Some of Google's most successful products are its office apps, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. These web-based alternatives to Microsoft Office are extremely popular for their collaboration tools, easy accessibility, and, of course, free price tag. Google is always tweaking these services and the latest batch of features includes save statuses, offline indicators, and a new comment UI.
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Google is updating the desktop interface that shows the file save status across Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The save status is now shown directly next to the document name and it's more descriptive. You can easily see if a document is saved to the cloud or the device, so there's no confusion about offline availability. It's also easier to make a document available offline as you can simply click the status icon. This will be enabled by default and available to all Google users over the coming weeks.
Next up is a more mobile-friendly comment interface for Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The respective Android apps will get a larger, clearer interface to make it easier to see comments and their context. There are new shortcuts and gestures to make it easy to quickly scroll through and respond to comments. A new "@" button will allow users to quickly mention someone. Tapping the button opens up the comment thread in fullscreen. This new UI is rolling out now and will be available to all Google users as well.
Google routinely rolls out small updates like this to Docs, Sheets, and Slides. These little "quality of life" updates go a long way in making sure Google's office suite of apps stay on the cutting edge.