50 13 - 26 November 2019
What we liked:
Web User used to separate
cloud-based office tools
from the versions you can
install in Windows,
because they fitted a
ifferent purpose. But now
thatoffline suites let you save
your filesonline,and browser-based
software can be saved to your hard
drive and operated without an internet
connection, the dividing line between
the two has more or less vanished.
In our opinion, Google’s suite of
online, cloud-based tools (Docs, Sheets,
Slides and Forms) is the king of the free
office suite, whether you’re online or off.
Its tools aren’t as comprehensive as
LibreOffice’s, and office-software
experts might scoff at its limitations,
but we think they’re missing the point.
Google’s tools have just enough scope
to keep most small offices running and
they are more than capable of fulfilling
the needs of the average home user.
Google has the essential core trio of
tools covered: Docs is a capable word
processor that can churn out anything
from a simple letter to a lengthy
book, while Sheets and Slides offer all
the necessary tools for creating
spreadsheets and presentations. You’d
have to be relying on some very obscurefeatures to find
yourself hitting
a brick wall
with any one of
these tools.
The online
nature of
Google Docs
makes
collaboration
simple, which
is ideal when
sharing and
organising
documents
with family
and friends.
Also, any files you save won’t count
against Google’s free storage limits,
so you can keep as many documents
and spreadsheets within the system as
you like.How it can be improved:
Although Google Docs covers all the
basics well, there are some useful tools
that this office suite lacks. A permanent
on-screen word count has been on the
wish list of writers for some time, and
there’s no option to add visible versions
of invisible elements, such as spaces, to
make editing easier. The other tools
have similar minor shortfalls.OUR VERDICT
There are noticeable gaps in
Google’s toolbox compared to the
more comprehensive LibreOffice,
but Docs and Sheets have more to
offer than just raw tools, including
comprehensive collaboration,
access from any device you can lay
your hands on and unlimited file
storage. Unless you need a specific
tool or Microsoft Office-only file
compatibility, this suite of core
tools is enough to satisfy all your
home office requirements.There’s no need
to pay for Microsoft
Office with so many
free alternatives
now available. Andy
Shaw ranks his
favourite tools for
word processing,
spreadsheets and
more
GoogleDocs |docs.google.com|
FEATURES++++ PERFORMANCE+++++EASE OF USE+++++W
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