14 DAY TRIAL // Google is known for its 'small-updates' approach which it uses throughout its product lineup. Sometimes though, it can mean that a product gets a bunch of new features in a short amount of time which is exactly what happened with Docs, which introduced quite a few new features and updates in just a couple of days.
Probably the most important change is the new relevance sorting method in search results. For a company deeply rooted in search technologies, Docs search was severely lacking and only sorted the results by the date when they were last modified. Especially for those with a big amount of documents it wasn't very practical or useful.
Thankfully, all that is in the past as Google has introduced a revamped search which lists the most relevant documents first. There is also the option to sort the results by “relevance,” “starred” and “last modified date.” Furthermore, the search now includes synonyms and similar words to ensure that you find what you are looking for, even though you're not exactly sure how you named the document.
“So if you search for 'check account', we'll also include results for a few variations of those words, including 'checking account' (which is what you probably meant to type). Or if you search for "mac book", we'll also include results for 'macbook',” Vijay Bangaru, product manager, Google Docs wrote.
A few weeks ago, Google Docs introduced the possibility to export your documents as part of Google's Data Liberation Front program which aims to make it easier for users to access, using open standards, and retrieve all their data stored by the company. Now the Docs team has implemented a small tweak that makes all the difference by allowing users to “Export all” their documents with just one click. There is a limit to this, the files can't exceed 2 GB in total, but it's rare that users would have more than that in their accounts.
Another new feature, not necessarily in the app itself, is the new email template Google Docs uses when notifying users that a document has been shared with them. Now, instead of a boring all text email, users get a nicely framed email with an easy to spot link to the document and the original user's message clearly displayed. Unfortunately, another change related to emails isn't exactly a good one as Google will be removing the “email-in” feature as there are problems with it. Google says that it will introduce it at a later point when it is satisfied with the functionality and stability.
