The folks at the Googleplex have definitely been busy this week. All sorts of cool announcements going on!
Google Draw
Google Draw is no longer just for adding drawings to Google documents. It is now a full-fledged member of the Google Documents suite. When you first enter Google Docs, you might see an announcement:
The Learn More link just takes you to the help article which describes some of the features. Among the features are collaboration, real-timesharing, a big pile of shapes along with the ability to add your own images. Pretty cool stuff. The announcement post offers more examples and a video.
I look forward to experimenting with it soon. I can’t help but wonder how it will compare to Gliffy (a web-based diagramming app). [past Gliffy mentions]
Updated Google Docs
The preview edition of the newer, faster Google document and spreadsheet editors was announced at the beginning of the week. Real time collaboration features are a big deal, along with better document formatting and such. But you know what new feature really makes me happy?
We’ve also added a host of often requested features, like a formula bar for cell editing, auto-complete, drag and drop columns, and simpler navigation between sheets
A formula bar! Finally! Man, I’ve hated the in-cell editing of long formulas. so this is a big deal. And I’ll tell you what, the spreadsheet is definitely faster.
The new versions won’t show up by default, but you’ll easily spot the New Version toggle link once you’re in the document or spreadsheet editor. Try ‘em out.
Gmail Drag and Drop Attachments
Saving the best for last 
Announced earlier today, Google Mail users – using Firefox 3.6 or Chrome browsers – can now drag and drop attachments to email messages. Yeah, this isn’t for everyone or every browser, but if you use one of those two you can save a ton of time.
Start a new mail, then drag a file from an open folder/file browser (or the desktop) and you’ll see a drop target show up. Drop the file on it and bob’s your uncle.
I love the feature, really I do. But I do wish it would also work for adding images to the body of an email as well… perhaps that will come in the future?
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