Google Docs adds document version history, Google Sites new sharing options

Google has announced a few changes to Google Docs and Sites today that should be welcome additions.

First of all, Google Docs now allows you to “upload new versions of the same file to your document list”, meaning that instead of changing the file name and putting it into a new URL, share it again and then fix the folders (which must have driven people crazy), all you have to do now is to upload the file to the same place you previously uploaded it and you’ll now be shown the document’s history (and you can also download previous versions).

In Google Sites, there are two new features: drop down menus in horizontal navigation (i.e. something that is a common web practice) as well as the addition of Google Docs-like sharing options. Now, just like with Docs, you can set a Google Site to be public on the web, accessible to whomever has the link or private and only accessible with permission. Only the “public on the web” option will make your site indexable by search engine spiders, so this improvement could be very useful for collaborators that want to have a website-based collaboration, but don’t want it to be available to the public (college classes come to mind).