Click Create Shortcut and then, when prompted, name the shortcut and click the checkbox for Open As Window ( Figure A).įigure A Creating an app window shortcut for Google Docs on ChromeOS.Ĭlick Create, and your shortcut is ready. Once there, click the Chrome menu button in the top right corner of the browser window. Open Chrome on your Chromebook and then navigate to. But even setting Docs to open in this way makes a big difference in how you work. What we’re going to do is enable Google Docs to be opened in its own dedicated window (without all of the Chrome trimmings). I’ll be demonstrating on the ChromeOS dev build, but you should be able to do this with any release on any channel. To make this work, you’ll only need a Chromebook that is associated with your Google account. But that doesn’t mean you can’t gain a pseudo-dedicated app for Google Docs. Outside of Linux and Android apps, you’re still limited to working with a browser. Now, before you get too excited, you’re not actually installing anything on your Chromebook. And given that Google has still yet to truly nail tab management in Chrome, anything you can do to prevent your browser from getting too jammed up with tabs is a plus. Not only does it give you a more desktop-like feel, but it also keeps your web browser from getting too cluttered with tabs. I much prefer the look and feel of using a dedicated application.

It’s like the difference between using a webmail client or a real email client.

Research: The complexities of multicloud deployments are often worth the benefits, even in uncertain timesīut some of us prefer a bit of separation between our web browsers and our productivity apps. Learn how to adapt your business to the cloud for just $30 SEE: Research: Video conferencing tools and cloud-based solutions dominate digital workspaces VPN and VDI less popular with SMBs (TechRepublic Premium) Cloud: Must-read coverageĬomparing Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud So, when you need to work with Google Docs, you open Chrome, head over to or, and go to work. If you’re a Chromebook user, you have probably accepted your device is pretty much an interface for Google’s cloud offerings as well as a web browser for working outside of that particular ecosystem.

Chromebook google drive