Google Docs: This big update just added some serious new features

Google is focusing on faster collaboration in its latest version of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Google has introduced a bunch of new version-control refinements, formatting templates with built-in add-ons, and smart enterprise information search from within its productivity apps.

Among the version-control updates, there's now an option to give a different name to each version of a document the team is working on as it progresses from the first draft to final.

Changes to each named version can be tracked under version history, offering an easier way to track progress and flag to others when the document is finished. There is also an option to only show named versions.

Previously, suggesting a change to a team document could only be done from the desktop, but now these suggestions can be also submitted from Android or iOS device. This feature is available from the three dots menu icon on the bottom right of the screen in all three productivity apps.

To save time when reviewing punctuation edits, users can now approve or reject all edit suggestions at once in the apps. There's a new tool to see a clean preview of Docs without comments and suggested edits. This tool offers a preview of what it would look like if all the suggestions were either accepted or rejected.

Late last year Google introduced custom templates in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms for faster formatting. Google has now opened up custom templates to add-on developers. The template gallery offers several new templates with built-in adds-ons, including a mutual non-disclosure agreement template called Mutual NDA from LegaZoom and DocuSign.

There's also Business Process Manual by Lucidhart, and Consulting Agreement from PandaDoc. To differentiate these from normal templates, those built-in add-ons are marked with a blue Add-on tag.

Finally, Google is integrating its Custom Search product for the enterprise, which uses machine learning to suggest cards containing links to pertinent G Suite documents.

The search function is now available through the Explore button at the bottom of Docs and Slides, which will show important details from Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Sites and so forth under the Cloud Search tab.

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