Droid X: The Missing Manual

Using Google Docs

An increasing number of companies and government agencies use Google Docs for creating and sharing documents, including word processing files, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Google Docs works much like Microsoft Office, but the software and all the documents live on the Web, where you can share them with others. The basic service is free for individuals, although companies of all sizes can pay for the useful corporate features.

With the Droid X’s browser, you can view all the documents you have access to on Google Docs. You can’t create or even edit them in the browser, but it’s not likely that you’re going to want to create a full-blown presentation or spreadsheet on your smartphone. (If you want to do more than just stare at your Google Docs, you can get an app for that; see the next section.)

To use Google Docs on your Droid X, launch your browser and visit Google Docs on the Web at http://docs.google.com. (If that doesn’t get you to the right location, check with your IT department.)

You come to a page that shows you all the documents you have access to in Google Docs. You can choose to see them all in a list, or only see the ones that you created (Owned by Me), or those that you have starred.

To view any document, tap it. The document opens in a built-in Google document viewer. You can scroll through the document and zoom in and out using the usual Droid X finger motions (Tap).

Note

If you have PDF files in Google Docs, you’ll be able to read those as well. ...