Google Docs is rolling out file review and approval system for Workspace users. The update is coming two years after the beta program was launched. Workspace users will now have access to formal document approvals in the latest update.
Once the formal document approvals feature becomes available, opening the “File” menu will reveal a new “Approvals” option that opens a right sidebar. To make a request, you will have to enter a list of approvals, custom message, and optional due date that will come with reminders. Those you select will get email, browser, or Google Chat notifications with a link to the document.
The feature becomes inevitable when consider how difficult it is to secure document approvals when collaborating with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. With the approval system, it is now easy to secure those approvals and see who approved them.
All viewers will be notified when edits are made to a document and latest version of the document is re-approved. The feature will also ensure that once all reviewers have provided their approval, the file locks and cannot be edited. This of course, secures the integrity of your document.
Earlier in the year, Google Docs welcomed a new feature that will help to make writing faster. Smart Compose was first added to Gmail in 2018, and had since been added to a couple of other products since then. Google Docs users will get to use Smart Compose and autocorrect when adding comments.
The tool, which had been a part of Google Docs since 2019, was made available in the Docs commenting field. Smart Compose suggestions will appear in light gray as you type. When you hit the “tab” key while typing, the feature will automatically accept it.
Also, Google will automatically correct words that are misspelt as they are being entered and identify the change with a dashed underline. As you continue to type however, the marker will disappear.
Google announced Smart Compose at the 2018 Google I/O conference. The smart compose feature is almost like the smart reply feature the company added to its email app before the conference. The smart compose feature will help users compose and send email faster.
Smart Compose works by trying to understand typed text so that AI can suggest words and phrases to complete your sentences. You can add any of the suggested texts you like to the mail you are composing by hitting the tab to have it pasted to the message.
