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Google Docs becomes more useful with every subsequent update from Google, and a lot of people have practically replaced Microsoft Office with it. There are, however, a lot of things that Google Docs still cannot do, so you still have to rely on the desktop office suites for more complex documents.

Creating or editing documents in Microsoft Office and moving them back and forth between Google Docs and your PC can be time consuming, and can also be confusing if you have several versions of one document.

OffiSync is a plug-in for Microsoft Office that allows you to save documents you are working on in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint directly to Google Docs, and open existing Google Docs with Microsoft Word, eliminating the need to go to the site in a web browser. The plug-in is still in its infancy, but the beta features and planned features are all very useful.

Once you download and install the OffiSync plug-in, click on the OffiSync tab in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Click on the Settings button and choose Accounts from the menu. Click the Add button on the Accounts window.

When you are prompted to log into Google (which is the only available service right now), enter your User/Email (your Gmail address) and Password, and then click OK.

Once you are logged in, close the Account window, and click the Open button on the OffiSync tab. The Open Document window will open, and you can navigate the full tree of your Google Docs right from the Office applications. You can search for files, or you can browse and open a specific file.

When you open files, they open just like any other Microsoft Word document. If you start a new document, you can also choose to save it to Google Docs using the Save or Save As buttons on the OffiSync tab.

Once you save documents to Google Docs, you will be able to access them online. Please note that if you use fonts that are not available in Google Docs, the font will be substituted, so your documents may not look exactly the same.

OffiSync allows you to share documents with other users and manage the permissions on a document. There is also a Premium version of OffiSync for $12 a year, or a one-time fee of $30, which will allow you to do everything that the free version does, plus:

• Save files in native office format
• Real time co-authoring
• Google Sites Integration
• Receive support from OffiSync and their partners

OffiSync is still in its early phases, but it shows a lot of promise, and it will save you time by allowing you to save Office documents directly to Google Docs and retrieve them from Google Docs for editing. If you have a small business, the Premium version may be an excellent complement to the new Google Docs features.