Google Docs: Sync, Edit, Share

I’m a writer and google docs is my go-to for writing. I love it, it’s simple and accessible from any device and saves automatically so I don’t lose anything if I accidentally close out. Actually, it’s pretty much perfectly me except for the fact that it starts lagging a bit if my document begins getting too long (I’ve had to start writing the second part of a story in a separate document which can get sort of annoying but also it’s not The Worst), AND that also brings me to the point of y review: this app crashes on me All. The. Time. I’ll be writing, and suddenly my screen will go black and then I’m on my home screen bc. Well, it crashed. No clue why, it’s happened on so many occasions with all different sized of documents, it just happens, and it’s so annoying because sometimes it kills y writing groove, you know? It’s be great if this could possibly be fixed. Happens on both iphone and iPad, probably more often with longer documents (maybe a hundred pages idk) but has also happened with shorter ones. I’ve been writing for maybe four hours and it’s happened to me three times today. Again, it’s definitely not a deal breaker, I love docs and I’ll never go for anything else, but it is super irritating.

I’ve been a longtime user of Google Docs—around three or four years—and it’s been great for storing important documents. I’ve also used it a lot for jotting down ideas, writing creative stories, and other personal uses. I feel that these are what the app is best for. I’ve tried to use it several times for academic essays, and the current format does not support certain basic functions, especially with indentation, adding page numbers in MLA or APA, and so on. The spell check for Google Docs is also flawed, and frequently marks everyday words as misspelled, and then other words not in the regular dictionary as perfectly correct. The syncing is also kind of finicky sometimes, and you can lose work or have to restart the app multiple times in one sitting, if you’re somewhere that there is no ideal connection. So if you’re a student or a professional, you are also going to want Microsoft Word, which has more features and is easier to use. However, the syncing generally works very well, and I love being able to back up all my documents. The aesthetic appearance of the documents are also very appealing, and most of the basic writing functions are easy to access. Keyboard shortcuts still work, and those shortcuts match to whichever model of computer you are using, so you don’t have to learn anything terribly new to use the app competently. It’s super easy to add other contributors, and to restrict privacy/use settings. All in all it has served me very ell.

Google Docs is very, very useful as a whole, providing services that allow seamless collaboration and that solve many past horrors of word-processors (like the classic “I didn’t save my doc and now it’s gone foreverrrrr!!”). As great as it is on desktop, I personally found the transfer to mobile devices a little, well, less great. It’s obviously difficult to find an intuitive way to lay out all the functions of Docs on desktop onto a smaller screen, but it’s honestly such a huge hassle navigating comments and suggestions, even when I’m on my iPad. It’s also kind of annoying that I can’t zoom out more on a doc—basically, once the width of the page fills the screen, I can no longer zoom out. This doesn’t sound like a huge deal, but it makes for a lot of tedious scrolling when an already long document has relatively large text. Additionally, there are these small annoying glitches that occasionally occur. For example, when I was editing a doc, I kept trying to delete a space, but it would always delete the space and the letter behind it. I tried over and over again to no avail... sigh.... It also seems to me that Docs can get kind of slow? I’m on a new device, so the hardware should be working fine, but there’s a huge lag when I’m trying to type in the app. Other than these few problems, everything else has been working fine and going smoothly.

I write original works and fan fics, and this app lets me work on them at any point. Just waking up and I have an idea, just hopping out of the shower, in the line at the store, lunch break, moments of clarity while gardening, you get the point. Since the first time I’ve used this app, to the many years later, I have stopped worrying about forgetting some idea I had before I get to my computer. Even if my phone is offline, I have been able to work on my stories. I think it really is my most used app on my phone. Also, because it auto saves, I HAVE NEVER HAD MY STORIES DISAPPEAR! Unlike other writing programs, that have lost me hours of work because of a blue screen, freezing, or other issues, I have never had the pain of opening a Google Doc and finding all my work gone. I do wish it had a better way to organize your files, as what it does have seems “meh.” But, at least, it has some form of organization. Lastly, I love that I can share the doc in various ways. This has been so helpful for me when I comes to sharing my stories. It lets those who are my beta reader comment and make suggestions, those who I wrote for have full access, and those who I want to let just read all have their own set of restrictions.

Like most people of Generation Z, the later years of my education (8th grade-present) have greatly benefited from using Google applications such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Google Docs’s amazing accessibility, collaboration tools, storage, and auto-save have always been what’s made it better than competing office tools. The app itself is great, and once you get the hand of using it on a hand held device, it makes working from almost anywhere possible. I’ve found myself using these Google applications for more than just essays and presentations now a days, as I begin to need work resumés and finance budgets. So really, Docs (and other Google applications) are great! Except, I’ve encountered an issue when using this Docs app. Now, this could be because of several reasons, however, I’ve found that after prolonged used, when typing, the keyboard begins to lag a bunch, making working on documents so frustrating. At first I thought that the keyboard could be lagging because my iPad might’ve over heated? But, the keyboard has lagged even when the iPad doesn’t feel warm. I’m not sure if internet connection might have something to do with it, but my Wifi is pretty strong, and I rarely encounter issues with it. That’s my only complaint, but other than that I really do love the app.