Google Docs and Sites 2011: A Year in Review

This year, we introduced over 100 new features to Google Docs to make creating, sharing, and collaborating in the cloud an even better experience.

In addition to the features you asked for the most, like page numbers and vertical merge, here are our team’s favorite improvements of 2011:

• A new version of Google presentations with character-by-character collaboration - plus new transitions, animations, and themes 
• Comments in Google documents, followed by improvements including collapsible discussions, better email notifications, and a more detailed discussion pane
• A Google Docs Android app available in 48 languages for searching, viewing, and sharing Google Docs on the go in 48 languages
• Comment-only access in documents that allows others to view and comment on your doc without editing
• Offline viewing for your documents and spreadsheets
• Pivot tables in spreadsheets to process and summarize large data sets in seconds 
• Pagination in documents that provide visual page breaks on the screen 
• New printing options such as one-click CloudPrint from your mobile device 
• Page-level permissions in Google Sites for better control over who can view and edit your pages
• Improved accessibility including new screen reader support and shortcuts that makes Google Docs more accessible and navigable for blind users
• A new look across Google Docs and Sites for a more consistent web experience

Our team also loved hearing from you throughout the year: We had you ask us anything in a Reddit AMA, met our Docs and Sites Top Contributors, and held our first Docs Office Hours Google+ Hangout. Our interactions with you were constant reminders of why we build these products.

Let us know in the comments what your favorite features of 2011 were -- and what you’re wishing for in the new year. Thanks for following along -- we look forward to bringing you more in 2012.

Happy holidays from the Google Docs team!

Posted by: Jonathan Rochelle, Product Management Director

Create and celebrate with Google Docs templates for the holidays

This season, brighten up your holiday celebrations with some of our fun and festive Google Docs templates.

If you’re hosting a gift exchange with your friends, family, or colleagues, try our new Secret Santa gift exchange template by following these instructions. This template will allow you to quickly send out a form to collect the necessary information from participating guests. Then, using a Google script, the form will assign Secret Santas and send automated emails to guests with all the details - no folded paper scraps necessary.

Here are a couple of other ways to make your holiday planning easier:

• Have guests RSVP to your holiday soiree
• Organize or budget for your shopping list
• Create a sheet of customized gift tags or mailing labels

Browse the template gallery for more ideas, or submit and share your own templates for others to use. Wishing you the best this holiday season!

Posted by: Teresa Wu, Community Manager

College Tips by Google: A new site for students

Are you applying to college, in the midst of your college years or getting ready for graduation? Wherever you are in your academic journey, Google has tips and tricks to help. Check out our new site, designed just for students, to learn how Google Docs and other Google products can help you stay on your A-game.

Posted by: David Kaufman, Cornell University ‘10 (Go Red!), Product Marketing Manager

Try Google presentations. No login required.

We recently launched a new version of Google presentations with many new features to help you create beautiful presentations together. We’ve added the new editor to our Docs demos to make it easier to test drive your presentation building skills.

Check out the new animations and transitions, get artsy with drawings, and show off your masterpiece to a friend or colleague. You can share the link in the demo with others and work on the same presentation together. No login required. No Google account needed. Just go to docs.google.com/demo to take it for a spin.

The new Google presentations continues to gradually roll out to all users. You can try it in the demo and if you like it, you can enable it in your Docs settings.

Posted by: Sarah Cooper, User Experience Designer