Google has begun the rollout of several big changes to the G Suite of apps, Google Docs, Sheets & Slides. The updates are rolling out to the web-based versions of the apps currently but you can expect some of this functionality to eventually make it to the mobile apps.
According to the announcement from Google, there are four improvements that are rolling out now.
- Name versions of a Doc, Sheet or Slide. Being able to assign custom names to versions of your document is a great way to keep a historical record of your team’s progress. It’s also helpful for communicating when a document is actually final. You can organize and track your team’s changes in one place under “Version history” (formerly known as “Revision history”) on the web. Select File > Version history > Name current version. For even quicker recall, there’s an option to select “Only show named versions” in Docs, Sheets or Slides.
- Preview “clean versions” of Docs to see what your Doc looks like without comments or suggested edits. Select Tools > Review suggested edits > Preview accept all OR Preview reject all.
- Accept or reject all edit suggestions at once in your Doc so your team doesn’t have to review every single punctuation mark or formatting update. Select Tools > Review suggested edits > Accept all OR Reject all.
- Suggest changes in a Doc from an Android, iPhone or iPad device. Click the three dots menu in the bottom right of your Doc screen to suggest edits on-the-go. Turn on the “Suggest changes” toggle and start typing in “suggestion mode.”
All of these changes are aimed at making it quicker and easier for you to collaborate on documents and work through the change process on them.
In addition, there are several new templates available for Docs and Sheets. These templates are collaborative works with companies like DocuSign, LegalZoom and others to give you a head start on things like NDAs and other legal documents. All of the templates can be modified to meet your specific business needs but the good news here is that you don’t have to recreate the wheel. It’s all there for you to edit.
Look for these updates on the web versions of Google Docs now as they are likely already rolling out.
