12. Email notifications
In the Sheets spreadsheet app you can get customised notifications when something is changed on a spreadsheet. Choose Tools > Notification rules to set up your alerts as required.
13. Theme master slides
The themes in Slides help you get your presentation up and running quickly, and in October Google added the option to edit the master slide (and thus the current theme). Open the Slide menu and choose the 'Edit master' option to make changes.
14. Layout tables
The Docs word processor doesn't have the most advanced design tools, but you can use tables for slightly more unusual layouts. Use the Table menu to create the grid and then change its borders to 0pt width so that they're invisible.
15. Conditional formatting
The capabilities and scope of Google's online office suite continues to grow. Via the Format menu in Sheets you can apply specific text and background colours if the cells in a certain range match particular criteria (such as their numerical value).
16. Word Art
The Slides presentation program includes a basic Word Art tool that you can access from the Insert menu. You can change text colour, border colour and border thickness from the toolbar, and Word Art shapes can be useful if you need more flexibility than a standard text box can give you.
17. Scan documents
If you have the official Google Drive app for Android, you can select the Scan option to use your phone or tablet as a scanner. Snap a physical document with your device's camera and the app converts it to a PDF saved in Google Drive.
18. Find new apps
Many of the apps available in the Chrome Web Store tie right in with Google Drive and add extra capabilities to the service. From the main files list open the settings drop-down menu and choose Manage apps to look at apps you've already connected. Follow the link to browse for new programs, which cover everything from photo editing to online document signing.
19. Start publishing
You can embed a presentation or any other type of file on the web to make it easier for other people to find. Choose Publish to the Web from the File menu to see the available options.
20. Go offline
If you're going to be away from a reliable Internet connection for a while, you can still work on your files by utilising Google Drive's offline capabilities. You need to set this up in advance so the necessary caching can be carried out, and you need to be using the Chrome browser: choose the Offline link from the file list to enable the feature. If you haven't already installed the Drive Chrome app, you'll be prompted to do so. If you're running Chrome OS, the feature is enabled automatically.
- Now why not read How Google Now can help you be more efficient
