I always felt Microsoft was getting over on us for charging so much for their Office product. They would come out with a newer version every couple of years similar to their new versions of Windows. More times than not, Windows brought some much needed improvements to everyday use. The same could not be said for Microsoft Office as there were very few changes that made it better for everyday use.
All of the time Google introduces something new that we can use everyday moving forward. Google Docs started off with a word processor and spreadsheets compared to Microsoft’s Word and Excel. Microsoft Office is no longer needed with Google’s contact management inside Gmail and Google Calendar. The newest features of Microsoft Office include being able to share documents with other users at your company and allow them to change the document at the same time as when you are working on it. That ability is already included in Google Docs.
I was excited to see that Google Docs included Presentations. This meant I could use my phone or tablet for presentations with clients. So I started uploading saved PowerPoint presentations to my Google Docs account. I did encounter some issues with Presentations in Google Docs. Once you know your limitations, you know what you have to work around. Thankfully there are not many, so this will be short.
When uploading PowerPoint presentations, you may be tempted to allow them to be “converted” to Google Docs Presentations. If your presentations do not include special graphics like from a Excel document, then you should be fine.Unfortunately most of my presentations include charts and graphs. The conversion process is not ideal for this reason.
Recommendation: When uploading PowerPoint presentations to Google Docs, do not convert them. You will still be able to use the presentations on your phone or tablet as they were originally set up and do not need any additional apps to make them work. The only downside is they do not take the full screen as a Google Docs Presentation. The difference will not be a big deal to you.
Other issue I had was when I wanted to include a link inside a presentation to another Google Doc file, the app does not allow you to go back to the last page that you were on in the presentation by hitting the back button. If you have a link to a website, the browser window will pop up and show you the website quickly and when you hit the back button it will return the the page you were on in the presentation.
I don’t believe those problems are so bad that it would prevent someone from being able to use Presentations in Google Docs. Especially the use of a link inside a presentation is not typically done. With the use of the internet, most of use expect to be able to use it all the time for everything. So we are spoiled. Overall, Google Docs is top notch to perform most office document tasks. So what next?
I received a file in my Hotmail account the other day. Hotmail asked me if I would like to download or view online. I decided to see what happens when I select view online. Would you believe it opened in a Microsoft Office Word Online page. It appears that Microsoft wants to get back in the game. They have a long way to go but this will be a crucial component as Microsoft will introduce Windows 8 later this year to compete with Apple and Android.
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