Google Docs’ New Upgrades Go Live for Everyone

Google has recently made a slew of changes to their Docs office and productivity suite live for all users and all new documents. From now on, when you create a new spreadsheet, drawing, presentation or text document in Docs, you’ll be using the snazzy new interface and collaboration features as the default.

Two months ago, Google announced some major new features for Google Docs. Users were able to preview these upgrades, which included completely group chat, real-time collaboration tools, and completely redesigned editors for documents, spreadsheets, and drawings.

From now on, anytime you create a new document, you’ll be doing so from the new version of Google Docs. Documents already created using the older editor will remain in that interface, and you’ll soon be able to move those older documents to the new version of Docs, too.

Here’s a little video that highlights some of Docs’ new features:

Enterprise-level users of Google Apps will also see the new default interface soon.

Here’s what the rebuilt Docs looks like, in case you haven’t been testing it out over the past couple months:

This upgraded version becoming Docs’ new default interface comes at just the right time; Microsoft recently announced a Google Docs competitor in Office Web Apps, a web-based suite that includes a text editor/word processor, spreadsheet editor and presentation software.

(from Mashable)