Google launched a new feature for their online office tools viz. Google Docs and Google Sheet; Add-ons.
Add-ons for Google Docs & Sheets give more features to your documents and spreadsheets as and when you want. The new add-ons can be tapped by developers to create easy but very resourceful add-ons which can be used for Google Docs & Sheets.
You can browse through the add-ons for Docs and Sheets by simply opening or creating any document or spreadsheet. Select Get Add-ons in the Add-ons menu and you will be provided with a bunch of add-ons to try & use.
(Add-ons for spreadsheets are only available in the new Google Sheets).
The add-ons are not only helpful to the end-user to create documents and spreadsheets easily by integrating various different data from infinite number of sources but also gives developers an opportunity to reach out to users and present their data as and when they want it the most. The video below shows some really simple examples which are available to use right away in docs & sheets.
Developing Add-ons
The Add-ons are simple to make as long as you know basic HTML, CSS and JavaScript as they are powered by Google’s robust Google Apps Script"> Google Apps Script"> Google Apps Script">Google Apps Script.
As of now Add-ons framework is in developer preview, so you need to Apply to publish your Add-on.
If you still are wondering how easy and quick it is to make a new add-on for Google Docs & Sheets, Amit Agarwal from Digital Inspiration has a very simple and easy to understand guide on How to Write an Add-on for Google Docs.
These add-ons seem very simple to use as long as they are available in the add-ons store as and when you want. You can check out the two stores here: Docs and Sheets
Source : Google Drive Blog