Google Docs & Spreadsheets have gotten a nice facelift. Docs is Google’s alternative to Microsoft Word and Spreadsheets for Excel and they are both web applications but with the slick interface you’ll hardly feel so.
Google has believed that tags and search combined should satisfy Docs & Spreadsheets users after its wild popularity in GMail. I totally agree with that and that is THE reason I fell in love GMail. Ability to apply multiple labels and search for emails rather than storing them in folders and trying to track them down.
But, GMail gained its popularity in the beginning with tech savvy people. But, lot of the Docs & Spreadsheets converts may not be as tech savvy as the early GMail users. Also, when it comes to files, people are comfortable with the folder structure. Google heard it and they have brought it to Docs & Spreadsheets.
Folders in Docs & Spreadsheets
If you have always missed folders in GDocs, you are in for a treat. In fact, your current tags are automatically converted to folders. Plus, the new folders act more like tags in that you can store a file in more than one folders.
Killer looks
New icons, layout and colors give it a really cool look that rivals some of the Better GMail skins.
Auto-suggest search
You might have seen this in Google Search now it is available here. I have always loved this feature and will be a great time saver now that I have a sizeable number of docs here.
GMail to follow?
The speculation has started and here is my humble take on it. I am a big fan of tagging as you can see from the tag cloud representing what gets most attention here and I will say so again here. Even though Google succumbed to the voices of Docs & Spreadsheets users, they have done it in a way without eliminating the good things that come with tagging like multiple tags for a single file.
So, if they were to do this in GMail, it would be no different for me in functionality besides the traditional folder look. If it’ll convert a few more of my friends still hanging on to Yahoo Mail to GMail, I really wouldn’t mind the change.
Tags are a wonderful thing. I don’t think adding folders to GMail would be so bad if it’s done correctly. I don’t think I would use them, but I think many Yahoo Mail users aren’t making the switch yet because lack of folders (and their ignorance of the tagging system, which is better).
Whilst I’ve used Gmail tags fine for since I started using it, I wouldn’t mind the addition of folder, just for certain things.
Whilst I think Google are increasing their evil levels, I still wouldn’t say no to them knocking MS Office off it’s perch…
Great post K, lots of good info.
Kyle, I almost had a revelation when I discovered the use of tags as I had when I found out about RSS. I’m on a mission spreading both to everyone who’d care to listen. 🙂
Chris, thanks. I wouldn’t say no to a good stumble. *wink*
I get uncomfortable with so much of my web activities tied to Google but they haven’t crossed the line for me yet. And I hope they wouldn’t in the near future but I’m sure they are bound to make a mistake and it is probably just a matter of time.
I’m glad to see these changes. However, the feature I’m still holding out for is completely encrypted SSL/HTTPS sessions to make my documents secure so that the whole world can’t read them. If Google does that, it’ll become a killer app.