I’ve been a fan of Google Docs for a while and the improvements they’ve
made
over the last couple of months with Google Drive have had an impact on my
overall document collaboration experience. I like having the ability to work on
the go and knowing my documents are accessible when I need them.
One of the more recent changes to Docs was the addition of the research
pane.
The research pane taps into Google Search and allows you to add content
directly from the web. You enable it under the Tools menu and it opens on the
right side of the page, allowing you to search for website links, images,
Google Scholar and quotes. When you find something you like, you can add it
by clicking the insert button or dragging the content directly into your
document. For websites, you can insert links, preview or automatically add
footnote citations, when able, so you won’t forget your source.
The major downer for me about this new feature, is that it hasn’t migrated
over to Google Apps. I jump between my main account and my Apps account a
lot, so having it in both places would be nice. Google seems to be working to
integrate all of the services they offer, so I’m sure more Docs functionality
will be added.
