Google Docs

November 5, 2007

I tried Google Docs way back when it was still Writely but had to abandon it when added features made it inaccessible on my old computer. This fall, after enrolling in a first year university French course, I decided to give Google Docs another try. The workflow turned out to be surprisingly simple and effective:

  • Online storage gave me access to the documents at the college or at home
  • Export as Word allowed me to email it to the professor in the format he preferred
  • Google Docs can spell check in French without the rest of the page (or my whole computer) having to be in French
  • Stored revisions make it easy to go back to previous versions of the document if I change my mind
By using tabs in Firefox I can easily flip back and forth between Google Docs, BonPatron and, if I’m really stuck, Google Translate to do my French writing assignments.