Googlepedia: The Ultimate Google Resource, Third Edition

Introducing Google Docs

The comparison is simple. Google Docs is Google’s answer to Microsoft Office. Google Docs is a suite of word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation applications that mimics most of the key features of similar freestanding programs, such as Office.

Note

Even though Google Docs is a Web-based application, you can still use it when you’re not online, thanks to something called Google Gears. Learn more in the “Working Offline” section, near the end of this chapter.

What’s different about Google Docs, however, is that it’s all Web-based. The application and all your documents reside on Google’s servers, not on your computer. This results in some unique benefits.

Caution

Given how websites and Web browsers work ...