The only word processor app you’ll need
Google Docs is a free word processing app that offers everything you’ll need to create, edit, and share documents. It’s feature-rich and leads the pack in terms of collaboration and sharing. This versatility is further boosted by its tie-in with Google Drive, a boon when it comes to finding and organizing documents after they’ve been created.
Create, edit, and share online documents easily
This pillarstone app is a must-have in any software collection
Google Docs is a free online app that allows you to create, edit, and share documents. It’s one of the Google Drive apps, which include Sheets, Slides, Forms, and more, all packaged in the Drive format which allows for unparalleled searching and organization of all of the documents you create or import, including Google Docs.
Bear in mind that when talking about Google Docs and Drive, there’s a little confusion over the name. Google Docs refers to the app we’re talking about today, as well as the larger collection of Sheets, Slides, Forms, etc. Google Drive refers to the storage and collaboration section of the tools. As it stands, there’s no word to describe Google Docs (the word processing app) that excludes Sheets, Slides, Forms,etc - unless you state that. Complicated, but it is something you should be aware of.
Getting back to this review - Google Docs (the word processing app) - you’ll begin on the home screen, where you can either create a freeform doc, open a document you’ve already worked on, or use one of the templates provided to create something new. You can also create your own templates and save them for later use. You’ll be able to open any documents you already have or are sent by 3rd parties - the app works with a lot of common file formats and won’t have problems with .doc or .docx documents created with Microsoft Word.
Once you open a new document, it looks pretty familiar, especially if you’ve ever used Microsoft Word or other Google Drive apps. The most frequently used tools are in the top bar, and other options are in the top menus. You can personalize the most frequently-used icons to be of more use to you specifically. A nice visual and organizational touch is the toggle-able document outline that lies to the left of documents - it lets you navigate through longer, multi-part documents more easily.
Most users will be able to do everything they need with Google Docs. It’s feature-rich and compares well with other word processing apps, namely Microsoft Word, in terms of functionality. Using Google Docs, you’ll be able to track changes, share and compare documents, create tables of contents and mail merges, add your own style presets and more. You also have the additional collaboration and organizational power of Google Drive and the add-ons available, most of which are free and add more interesting options to Docs.
The basic Google Docs features are easy to use, but you may need extra help to do more complex tasks, or to replicate features you’ve seen on alternative word processing apps. Luckily, this won’t be a problem, as there are acres of Google Docs support, forums, videos, and specific training, provided both by Google and users.
Where can you run this program?
This version of Google Docs is available online for iPhone. You need iOS 11.0 or later. There are also pared-down mobile versions available for PC and Mac
Is there a better alternative?
No. There might be an argument for Microsoft Word if you’re working in a business capacity, but for personal users, the functionality provided by Docs and the additional power of Google Drive and add-ons is unbeatable.
Our take
Google Docs is a great app and should be a mainstay in everyone’s software arsenal.
Different users will need a word processing app with varying frequency, but no matter how often you’ll need to turn to it, the broad functionality and excellent sharing and search capacity of the app make it unmissable. You may not need or want to open an online document every day, but it’s great to know that when you do, Google Docs will do the job perfectly.
Should you download it?
Yes, absolutely. It’s a great app to have in reserve and for many will become an everyday essential.
