Canva Docs vs. Google Docs
A while back, I shared about Canva’s Visual Worksuite. At that time, they showed us some previews of Canva Docs and let us apply for a beta, but now… it’s out!
I hate to do the “it’s a mix of blank and blank” thing, but this really is a mix of Google Docs and Canva’s original graphic tool. It kind of looks like you have a Google Doc inside of the Canva window.
So how does it compare to a tool like Google Docs?
Well, if your goal is basic
typing and text document formatting, then Google Docs — and Microsoft Word — are slightly better, but it’s close. The Canva Docs toolbar has most of what you need:
- font types
- font formatting
- text alignment
- bullets
- indents
- line spacing
You might be wondering, what about numbered lists and checklists? If you click the bullet button, it toggles between bullets, numbers, and checkboxes. You can scan the toolbar in Google Docs or Word and list things that I didn’t mention – tables, insert images, comments, and others – they are there, but most of them are just housed elsewhere.
Take a look under the hovering plus button and you will find:
- Magic Write
- heading and subheading formatting
- tables
- graphs
- charts
and even some exciting additions like:
- a code embed box
- a timer
- a button for creating visual designs within the document
- an emoji picker
Magic Write?
You might be thinking, “Jake, you said Magic Write. What is that!?” Well, I bet you can guess. It’s 2023 and we’re talking about a feature in a tech tool. If you just guessed AI, you’re right. Canva bills Magic Write as “your AI-powered writing assistant.” If you’re battling writer’s block, Magic Write will help you generate some writing–a sentence, paragraph, list, or outline–and help you start brainstorming. It’s pretty much ChatGPT, but inside of your document.
And, whatever you can’t find in that + menu, you can probably find in the left menu, which is the same pane that you’ll likely remember from creating graphics in Canva. You can also embed other Canva creations–graphics, presentations, videos, and more–into your Canva Docs.
Just a little fun…
Oh – a final little fun feature, like in Google Docs, you can easily add emojis into your Canva Doc by typing a colon and then a word to describe the emoji you want. I, of course, started by testing it with :poop. 
Templates:
Like the rest of Canva, it comes stocked with tons of great templates and assets that can be added to your creations. Plus, you can edit those assets and templates from within your Canva Doc. So if you’ve ever wished that you could add cool design elements and headings to your Google Docs or Word Docs, you may want to try this out.
Collaborate:
Like Google Docs, Canva Docs gives you real-time collaboration and easy file
sharing, but it adds some great insights like who has viewed, engaged with, or collaborated in the doc. And, like Google Docs, there’s a version history that has the option to restore previous versions.
Presentations:
And, if all of that is not enough, Canva added a convert feature that they call “Docs to Decks”. It uses AI to turn your Canva Doc into an editable Canva Presentation! Don’t you wish you could do this with Google Docs and Google Slides? Me too!
Who Can Use Canva Docs?
Like the rest of Canva, this is all free for education users. On your personal accounts, you’ll be able to access and create Canva Docs, but you’ll have to pay in order to add some of the assets.
[ Image(s) Source:https://www.canva.com/docs ] Continue reading Canva Docs
