Google quietly renamed its productivity apps on Tuesday, Oct. 23, while releasing them as standalone apps inside the Chrome Web Store.
The apps previously known as Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations - the counterparts of Microsoft's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, respectively - are now called Docs, Sheets, and Slides. With the productivity tools now available as standalone apps in the Chrome Web Store, users can start Google Drive projects more quickly. Meanwhile, Chromebook users will see the apps in their apps list by default once the next Chrome OS update is installed.
"Starting today, Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations - now called Docs (https://goo.gl/gj7gS), Sheets (https://goo.gl/39Osb), and Slides (https://goo.gl/Wxeux) - are available as apps in the Chrome Web Store," Google announced in a Tuesday blog post. "Once you've installed them, you'll have shortcuts to these apps every time you open a new tab in Chrome."
In a later update, Google also added that users can now install apps for Drawings, Forms, Script, and Fusion Tables as well.
The new updates aim to make it easier for Google chrome users to create and edit documents, presentations and spreadsheets while on the go. Once the new Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Web Apps are installed, shortcuts to daily access will appear when users open a new tab in Google Chrome.
"Google Drive is a place where you can create, share, collaborate and keep all your stuff. Of course, there are times you want to start a new document right away - say, to take notes in class or prepare a last-minute presentation for your boss," explained the search giant. The new updates are designed to facilitate such tasks as much as possible, by making the productivity tools more readily available.
Google Drive launched earlier this year, and has since become one of the most popular cloud-based office suites currently available. Google offers its services to both consumers and enterprise customers, and is keen on constantly updating its offerings. While the latest Google Drive update may come as a minor functionality, it foreshadows the cloud's increasingly bigger role in office and productivity apps.
The new Docs, Sheets, and Slides productivity apps are already available in the Chrome Web Store. To add them, simply click the "+ Add to Chrome" button at the top right of the screen.
