Google Drive now Integrates Add-Ons for Enhanced Productivity. Here are the Best Ones so far.

Google Drive wants to be the best place where you can write online – it is obsessed with auto saving; it has plenty of sharing options and can be accessed anywhere and on any device, provided you have Internet connection. In addition, Google powered up its online word and spreadsheets processors with a new feature called Add-ons, which means extra tools designed to boost your writing process.

You'll find this feature when you log into your Google Drive account, and as you create a new document or spreadsheet, you will be able to see a new tool at the top of the page, it has a little “new” sticker to it.

As you select add-ons, you need to click get add-ons to be able to use them. Once you are redirected to the Google Drive extensions webpage, you will be able to see plenty of extensions to make your writing process streamlined and smooth and boost your productivity.

Check out these add-ons:

Thesaurus (Docs)

If you still don't know what thesaurus is, it’s about time you find out because it boosts your writing process, and whenever you cannot think of a right synonym for a word, you can resort to this powerful add-on, which resembles Microsoft Word’s Thesaurus, and it will give you several options for the word’s synonym. If you install it, you will see a sidebar add-on with the synonyms on the right and all you need to do is highlight a word and select Thesaurus. You will never be distracted with looking for that synonym on the Internet ever again.

EasyBib (Docs)

Completing a bibliography is the worst part of writing a paper, everyone who has ever been a student will tell you that, especially if you consider all the different formats required by professors so vehemently. EasyBib add-on was designed to help you with just that – it pops up on the right of your document and offers a streamlined way of searching for journal articles, books or websites by title, keywords or ISBN. Once you find the source you need, you can choose from the predefined set of three styles to format the text: Chicago, APA or MLA. Next, all you have to do is click “add bibliography” to the document, and the correctly formatted text appears. A magic wand for students – you no longer need to spend hours on formatting that aggravating part of your paper.

HelloFax (Docs)

We strongly anticipate the fax machines will become obsolete and will soon be replaced by emailing altogether, but HelloFax is loyal to those born in the previous century and devoted to the faxing ritual, allowing you to fax without even having to look at your fax machine. All you need to do is choose what document you need to fax, add the phone number, fill in a cover page and press “send.” While the first several pages come free, from there you must upgrade, and the starting rate is $10 a month per 300 pages.

Maps for Docs (Docs)

Before you hit the road, it’s very helpful to see a visual representation of the places you’re planning to visit, and this add-on saves you a lot of time you usually waste copy-pasting names of the places to search them on the Google Maps. Maps for Docs automatically generates a Google map of the locations you have in your text document, and embeds the image right in your document. The image can be resized, too.

Mapping Sheets (Sheets)

If you are a map aficionado and would like to fill your address book with location images, you can try out Mapping Sheets. Say, you’re planning a trip to Rome and have a lot of sightseeing locations on your agenda. If you have those places of interest saved in a spreadsheet, Mapping Sheets can transform them into a Google map. This way, if you’re planning a trip, you will be able to get a visual representation of the possible routes to take and see sightseeing suggestions.

Track Changes (Docs)

This feature displays all changes you have made to previous versions of the text in the document, so you can restore your document to any previous version, should the need arise.

UberConference (Docs)

This is a collaboration add-on, which gives you the opportunity to meet your colleagues online or over the phone and make collaborative notes. If you want to share a document, this tool generates a phone number and a unique group PIN code you can share with your colleagues. You can record conversations, take notes and share them with everyone in the group.

The add-on library may not be abundant, but it sure is getting updated with cool stuff on an hourly basis. Clearly, the above-mentioned add-ons are powerful workflow boosters, so go ahead and try them out, and let us know about new cool ones you are using.