How to Use Google Drive Add-ons?

by Brooke Perry technical content writer

Add-on is a newly launched feature dedicated to the Google’s online office suite known as Google Drive. However, for the time being this feature is available only for two apps of Google Drive viz Google Sheets and Google Docs. It is yet not available for Google Presentation and other Google drive apps.

However, Google hasn’t rolled out this feature for all as not all the users can see it. Randomly, this feature is available to some users only. Moreover, it is not necessary that if the feature is showing up in any of the two apps, it will show up in the next app also. It has been reported by some of the users that they can see Add-ons menu in Docs, but not in Sheets or vice versa. However, officially Google has introduced the Add-ons feature for both Google Docs and Sheets this March. Very soon it is expected to be available to all the users and in the both the apps.

Enable Goggle Drive Add-ons

·         Sign in to the Google Admin console

·         Click Google Apps > Drive > General

·         Click on the check-box of “Allow users to install Google Docs add-ons”

·         Click on “Save changes”

Download an Add-on

User can see the ‘Add-on’ menu just next to the ‘Help’ menu towards right side of a newly created Google doc or Google sheet. There is huge collection of highly useful Add-ons, but you need to download them first before using. Perform the following steps to get it downloaded.

·         Open a new Google Doc or Google Sheet

·         Look for the "Add-ons" tab on the top menu bar

·         Click on the “Add-ons” and select "Get add-ons"

·         This will launch a pop-up window with a variety of add-ons to choose from

·         Select the one you prefer using

·         Click on the "Free" button to download it.

Once the downloading gets completed, a window will pop up on the screen. This window reads the information about the add-on's access to your data. It is a process to confirm your permission towards the installation of that particular Add-on in your Google Drive. Simply click ‘Accept’ and the add-on will get available in your document or spreadsheet. Once an add-on gets installed, users can use it in a specific document, all documents, or no documents. To use it in any document, users need to open it specifically in every document or sheet. The steps on how to open it are given below.

Open an Add-on:

·         Open a new Google Doc or Google Sheet

·         Click on the "Add-ons" tab in the menu bar

·         It will list the installed Add-ons

·         Every installed Add-on will have a green colored "Manage" button towards its right side

·         This will give you a drop menu with the first option “Use in this document” or “Use in this sheet”

·         Click on the first option to get the Add-on used

·          From this drop menu, you can even ‘report an issue’ for that particular Add-on and can even share it with your friends.

Remove an Add-on:

·         Open a new Google Doc or Google Sheet

·         Click on the "Add-ons" tab in the menu bar

·         It will list the installed Add-ons

·         Every installed Add-on will have a green colored "Manage" button towards its right side

·         Click on the “Manage” button of the one that you want to un-install

·         This will give you a drop down menu with the last option “Remove”

·         Click on “Remove” to get the Add-on uninstalled.

Some Examples of Google Drive Add-ons

·         HelloFax: It helps by making the process of sending fax much easier. If you want to fax a Google Document, just click on HelloFax, enter the fax number and your document will get faxed.

·         Mapping Sheets: It helps in making Google Maps using Google Sheets. Irrespective of how many names and addresses are there in your Google Sheet, Mapping Sheets can instantly create a Google Map from those.

·         EasyBib: It helps in creating bibliographies with much ease. Just enter the URL or title into EasyBib and it will automatically create the bibliography entry for it.

·         UberConference: To add audio conference calls to your Google Doc, use UberConference. Just invite your participants using this Add-on and everyone will be on the conference call within a few seconds.

However, if you run an organization, where you don’t want to give all your employees the authority to download or uninstall the Add-ons, then you can disable it for any Google Drive account to which you have access. However, once you disable or enable it, the changes will come into effect on a previously opened sheets or documents only after one hour. Moreover, the changes won't be visible till the documents / sheets are reopened or refreshed.

About the Author:  Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolve computer support with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphone. With a strong track record of devising effective ways of online tech support and system security, she has so far helped thousands of users across the globe. Her writings on tech issues are the reflection of her in-depth interest and command she carries as a  pc security support technician. Her blogs and articles have been rated high for their lucid style and easy to understand language.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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