Google Docs is pretty neat for getting stuff written up and edited on the go. It has even replaced dedicated word processing software like Microsoft's Word. It has big advantages over software that needs to be installed: it's accessible from pretty much everywhere you can get into a browser. You also have Android apps for easy editing while you're on the move. But there are also disadvantages. Notably, there's a handful of features that these web word processors usually lack. Today, Google has corrected one of the biggest shortcomings of Google Docs.

This particular update is mostly all about getting itself a little bit more comparable in terms of features with Microsoft Word. In Google Docs, you can now place an image in front of or behind a text. Additionally, while importing or exporting documents from Microsoft Word, that same formatting will be kept, and you'll also be able to modify that positioning within Google Docs. Google says they believe that this functionality will allow users to more easily personalize their documents and share them with confidence, regardless of the program you use.

When you click directly on an image, you'll notice the new option for positioning an image above or below text in the image choices sidebar and in the image toolbar. This feature is now rolling out to all users, on both enterprise and personal accounts, starting from today, although the official Google Workspace Updates blog mentions that it may take up to 14 days to reach all users.

Why is this important? Proper image positioning has been present in Word for decades---it was present in Word 97, first released in 1996, a whopping 25 years ago. Google Docs is also a solution that's highly compatible with Microsoft Word, to the point Google Docs users can import and export .docx files from Word. Having the same functionality is, thus, important for preserving and maximizing this compatibility.

What do you think?