{"id":186707,"date":"2022-03-25T15:12:58","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T14:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=186707"},"modified":"2025-07-01T20:51:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T03:51:47","slug":"google-docs-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/google-docs-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Docs: create, collaborate, and share"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In reviewing <a href=\"https:\/\/google-docs.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"Google Docs\"><strong>Google Docs<\/strong><\/a> against competitors, there&#8217;s quite a bit to love about the program. The <strong>Google cloud<\/strong> offers a <strong>bundle of products<\/strong> similar to the suite in <strong>Microsoft Office<\/strong> including Google Docs. The web-based online platform enables\u00a0the <strong>creation and editing of documents<\/strong>\u00a0and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/google-drive.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Google Drive<\/strong><\/a> saves these projects online, allowing for\u00a0<strong>real-time collaboration<\/strong>. Moreover, features beyond necessary ones for writing and editing documents are available on this program as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Google Drive vs. Google Docs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though many people use the term &#8220;Google doc&#8221; as an umbrella term,<strong> Google Drive is the actual umbrella<\/strong>. It is the <strong>suite from Google<\/strong> that offers<strong> various tools <\/strong>similar to those found in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/microsoft-office.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"Microsoft Office\">Microsoft Office<\/a><\/strong>. The entire suite includes about <strong>11 offerings<\/strong>, but the main options are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Google Docs<\/strong> &#8211; a content drafting, formatting, and editing program like Microsoft Word<\/li><li><strong>Google Sheets <\/strong>&#8211; a spreadsheet editor and Google&#8217;s version of Microsoft excel<\/li><li><strong>Google Slides<\/strong> &#8211; a program for creating slideshows like Microsoft&#8217;s Powerpoint<\/li><li><strong>Google Forms <\/strong>&#8211; a tool to create surveys, quizzes, and questionnaires<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do I use Google Docs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using Google Docs is as simple as merely having a <strong>Gmail account<\/strong>. You can navigate to it by <strong>accessing Google Drive<\/strong> and creating a new document that is a Google Doc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From there, you can <strong>create any kind of document you want<\/strong> from a simple MLA formatted school essay to a multi-page report with tables, images, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What features does Google Documents have?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google Docs is a great tool for creating, writing, editing, collaborating on, reviewing, and sharing documents. Easily accessible via Google Drive, it is extremely&nbsp;<strong>integrated and compatible<\/strong>&nbsp;with other Google products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The<strong> features<\/strong> on Docs are\u00a0extensively <strong>beyond<\/strong> <strong>basic editing features<\/strong> such as choosing a font or adding headers. <strong>Users enjoy more robust features<\/strong> like reviewing, version control, and extracting files offline in other formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"image of Google Docs features\" class=\"wp-image-186842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-664x374.jpg 664w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-238x134.jpg 238w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-436x246.jpg 436w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-304x170.jpg 304w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-18x10.jpg 18w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-29-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the benefits of Google Docs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every passing year sees more people using and adopting Google Docs. In fact, its <strong>usage <\/strong>of it has become more <strong>normalized in a&nbsp;professional environment<\/strong>. People now prefer sharing Google Doc links vs. attaching Word files to emails or even <a href=\"https:\/\/atlassian-jira.en.softonic.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">programs like JIRA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google Docs makes <strong>edits and collaboration extremely easy<\/strong> because it can be accessed by multiple users in <strong>real-time<\/strong>.&nbsp;<strong>Editing the same document<\/strong>&nbsp;without fumbling with multiple versions of the same file is a game-changer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It can <strong>cut the time and effort <\/strong>it takes to review projects, gaining approval in a <strong>quicker turnaround time<\/strong>. Some of the best features include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Easy <strong>table creation<\/strong> and customization<\/li><li>Availability of many styles of <strong>font<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Suggesting, Commenting, and Editing functionalities<\/strong> which people can easily switch through using the top-right drop-down menu highlighted in a red box in the image above<\/li><li><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong> using in-text headers and formatting<\/li><li>Easy <strong>drag-and-drop images<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Grammarly<\/strong> and other writing software integration<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Commercial vs. personal use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google Docs makes a wonderful&nbsp;<strong>professional<\/strong> and&nbsp;<strong>personal<\/strong> tool thanks to its wide suite of features and accessibility. For longer or ongoing projects, Docs acts as a <strong>repository of work<\/strong> with comment and version history. One can maintain the same project on Drive that can be worked on at any time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also eliminates the need to work on one particular device at all times.<strong> Syncing Google accounts<\/strong>\u00a0across devices<strong> provides access wherever you log in <\/strong>for that account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does Google Docs have incompatabilities?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes, a Google Doc file is\u00a0<strong>not compatible to download<\/strong>\u00a0or there are formatting changes when downloaded. Although you can make the documents available to\u00a0work offline, <strong>Google Docs work best online<\/strong>. This can be a problem if you lack a stable connection or are on a choppy network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Certain image types and other file types remain incompatible in Google Docs. Google seems to be<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/docs\/answer\/9406611?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"addressing these issues\">addressing these issues<\/a><\/strong> periodically with every Google Drive update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"image of the Google Docs and Microsoft Word logos\" class=\"wp-image-186840\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-664x374.jpg 664w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-238x134.jpg 238w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-436x246.jpg 436w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-304x170.jpg 304w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-18x10.jpg 18w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-26-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For most of us who are so used to using&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/microsoft-word.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft Word<\/a>&nbsp;from way back, we are so well-versed with the program that using it is almost second nature. While Google Docs is&nbsp;<strong>fairly intuitive<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>easy to use<\/strong>, it does have a<strong> different interface<\/strong> from the Word documents that we are so used to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Collaborating<\/strong> on Docs is <strong>so much easier<\/strong>, as it can be<strong> done in real-time<\/strong> and does not require multiple versions of the same work file. However, the two programs do offer slightly different experiences. Here is a <strong>quick rundown of their differences:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Microsoft Word<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Part of the <strong>Microsoft Office ecosystem<\/strong><\/li><li>Available<strong> offline<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>High compatibility<\/strong> with other programs<\/li><li>Incorporated spelling and grammar check, as well as a thesaurus and other<strong> tools<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Markup mode<\/strong> attempts to recreate the Google Docs functionality to a <strong>less successful <\/strong>degree<\/li><li>Has some auto-save functionality, but still <strong>relies on manual saving<\/strong> due to the offline nature of the program<\/li><li><strong>Requires <\/strong>the <strong>purchase<\/strong> of software <strong>or a subscription<\/strong> to Microsoft services<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Google Docs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Part of the <strong>Google Drive ecosystem<\/strong><\/li><li>Primarily <strong>online functionality<\/strong> with some offline functionality available &#8212; especially for paying or enterprise users<\/li><li><strong>Medium compatibility<\/strong> with other programs<\/li><li>Has a built-in grammar and spelling checker, but<strong> may require supplemental programs<\/strong> like Grammarly or an external thesaurus to match Word capabilities<\/li><li>&#8220;Suggesting&#8221;, &#8220;Editing&#8221;, and &#8220;Commenting&#8221; modes allow for lots of <strong>different kinds of feedback<\/strong> for teams<\/li><li><strong>Auto-save<\/strong> functionality<\/li><li><strong>Free<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Programs like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/evernote-sticky-notes.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Evernote<\/strong><\/a> or\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/onenote.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OneNote<\/a> <\/strong>are<strong> useful alternatives <\/strong>but do not have comparable features as the ones native to Google Docs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"image of a man working remotely at home and the Google logo for Google Docs review\" class=\"wp-image-186937\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-664x374.jpg 664w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-238x134.jpg 238w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-436x246.jpg 436w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-304x170.jpg 304w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-18x10.jpg 18w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/pjimage-38.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Verdict on Google Docs Review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The always<strong> online accessibility<\/strong> of Google Docs has changed the way we work on documents in personal and professional spaces. <strong>Fully integrated<\/strong> with Google products like\u00a0<strong>Google Mail<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/google-sheets.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sheets<\/a>, Drive,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/google-calendar-by-google.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Calendar<\/a>, etc., it makes <strong>working in the Google ecosystem a snap<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Real-time collaboration<\/strong> and nearly <strong>ubiquitous accessibility<\/strong> are two key reasons why it works so well. While it makes <strong>remote collaboration easy<\/strong>, it may be <strong>less secure<\/strong> than programs like Microsoft Word for the same reason. After all, <strong>Wi-Fi networks are vulnerable to attacks<\/strong>, so any data traveling across those networks are at risk, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google Docs supports&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/windows-11.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Windows 11<\/a>, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and even Windows XP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#27cb00\">P<strong>ROS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Real-time editing and collaboration<\/li><li>Access anywhere with hardware, Google Account, and an internet connection<\/li><li>Ever-expanding roster of features<\/li><li>Great for version control for teams with lots of collaborators and\/or silos<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column\">\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#c60000\"><strong>CONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Basic network required<\/li><li>Formatting issues when downloading across programs or file types<\/li><li>Compatibility issues with some file and image types<\/li><li>Can pose more of a security risk vs. similar programs due to the online nature of the program<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In reviewing Google Docs against competitors, there&#8217;s quite a bit to love about the program. The Google cloud offers a bundle of products similar to the suite in Microsoft Office including Google Docs. The web-based online platform enables\u00a0the creation and editing of documents\u00a0and more. Google Drive saves these projects online, allowing for\u00a0real-time collaboration. Moreover, features &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/google-docs-review\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Google Docs: create, collaborate, and share&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9220,"featured_media":186845,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[3331],"tags":[2608],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-186707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expert-review","tag-app-subdomain-redirectiongoogle-docs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186707","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\/9220"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186707"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340593,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186707\/revisions\/340593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186707"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=186707"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=186707"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=186707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}