HOW TO USE GOOGLE DOCS IN CANVAS CODE

Ultimately, the most important question may not be whether Google is using traditional web technologies, but whether Google Workspace will continue to be a real web app instead of just a Chrome app. вЂњWe have third party partnerships underway.вЂќ вЂњWe do not want this to be a walled garden. Google does say that its smart chip system will be open to other companies. ItвЂ™s unclear what third-party Workspace plugins or what Chrome extensions may break in the future, but thatвЂ™s true of any web app, whatever technology itвЂ™s built on. And this approach is, to us, an opportunity for us to showcase what you can do through these apps.вЂќ These standards are really important to us.

HOW TO USE GOOGLE DOCS IN CANVAS CODE

Google insists that the switchover from more traditional web code to canvas is unrelated to todayвЂ™s announcements, but Trautman admits that the вЂњshift in technology is part of whatвЂ™s allowing us to innovate and bring these new affordances forward.вЂќДЄt the same time, Javier Soltero, VP and GM of Google Workspace, emphasizes that Google - and the Workspaces team, in particular - contributes quite a bit to the web: вЂњWe are fiercely committed in steering the path of innovation around the web. Google is committed to the web as WorkspaceвЂ™s main platform, but itвЂ™s evolving One refrain is that Google is one of the greatest champions of the web and puts significant engineering resources into web technologies - and if Workspace isnвЂ™t using them for core features, thatвЂ™s a bad sign at best and harmful to the development of the web at worst. I bring this up because it caused a bit of a stir in the web community last week. ItвЂ™s a technique for putting code on a webpage that doesnвЂ™t necessarily use the stuff you might think of as the code that makes up most of the web like HTML, CSS, and so on. Essentially, it sits on top of web technology, but - depending on who you ask - it isnвЂ™t made of web technology. I regret to inform you that we must now briefly discuss web standards, but itвЂ™s relevant.ДЄt a very high level, canvas is an element you can put into any HTML page, and as the name suggests, it is an empty space you can use to display more complex things - like stuff built with scripts.

Last week, Google put up a blog post announcing that вЂњGoogle Docs will now use canvas based rendering: this may impact some Chrome extensions.вЂќ That вЂњcanvasвЂќ is different from the smart canvas weвЂ™ve been discussing. Taken together, itвЂ™s a grab bag of updates, but the thing to keep an eye on going forward is the smart canvas function, which is built on a new framework for Workspace apps that could accelerate development. It dynamically resizes the doc to the size of your web browser the way a web app ought to.ДЇinally, Google is adding some вЂњassisted writingвЂќ features to Google Docs, which will range from warning you about offensive language, wordiness, or noninclusive language. There is a smattering of other small updates: emoji reactions in Google Docs in addition to traditional comments, a new timeline view in Google Sheets for improved project management, and best of all: a new вЂњpagelessвЂќ view in Google Docs that does away with the assumption that your document is meant for an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper.

All of that integration will be useful, but it also has the benefit (for Google) of perhaps enticing users away from using competing products like Zoom or Slack and instead using GoogleвЂ™s cohesive suite. YouвЂ™ll be able to start a Meet video chat directly within Docs or share your Doc directly into a Meet call with a button in the doc. Ultimately, Google is working to make every single part of its Workspace suite of apps interconnected. ItвЂ™s not dissimilar to MicrosoftвЂ™s Fluid Office document project, which launched last year. The idea behind the smart canvas is similar to workplace productivity suite dreams that reach as far back as OpenDoc in the вЂ™90s: having smaller bits of information like charts, text, and images become more modular and interconnected. TheyвЂ™re part of what Google is calling the вЂњsmart canvas,вЂќ a new initiative that promises to increase the cadence of product improvements for Workspace. Just like you can tag people with an symbol, starting today, you can use it to specialize links inside docs that hook up other files or meetings. Google is launching a slate of new features for its Workspace productivity suite today, starting with new вЂњsmart chipsвЂќ that connect Google Docs to other products.

How to use google docs in canvas