Google Docs is just one of many free, web-based document editing programs now available. While it certainly has its quirks, the price is right, you’ll never need to upgrade anything, and you can access your documents from anywhere.
Google Docs is just one of many free, web-based document editing programs now available. While it certainly has its quirks, the price is right, you’ll never need to upgrade anything, and you can access your documents from anywhere.
Like Microsoft Office, Google Docs lets you create word documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, all online. The first step to using Google Docs is to create a free Google Account if you haven’t previously done so. If you have, you should see a link to the service in the top left of your screen when you’re logged into any other Google product such as Gmail.
Conveniently, you can upload documents you’ve already created in word, excel, powerpoint and other programs and they’ll be converted into Google documents. Another nice feature is that you can share your documents with others, such as your assistant or team member, or even clients if you want to involve them with things such as the property description, etc. They can then sign in using their own google account and edit the document, and the changes are automatically saved and broadcast to everyone working on the doc.
Ready to jump ship from office? Maybe not so fast…
There are, unfortunately, some downsides to using Google Docs. While it is easy to use, it’s not as “smooth” as using a program like Word. If your internet connection is bad it can be a little choppy. It can also take a while to open, find the document, save changes and other basic functions that are usually pretty snappy with regular office programs.
Also, I’ve run into weird formatting issues more than once. For example, I’ll cut and paste text from something else, and then no matter what I do I can’t get the formatting to look the way I want.
That said, Google Docs is definitely worth taking a look at, and if right now I had to choose between spending hundreds on Microsoft Office or just using Google Docs, it’d be a tough choice. If you’re a fan of free (ha!), and you don’t need to create a ton of intricate documents, Google Docs for real estate may be the perfect fit.
One Response
Mike:
Been using it for a few years now (or so it seems) for everything from sharing documents to on-line collaborative XLS forecasts (at a past job) to hosting the baseball team’s schedule.
It’s cool and very useful. However for any serious spreadsheet or word activities, stick with the off line Microsoft versions. Currently, there’s no comparison.