WhileGoogle Docshas become more prevalent as a free alternative to Microsoft Word, its drawing features aren’t up to par with paid offerings. You can draw using preset shapes and other limited tools on the desktop site, but this isn’t available on mobile, and it isn’t as easy to use as a signature tool found in services like Adobe Reader and DocuSign. Thankfully, it appears that Google has big plans for the drawing feature in Docs.
Google may be working on a new feature for Google Docs that would allow users to add signatures and drawings directly to their documents faster than before. According to atweet from AssembleDebug, a user known for uncovering buried feature flags in apps, there is an inactive signature and markup feature in Google Docs for Android. Based on the images shown, it’s almost like writing directly on the document like a notepad. There are scant details about how the new feature may work, but it seems like a simplified version of the current tool available on desktop, optimized for touchscreen devices.
How the markup tool might work in Google Docs for Android (Source:AssembleDebug)
The biggest benefit from this would be the ability to sign documents and write comments directly on a file. You can already make comments and get more detailed by switching from Editing to Suggesting, which would allow you to show the changes, what needs to change, and give a reason for why in a much cleaner way. So giving a signature quickly seems to be the standout use for this feature.
Interestingly, this drawing feature is just one of the updates that Google has been working on for its productivity suite. Notably, the company recently introducedline numbersto documents, making navigating lengthy documents more manageable. Google has also addeda polling featureinto Docs, further facilitating decision-making and opinion gathering within the document. Unlike the aforementioned tools, there is no release date for this simplified drawing tool because it was found by enabling buried flags with root, so it’s likely not ready for prime time.
