You can now add new features to your Google Docs and Sheets and, since we’re talking about third-party add-ons, I’m sure developers will seize the opportunity and provide users with some great functionality. It’s quite easy to use this new feature. Here’s how you can get started with it.
Gettting Started With Google Docs and Sheets Add-ons
Step 1: Open a document in Google Docs or Sheets and, in the top menu, click Add-ons. Step 2: Then, click Get add-ons. A window will pop up, showing you the list of add-ons which are available for the respective app. For example, here are some of the add-ons Docs has on offer at the moment – there were 33 available when this article was written, but the number is increasing. Google Sheets is also generous in terms of available third-party add-ons. At the moment this article was being written, no less than 29 were available. You can scroll through the list and, once you’ve found something which could be of use to you, you can click it to get more details about it. Step 3: If you want to install the respective add-on, click the + button to install it. There were only free add-ons when I wrote this article, but I presume there will be paid ones in the future too. After clicking the button, you’ll be asked to grant permission for the add-on. Once the add-on has been installed, you can find it, with its respective options, by clicking the Add-ons button in Docs or Sheets (depending on what you’ve installed it on). Removing an add-on you’re not using anymore is also a pretty simple process. Go to the same Add-ons menu and click Manage add-ons.
In the window which will pop up, click Manage next to the add-on you want to get rid of. Now you can just remove the add-on that has lost your favors. Cool Tip: The Manage menu also allows you to disable a certain add-on just for the document you currently are in.
Cool Google Docs and Sheets Add-ons
Here are some cool Docs and Sheets add-ons that are available at the moment.
Letter Feed Workflows (Google Docs/Sheets)
This is a cool add-on and it’s available for both Docs and Sheets. If you constantly need approvals for your work, this add-on will automatically send emails and gather them for you, notifying you when you get them.
Styles (Google Sheets)
Styles allows you to make your spreadsheets more colorful and fun. You can add themed cell styles, various heading types and a few other things. A Pro version is said to be in the works – presumably, with more features.
Pro Writing Aid (Google Docs)
Aimed at writers and those who want to improve their writing, this add-on provides a set of very useful tools, including a Plagiarism Check. Some of the tools are available for free, while some can be used as a free trial for 14 days.
EasyBib Bibliography Creator (Google Docs)
If you’re a student or researcher, you know how tedious the process of creating a bibliography for your papers is. Well, this add-on will make it much easier by helping you search for books, journals and websites which you want to quote. Then, it will format them using the style you’re required to use.
Conclusion
Third-party add-ons for Google Docs and Sheets are a great idea and they can add a lot of useful functionality to two already very good services. I’m sure they have a bright future ahead of them.
