I have tried several Google Docs editors for Android and none of them has fully featured editor functionality. Selecting things like fonts and colors is absent and I have actually tried two editors that completely messed up a document I had initially created using a computer. I read several reviews stating similar things. Does anyone know of a way to edit Google Docs documents using Android?
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What's wrong withe the original google doc app?– FlowCommented Sep 15, 2011 at 8:03
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Have you actually seen the user interface of the spreadsheet app on Android?– VoYCommented Nov 5, 2011 at 15:01
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@Flow The editor is completely flawed. I ran into three bugs in three minutes. One of them was that a number of characters were inserted into the document at random. I tried both the official Google Docs app and just using the standard browser to access Google Docs mobile web pages. Same bugs occurred on both.– DavidCommented Jan 21, 2012 at 14:59
4 Answers
I just tested QuickOffice Pro and it will do this. It didn't seem to ruin my existing google doc either.
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I have tested QuickOffice (trial version), and it works flawlessly on simple documents.– DavidCommented Jan 28, 2012 at 19:12
One reason you will not find an editor for android that supports fonts is probably because almost all android devices only come with 3 fonts, Droid-Serif, Droid-Sans and Droid-Sans-Mono. There are some devices that have other fonts, but from what I have seen, they are not "standard" fonts like you would see on a PC/Mac.
Also, the editors are limited because of screen size. You may see better editors come along with tablets, but even then, you are limited in screen real estate since you would need to have the on screen keyboard open with the editor.
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1As I write in my answer, Firefox for Android is able to present all fonts.– DavidCommented Jan 21, 2012 at 18:34
There is a Google Docs app available on the market but I myself wasn't too keen. However, there is an called Documents to Go which allows the creation and editing office documents and Google docs.
To edit and create though you do need the paid version of the app as the free version is only a viewer but you need the free version installed with the paid version as the paid version is an unlock app. The app can be found at https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dataviz.docstogo&feature=search_result
Hope this helps
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I am not willing to spend the money needed to test the editing capabilities of Documents to Go. I have been disappointed by so many other editors. I also doubt that Documents to Go will have real-time syncronization.– DavidCommented Jan 27, 2012 at 19:38
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Not entirely sure what you mean by real-time synchronisation. If you are talking about the google docs sync then it is instant as soon as you save to google docs it will be there on any other device with access to google docs. It is quite an expensive app but you can try it out for 15 minutes and then uninstall it if to get your money back if you are not happy with the app.– BoardyCommented Feb 7, 2012 at 15:18
The best solution I have found so far is to access the desktop version (not mobile version) of a document with the FireFox browser for Android. This way, I am able to see all fonts just fine and edit the document without it suddenly adding characters at random or messing up the document. The only problem seems to be that FireFox does not seem to understand when to present the keyboard. I can force this by long-pressing my menu button. Sometimes I have to fiddle a bit before the characters I type show up in the document (maybe the reason for this was a flaky connection).