docs that took me a month to really get used to. But now I just can’t go without Google Apps.