With so many users switching to cloud-based productivity apps like Google Drive, the tech giant has been increasingly implementing and improving features that make apps like Docs, Sheets, and Slides not only more powerful but more useful. For business users who have switched over to Drive, a number of new editing features have just been implemented.
A big leap forward in editing
Before the introduction of Drive’s new document editing features users simply edited on the same document. Changes they made were automatically made to the document regardless of whether the main author wanted them or not. For the majority of users, this works fine, but it did kind of feel like the apps were missing more advanced editing features like those found in other productivity programs.
Also, while the collaboration aspect of Drive’s apps is second to none, there are times when an editor or document owner would prefer to limit the power collaborators have in terms of editing and controlling the overall quality of the file. To make things easier, Google has introduced new editing features to the Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps.
Now, when you open a new file you should see a pencil icon in the toolbar at the top-right, this is the new editing function. Clicking on it will bring down a menu with three options:
- Editing – Allows you to edit a document with changes being made directly in the document.
- Suggesting – Allows you to make suggested edits that the document owner can approve or deny.
- Viewing – Allows you to view the document as it will look when printed or finalized.
While Editing and Viewing are both useful, it’s the Suggesting – or Suggested Edits as the feature is also called – that could prove the most valuable to writers and teams who collaborate on the same file.
Utilizing Suggested Edits
If you are managing a Doc, Sheet, or Slide and want to ensure that all collaborators are working together towards the same idea, without stepping on each other’s toes, try using this feature. You can turn it on by:
- Pressing the pencil icon located above the document field, to the right of the page.
- Selecting Suggesting.
- Making edits.
You will know Suggested Edits is on when the pencil icon changes to lines with an eye, and a different color.
When you enable, this feature, you can make edits in the doc, which will show up on the screen as comments. The changes will appear to other users in different colors and as comments on the side. If you agree with the changes, you can press the checkmark to implement these on the final version of the file, or you can press X to delete the suggested changes.
You can also see the final version before you accept changes, by clicking the pencil or Suggested Edits icon at the top and select Final from the drop-down menu. This will show the document with all of the Suggested Edits implemented. Going back to the Suggested Edits will allow you to approve or reject them again.
Looking to learn more about using Google Drive and the included apps? Contact us today to see how we can help.