Tag Archives: docs

Easily add and manage citations in Google Docs

Quick launch summary 

We’re launching a new feature to help you add, manage, and format academic citations in Google Docs. This will make writing academic papers easier since you won’t have to use add-ons, or copy citations from other tools. 

Using this feature, you can easily insert in-text citations and create a bibliography in the MLA, APA, or Chicago (author-date) styles. Sources types supported include books, book sections, websites, journal articles and newspaper articles. 

Citations tool in Google Docs 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all G Suite customers 

Resources 

Office editing on Android brings G Suite collaboration to Microsoft Office files

Quick launch summary 

We’re making Office editing available on Android. This feature brings the collaborative and assistive features of G Suite to your Microsoft Office files when you’re using your Android device. Already available on the web, it: 
  • Allows you to edit, comment, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files using Google Docs’, Sheets’, and Slides’ powerful real-time collaboration tools. 
  • Improves sharing options, improves sharing controls, and reduces the need to download and email file attachments. 
  • Streamlines workflows by reducing the need to convert file types. 
Office editing will replace QuickOffice (sometimes known as Office Compatibility Mode), which has more limited functionality and collaboration capabilities. See more about Office editing in our announcement for the feature on the web. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Office editing on Android brings G Suite collaboration to Microsoft Office files

Quick launch summary 

We’re making Office editing available on Android. This feature brings the collaborative and assistive features of G Suite to your Microsoft Office files when you’re using your Android device. Already available on the web, it: 
  • Allows you to edit, comment, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files using Google Docs’, Sheets’, and Slides’ powerful real-time collaboration tools. 
  • Improves sharing options, improves sharing controls, and reduces the need to download and email file attachments. 
  • Streamlines workflows by reducing the need to convert file types. 
Office editing will replace QuickOffice (sometimes known as Office Compatibility Mode), which has more limited functionality and collaboration capabilities. See more about Office editing in our announcement for the feature on the web. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Google Docs line spacing will now adjust based on font

Quick launch summary 

We will now adjust line spacing in Google Docs based on the font used. Previously, line spacing was based only on the font size and line spacing you chose. Now, the font you choose will also be a factor in the spacing. 

This will increase consistency in document length between Google Docs and other word processing programs, and help make sure converted Microsoft Word documents retain a similar length. It will be particularly useful for education and enterprise users, who may have documents with specific length requirements based on specific formatting combinations. 
Line spacing will adjust based on the font used 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default for new documents only. Existing documents will not be affected. Use our Help Center to learn more about formatting in Google Docs. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal accounts. 

Resources 

Google Docs line spacing will now adjust based on font

Quick launch summary 

We will now adjust line spacing in Google Docs based on the font used. Previously, line spacing was based only on the font size and line spacing you chose. Now, the font you choose will also be a factor in the spacing. 

This will increase consistency in document length between Google Docs and other word processing programs, and help make sure converted Microsoft Word documents retain a similar length. It will be particularly useful for education and enterprise users, who may have documents with specific length requirements based on specific formatting combinations. 
Line spacing will adjust based on the font used 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default for new documents only. Existing documents will not be affected. Use our Help Center to learn more about formatting in Google Docs. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal accounts. 

Resources 

Improving braille support in Google Docs

Quick launch summary 

We’re making several improvements to braille support in Google Docs to make it easier for users of assistive technologies, including refreshable braille displays, to work on documents. These changes will enhance the experience of reading documents with new keyboard shortcuts, improved navigation, and more reliable verbalizations. We encourage assistive technology users to enable braille support when working in Docs.

Improvements you may notice include: 
  • You can use the new Ctrl+Alt+H (CMD+Option+H on Mac) shortcut to toggle braille support in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. 
  • When you use shortcuts to navigate, we now announce where your cursor moves to, including comments, headings, misspellings, and suggestions. 
  • We improved the reliability of navigating through lengthy documents and lists. 
  • Images, misspellings, and grammar errors are now verbalized directly by assistive technology. 
  • We’ve improved navigation and selection verbalizations when moving through tables and when selecting content, including announcing the entire cell’s contents. 

Please make sure to update to the latest versions of your assistive technologies and browsers to fully benefit from these improvements. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default for users with braille support turned on. Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to use a braille display with Docs editors, and make sure to update to the latest versions of your browser and screen reader to use all features. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Dark theme now available for Docs, Sheets, and Slides on Android

Quick launch summary 

We’re enhancing Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on Android with Dark theme support. Dark theme will intelligently adjust the product interface and user-generated content in ways that can make it more usable in low-light environments and save battery life. 

Settings for Docs, Sheets, and Slides will adjust automatically when the Android system is set to use Dark theme. You can also turn dark mode on or off for Docs, Sheets, or Slides independently. If you do this, each app will always be in the selected theme regardless of the Android system settings. 


Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Dark Theme 

Getting started 

  • Admins: No action needed. 
  • End users: This feature will automatically respect the Android system settings. Dark theme can also be enabled in the Docs, Sheets, or Slides apps individually by going to Menu > Settings > Theme > Dark in each app. When using Dark theme, you can preview your current document or sheet in the Light theme using More > View in light theme. Visit our Help Center to learn more about Dark theme in Google Docs, Sheets & Slides. 

Choose your theme

View in light theme 


Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal accounts 

Resources 

Spanish grammar suggestions now available in Google Docs and Gmail

Quick launch summary 

We’re expanding our advanced assistive writing features in Google Docs and Gmail to Spanish. Last year, we introduced grammar suggestions powered by neural-networks for the English language. Now, we’re using the same technology to provide grammar suggestions as you type in Spanish.

Language will be detected automatically, and even if you switch between writing in Spanish and English, we will provide the appropriate grammar suggestions. These capabilities can help you write faster, more accurately, and with more confidence.

Later this year, we’re also planning to make spelling autocorrect and Smart Compose available to Spanish language users. Keep an eye on the G Suite Updates blog to know when those features become available. Learn more about the expansion of our Spanish language assistive writing features on our Cloud Blog.

Getting started 



Rollout pace 



Availability 


  • Available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite Essentials, G Suite Enterprise Essentials, and G Suite Enterprise customers. 
  • Not yet available to G Suite for Education, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits customers, as well as users with personal Google accounts. 

Resources 


New comment interface for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on Android

What’s changing 

We’re updating the user interface for comments and action items in the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps for Android. Some of the changes you may notice include:

  • Larger, clearer interface to make it easier to see comments and their context in a document. 
  • Shortcuts and gestures to help you quickly scroll through and respond to multiple comments. 
  • Quick access button to reply, “@” mention someone, and assign action items. 


Who’s impacted 

End users

Why it matters 

Commenting is a powerful way to collaborate on documents while remote. Comments can help you ask questions, document discussions, make sure other users see something, assign action items, and more. They’re particularly useful when working remotely, enabling multiple users to be part of discussions whenever and wherever it's convenient for them.

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default. To get started, tap on a comment when using the Docs, Sheets, or Slides app on an Android device. Use the Help Center to learn more about using comments and action items on Android. 

Rollout pace 



Availability 


  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal accounts. 

Resources 


New document save status and offline indicator for Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Quick launch summary 

We’re updating the interface which tells users about the file save status and whether they’re working online or offline in Google Docs editors and Drawings. The changes will help users understand where the file is saved, whether they’re connected to the network, and if the file is available to edit offline.

This is an update to the interface only - there are no changes in the underlying functionality. The changes you may notice include:

  • A new location for document save status next to the document name. 
  • More descriptive text to indicate whether a document is saved to the cloud (when online) or to the device (offline). 
  • A new way to enable offline by clicking on the document status icon. Previously, you had to go to File > Make available offline. 


For users in domains where admins have turned off Docs editors offline access, we will adjust the message shown to users in order to minimize confusion regarding settings controlled by their admin. 

See images below for more details.

Getting started 



The saved file indicator is now next to the document name and features more descriptive text 


You can enable offline by clicking the document status icon 

Rollout pace 



Availability 


  • Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal Google Accounts. 

Resources