Today there are more options than ever to create, edit, and save documents.  So, whether it’s a letter to a friend, slide show for a presentation, or home budget spreadsheet there are some great free options to get the job done.  Before we discuss those in more detail it should be mentioned that offerings from Microsoft Office and Corel WordPerfect Office Suite are still available for purchase.  But the everyday user may be pleasantly surprised at the ease of use and robust functionality of the online options.

Google Drive drive.google.com is now the home base for Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and more.  If you have a Gmail account (when registering an android phone, you have to get one) than you already have Google Drive.  The online service can even open, edit, and create PDF docs.  In the past this functionality was limited to purchasers of costly Adobe or other PDF editing software.  The great thing about a PDF (portable document format) file is that it looks the same on a variety of machines and devices.  So, once you’ve created a PDF and send it off- you know that the formatting and layout will look the same on the recipient’s end as it did on yours.  It will even print the same. 

However, not all PDF documents are created the same.  There are some limitations when using Google Drive to edit PDF files created by someone else.  Documents that have graphic design elements may only open with just the text.  Where this functionality of Google Docs really shines is for editing simpler text heavy documents like letters or forms that don’t have extensive formatting.  Even with these limitations, the ability to create and edit PDF documents is an awesome feature.

Sending professional documents like a resume as a PDF is extremely advantageous.  With a PDF, you can rest assured that those snazzy bulleted lists, font formatting, tabs, and margins will be just where you placed when the recipient views or prints them out.   Speaking about resumes- don’t just ignore those squiggly red lines under the words you’ve typed.  That’s Google Docs alerting you to a spelling issue.  Unfortunately, grammar check is not part of the Google offering, so you’ll still want to have someone else proofread certain documents.

Another free option is Microsoft OneDrive onedrive.live.com.  This online service includes Word Online, PowerPoint Online, Excel Online, and much more.  All you have to do is sign up for a Live account (which you may already have with Windows 10 or Xbox Live).

Word Online has built in grammar and spelling check utilities that conveniently underlines errors.  However, the handy right-click menu item to check for synonyms is reserved for the paid versions of Word.  Word Online also has the ability to create and edit PDF documents.  One could even argue that it does this slightly better than Google Drive.

This just scratches the surface of what you can do with the free online word processors offered by two major players in this arena- Microsoft and Google.  We haven’t even discussed the spreadsheet, presentation, or other utilities offered by these and other vendors.  Not to mention the fact that you get free online storage for your files when using these services.

Not sure where to get started to take advantage of these services?  Do you know a teenager or millennial?  Ask them for ten minutes of their time to walk you through getting started.  Both Google and Microsoft have also done a nice job of including help info and tutorials.  Of course, you can always talk to your friendly HCC representative as well.