These days, there’s a lot of opportunities to copy from a template or recycle someone else’s recipe for success.
But more often than not, if you want any chance of making something unique or worthwhile, it’s up to you to start from scratch. Writing a proposal, a screenplay, novel, or simply putting your plan into words often begins and ends in your word processor.
A doc creator — the blank canvas of the modern era — is the starting line for any creative endeavor or business plan.
In this article, you’ll learn what to look for in a doc creator and how you can make a more informed choice.
What is a doc creator?
Doc creator is just another name for a word processor.
A doc creator is a software application that facilitates the creation and editing of text documents on your computer or mobile device.
Modern doc creators allow you to create documents right in your browser without having to download special software. They also save automatically as you type and allow for multiple co-creators.
The typewriter transformed the way people worked and opened up the possibility for modern word processors like WordStar and MacWrite back in the late 70s and early 80s.
The next evolution brought about Microsoft Word and Pages, which became the standard until they gave up a huge market share to Google Docs and other cloud-based programs.
Now the torch is passing yet again to integrated doc creator solutions like monday Docs.
What is monday Docs?
monday Docs is a flexible and multi-purpose whiteboard that acts as a central repository for all your recorded notes, ideas, and media. You can use it for collaborating on a group project, brainstorming ideas, typing up meeting notes, and much more.
What makes it different from Google Docs or other cloud-based doc creators is that it’s fully integrated into monday.com’s powerful Work OS.
But let’s back up for a moment.
The benefits of online doc creation and doc management
Almost every person at a company creates docs from time to time. Some may even create them all day. So what makes online doc creation so special?
Here are just a handful of the numerous benefits to consider:
- Accessing your work from any device means you’re never searching your email or hard drive for the most up-to-date file.
- Autosaving ensures you don’t lose any written work to forgetting to save or computer failure.
- With monday Docs, you get full integration into your Work OS, which makes creating, reviewing, sharing, and filing documents easier than ever.
- Streamlined collaboration features mean everyone has access to the same document and can make edits or leave feedback in real-time.
- Automatically catch and correct common misspelled words and grammar errors which improves your productivity and enhances the quality of your work.
- Embedding other types of media into your work animates it and gives it a look and feel that’s difficult to achieve in earlier versions.
- Easily share or restrict access to your work with various privacy settings.
Once your team gets a feel for the power of online doc creation and management, you’ll wonder how you ever operated without it.
What features to look for in the perfect doc creator
With benefits like that, I’m sure the temptation to dive right into the first online document creator that crosses your path is high. However, taking the time to truly understand which one will suit your organization the best will pay off in the long run.
Here’s a shortlist of features to keep in mind on your journey:
Ease of use
The perfect doc creator is essentially a blank canvas that automatically saves as you work and has everything you need and nothing you don’t.
At least, that’s what monday.com offers with our monday Docs. There’s no limit to the number of monday Docs you have, so you can create as many as you like.
It also makes it simple to customize your text. You can change the text type between normal text and various heading formats. You can also highlight any piece of text in monday Docs, which shows a floating toolbar that allows you to change the text type, color, format, alignment, or add links to your work.
There are additional features, such as:
- Quotes
- Dividers
- Checklists
- Bulleted lists
- Numbered lists
And we can’t forget the all too crucial ability to add media like videos and images to your docs.
monday Docs are basically gridded whiteboards that make it easy to create a custom collage of free-standing elements in one central place.
Each element is movable, and easily duplicated, edited, or deleted. You can add elements by clicking any icons in the toolbar or speed up the process with handy keyboard shortcuts.
Collaboration
Next up is the ability to communicate and collaborate with your doc creator. That means working in real-time with partners, getting feedback, and seeing a record of that feedback.
Arguably the most important element of a doc creator is the ability to share your work with the world.Without that, you’re stuck downloading files or emailing them around like it’s 1997. Nobody wants that.
With collaboration features, you’ll want to start with some robust sharing options. monday Docs, for example, offers the following:
- Main (visible to everyone in your monday.com account)
- Private (working alone or with specific collaborators)
- Shareable Link (link it externally as well as internally)
It’s as easy as setting these when you create the doc or by hitting the Invite button.
You can also add updates such as annotations on images or within the text of your doc as well.
In monday Docs, it’s as simple as double-clicking the image to put it into editing mode and clicking the little speech bubble on the left-hand side of the toolbar.
From there, anywhere you click on the image will allow you to annotate. You can type and format some notes or even ‘@ mention’ other team members to get feedback or make a request.
You can also click the Updates icon from the vertical menu (as shown above) on the right-hand side of the screen to see all your annotations at once.
Mobility
Your docs should be easy to use and full of collaboration features. But what about when you’re away from the office?
The best doc creator applications will work on desktop, browser, and mobile devices equally well. monday.com has all 3, including an app for both Android and iOS devices.
The best part is they’re full-featured versions of the desktop software, so you’re not missing out on anything when you’re traveling or just out to lunch.
Not only can you access your docs and make edits, but you’ll get real-time notifications as well. Much like the updates section, you’ll have an inbox for anyone who’s a member of the doc.
Notifications appear in the Bell Notifications Center and will show you anytime someone replies to what you wrote, if you’re invited to another doc, or if someone’s ‘@ mentioned’ you on the doc. This way, you’re connected to your work no matter where life takes you.
Workflow integration
Last but not least, workflow integration is critical to any reputable doc creator software solution. Again, there are dozens of programs that can help you make documents, but very few that actually integrate with a Work OS like monday.com.
Every organization has a set way of doing things. A set of processes and procedures that are the lifeblood of what makes them productive and valuable.
What you don’t want out of a doc creator is one that doesn’t integrate into that workflow. That causes you to disrupt your workflow or change it entirely to accommodate a new tool.
monday Docs is the solution. They integrate right into the custom workflow you create with monday.com and remain flexible to how you do business.
Extending your reach even further with monday.com
By now, you have a strong sense of what monday Docs is all about. The key ingredient you’re missing now is just how powerful it is as a complete Work OS.
Beyond document generation, monday.com has a wide variety of features you’re sure to find useful ranging from:
- 8+ data visualizations that let you view your data in a manner that’s most efficient and useful to you.
- Unlimited automation actively takes work off your plate and reduces the possibility of human error which can save up to 10 hours or more each week.
- Dozens of app integrations, including Zapier, connect you to over 3,000+ apps that extend your reach and provide seemingly endless opportunities.
- 200+ templates so you can create a custom workflow for every department in your organization.
As you can see, there’s far more to monday.com than its document management and creation features.
Carving your own path
As a document creator, it’s hard to beat monday.com, but what makes it truly special is that monday Docs are fully integrated into the monday.com ecosystem. No swapping back and forth between tools or doing manual entry. It’s all in-house which saves you time, resources, and money.
Lastly, we’re constantly evolving our monday Docs to ensure it remains an unbeatable collaborative tool that allows you to connect items, embed boards and other docs, add widgets, and more.
If you’re ready to try out monday.com, look no further than our Advanced Single Project template. It’ll help you launch your next project in a matter of minutes.
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