Google Docs Homepage Layout Updated

posted Jan 31, 2011, 7:31 PM by Eric Curts   [ updated Jan 31, 2011, 7:51 PM ]
If you use Google Docs a lot, you are sure to notice the new layout to the Google Docs homepage.  Although there are a few new features, mostly things have just been rearranged in a (hopefully) more useful layout.  The Docs homepage looks like this now:



The key changes are:
  • Folders are now called Collections.
  • You can filter your files by clicking the drop-down menus above the file list titled "Documents", "Images & videos", and "More options".
  • You can sort files by date "Last modified", date "Last opened", "Priority", "Title", and "Starred".
  • Selecting a file displays a preview of the file on the right along with file properties
  • To do more actions on a file (Share, Organize, Rename, Download, etc.) hover your mouse over the title and then click the "Actions" link that appears.
The biggest trouble I can see is the potential confusion over opening a file (click on its title) and selecting a file (click next to the title).

The real reason for this layout change may be to continue moving Google Docs toward a full-featured cloud-based file management system and not just collection of productivity tools.

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