Google’s software developers are certainly keeping busy these days. Yesterday we reported on the release of a new Gmail Labs offering: Got the Wrong Bog? Today we report on the release of yet another Labs feature, one that lets the Gmail user preview Google documents, spreadsheets and presentations within the Gmail inbox. Thanks to Google Docs previews (the name of the Labs offering), instead of opening the document, spreadsheet or presentation in another tab or window, you can just hit the preview button and a preview will be displayed right then and there.
“Starting today, you can preview the contents of a Google document, spreadsheet, or presentation right in your Gmail inbox — just like you've already been able to do with YouTube videos, Yelp reviews, and Picasa and Flickr albums. Gmail will automatically detect when you receive a document link and display the name and type of doc below the email. Just click "Show preview" and the contents of the document will display right there — no need to switch back and forth between email response and document,” explained Software Engineer, Steven Saviano.
If Google Docs previews sounds like a Gmail Labs offering that will help you, here is a detailed step-by-step guide on how to activate it in your Gmail account:
Step 1 - Go to Gmail (click here – a new tab will open), enter your login credentials and click "Sign in". If you are already signed into Google, click this link and you can just skip step 2 in this tutorial.
Step 2 - In the top right corner of the screen, right next to your user name you should be able to see “Settings”; click it. Now locate “Labs” and click it as well.
Step 3 - Scroll down until you find a Labs feature called Google Docs previews. Select Enable, then click Save Changes (there’s a Save Changes tab at the top of the experiments list and at the bottom as well) and you’re done.
“Starting today, you can preview the contents of a Google document, spreadsheet, or presentation right in your Gmail inbox — just like you've already been able to do with YouTube videos, Yelp reviews, and Picasa and Flickr albums. Gmail will automatically detect when you receive a document link and display the name and type of doc below the email. Just click "Show preview" and the contents of the document will display right there — no need to switch back and forth between email response and document,” explained Software Engineer, Steven Saviano.
If Google Docs previews sounds like a Gmail Labs offering that will help you, here is a detailed step-by-step guide on how to activate it in your Gmail account:
Step 1 - Go to Gmail (click here – a new tab will open), enter your login credentials and click "Sign in". If you are already signed into Google, click this link and you can just skip step 2 in this tutorial.
Step 2 - In the top right corner of the screen, right next to your user name you should be able to see “Settings”; click it. Now locate “Labs” and click it as well.
Step 3 - Scroll down until you find a Labs feature called Google Docs previews. Select Enable, then click Save Changes (there’s a Save Changes tab at the top of the experiments list and at the bottom as well) and you’re done.