4 ms·
When it comes to minor tasks like making a shopping list, Google Docs is great (it even syncs with my phone). But IMO it's not very useful for serious use, and
by shitlord 14y ago
When it comes to minor tasks like making a shopping list, Google Docs is great (it even syncs with my phone). But IMO it's not very useful for serious use, and that is probably one of its most detracting points. It has trouble displaying some docx files (probably because it's such a complex file format) and because it doesn't offer the level of control a word processor like Writer or Word offers. When it comes to editing complex documents prepared in Word with tables of contents and embedded Excel tables (which isn't uncommon in legal documents), Google Docs just doesn't cut it.
In any case, a lot of people won't be able to do their jobs properly without full-fledged document editors. I do agree that there haven't been any major advancements in word processing; if Google could solve the issue of compatibility and maybe throw in some grammar checking or autocompletion, then I would drop whatever I use now and switch to Docs in a heartbeat.
- macavity23 14y agoThis is undoubtedly true. For complex documents, and those specifically for print publication, MSOffice is light years ahead of GDocs, and probably always will be. However, my feeling is that this is a relatively small proportion of the MSOffice market (I'd love to see figures on how many word docs have embedded spreadsheets in, for example). For straightforward business docs, GDocs is almost as good, and has a couple of absolutely killer features. Firstly, collaborative real-time editing (e.g. during a conf call) is fantastic. Secondly, and most importantly, no files to copy, backup, lose, mis-version, etc - just an URL. This is a totally killer feature: once non-techies grok that they never have to mess around with files, just point their browser at an URL, they (IME) love it, and don't want to go back.