I'm a Google Docs power user, and this new feature is genuinely helpful - here's why

Google

I consider myself a Google Docs power user. I'm in Docs every day -- and I've used it to write technical articles, documentation, resumes, books, and everything in between.

Every so often, I'll open a document and find something new staring back at me. This happened earlier this month when Google introduced document tabs. My first thought was, "Oh, boy, here we go again. Google's changing things for the sake of change." Then I realized that this new feature could genuinely help users navigate their documents -- especially longer, more complex documents.

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What is the new document tabs feature?

Have you ever created a table of contents? It's the part of a document that breaks down the content by heading, so you can see the layout of what you've written. The new document tabs feature is, essentially, a table of contents; the difference is that Google Docs creates it for you and it's not a part of the document but a tool for the writer.

With document tabs, you can click on a heading in the left sidebar and be taken automatically to that section in the document.

The documents tab feature appears in your document by default but you can dismiss it by clicking the left-pointing arrow at the top left of the document tabs pane. For short documents, you'll probably want to dismiss the document tabs; for longer documents, you'll probably want to leave it open so you can see how the document is coming together (and use it as an easier method of navigation).

By now, every Google Docs user should have the new feature. To see it, all you have to do is log into your Google account, create a new document, and it will appear as a left sidebar.

How to use the new document tabs feature

The best part of the documents tab feature is that you don't have to do anything to make it work -- it just happens. However, there are some handy features included with document tabs that might help convince you to use it.

First, when you create a new document, it'll automatically have one tab, which will have the same name as the title of your document. That primary tab houses all of the sub-tabs that are created as you write your document. Here's how the layout of the documents tab feature works.

Use Heading 1 format: This creates a parent tab for your document. Use Heading 2 format: This creates a child of the parent tab.
Use Heading 3 format: This creates a sub-tab of the child.

And this is where it gets really cool.

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Say you've created a document, which will automatically have a main tab. If you click + to the right of "Document tabs" in the sidebar, a new tab is created and you'll see a blank document, where you can start writing from a clean slate. This could be where you keep your notes for the main document, a bibliography, snippets, or just about anything related to what you're working on.

If you click the original tab, you'll be taken back to the primary document.

You can create as many document tabs as you like. Also, you can rename them, duplicate them, add emojis, copy the link for the tab, show the outline, move down, or move into. To take any of these actions, click the three-dot menu button associated with the tab in question and then select the action you want.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET

The "Move into" action is probably the one you'll use the most. What this does is move a tab from standing on its own into the tab structure of the main document, all the while keeping the content of the tab separate from the main document. To move a tab, click the menu button and then click "Move into" > TAB NAME (Where TAB NAME is the name of the destination tab).

Is the new feature right for you?

Whether or not you use the documents tab feature will depend on how complicated your documents get. If you're using Google Docs to write a letter, a resume, or take notes, the feature will be of no use to you. If, on the other hand, you write more complicated documents -- such as books, research papers, white papers, and proposals -- the document tabs feature will be a must-use that makes it considerably easier to navigate and manage your documents. 

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When I first saw the new feature, I shrugged it off. The more I use document tabs, the more sense it makes. 

Give Google's new tool a try and see if it doesn't make working with your more complicated documents considerably easier. Do keep in mind that the document tabs feature is not available for the mobile version of Google Docs.