{"id":145639,"date":"2019-08-21T17:54:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T15:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=145639"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:33:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:33:12","slug":"google-drive-features-you-didnt-know-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/google-drive-features-you-didnt-know-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 6 Google Drive features you didn&#8217;t know about"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many Google Docs users know how useful it can be as an autosave browser-based text editor. However, few people know that Google Drive actually offers many other features that are unique among text editing software. Whether you\u2019re already a frequent Google Docs user, or just looking for alternatives to Microsoft Word, you will absolutely be able to benefit from some of these unique features:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Google Drive\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-logo-l,f_auto,dpr_auto\/p\/a4ff16fe-96d1-11e6-a92a-00163ec9f5fa\/1950955591\/google-drive-logo.png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Google Drive<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/google-drive.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Free Download<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--70\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"70\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"7\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">7<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/google-drive.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: 23px\">Voice typing<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some people can only work out their thoughts by speaking them, instead of actually writing. These people often make recordings of what they want to say. Well Google Docs takes it a step further; allowing you to simply speak to write. It can really cut down on the time you spend on a document, and it\u2019s great for anyone who has a visual impairment, but plans to write through speech programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: 23px\">Commenting on unconverted .doc files<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One problem people have with using Google Drive as a converter, is that it often does not properly convert formatting. If you\u00a0 This isn\u2019t necessarily Google\u2019s fault, as they don\u2019t have access to the formatting that other files have, such as Microsoft Office. However, Google Drive allows you to make comments on .doc files without any conversion. This can let you keep the formatting of the Microsoft document, but still allow you to make notes on it for later use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: 23px\">Publishing files as public pages\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many people know that you can use Google Drive programs to work on documents with a group of people at the same time. However, not everyone fully understands the benefit of the publish features. Published Google Drive files can be publicly viewed (if published this way) allowing for an easy way to create public documents. This can be used for personal and business use alike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: 23px\">Smartphone document scanning<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the Google Drive app, you can scan documents to be immediately saved as PDFs to whatever folder you want. You can use this for anything from receipts to billing statements. This can be a great alternative place to keep all the important documents you have.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: 23px\">Auto-translation<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Everyone knows that Google Translate isn\u2019t 100% accurate all the time. However, it can help you get a better understanding for what a foreign sentence might be saying, without needing to find an actual translator. Google has also done a lot within the last few years to make their translation software more accurate. Google Docs and other Drive software come pre-prepared with this same translation feature. It can be really helpful when working on a document with a group of foreign language speakers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: 23px\">Laser pointer mouse in Google Slides<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While this is an easy trick to do in Google Slides, it is very uncommon in powerpoint programs. All you have to do is click the \u201cpointer\u201d button while on a published Slides document, and you get to have a unique pointer. This can not only be useful for professional presentation, but it can also be fun to change things up from the regular mouse button.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of course, these are only a few of the numerous features that Google Drive has to offer, and Google continues to update each of its programs with new features all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-related-articles-white\">\r\n<p class=\"sc-related-articles-white__title\">More from Softonic<\/p>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"The best ways to collaborate in Google Docs \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/the-best-ways-to-collaborate-in-google-docs\/\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/09\/google-docs-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>The best ways to collaborate in Google Docs \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"How to create an easy budget in Google Sheets \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/how-to-create-an-easy-budget-in-google-spreadsheets\/\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2019\/05\/google-sheets-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>How to create an easy budget in Google Sheets \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"Tips and tricks for writing a novel in Google Docs \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/tips-and-tricks-for-writing-a-novel-in-google-drive\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/woman-worker-writer-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>Tips and tricks for writing a novel in Google Docs \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"Things you didn\u2019t know you could do with Google Drive \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-google-drive\/\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2019\/05\/google-drive-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>Things you didn\u2019t know you could do with Google Drive \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many Google Docs users know how useful it can be as an autosave browser-based text editor. However, few people know that Google Drive actually offers many other features that are unique among text editing software. Whether you\u2019re already a frequent Google Docs user, or just looking for alternatives to Microsoft Word, you will absolutely be &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/google-drive-features-you-didnt-know-about\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Top 6 Google Drive features you didn&#8217;t know about&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9154,"featured_media":147292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2518,2441],"tags":[2560,1068],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-145639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-how-to","tag-app-subdomain-redirectiongoogle-drive","tag-google"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145639"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325542,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145639\/revisions\/325542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145639"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=145639"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=145639"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=145639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}