Google added more capabilities Wednesday to its growing arsenal of hosted online applications as it took the wraps off Gadgets for Spreadsheets in Google Docs. The new Google Gadgets are HTML and JavaScript mini-applications that can be used to create graphics from spreadsheet details and soon after publish the graphs on a Web site.

“Developers now have an easy way to add features to Google Docs,” said Google engineers Zach Lloyd and Mike Harm on The Official Google Docs Blog. The additions to Google Docs, they said, will start with an implementation in spreadsheets, and developers can plus “pull collaborative notes from Google Docs into gadgets on iGoogle and other platforms.” iGoogle is a customizable Google start page.

Late for Wedding?

As one example, Lloyd and Harm suggested taking a project plan spreadsheet, adding a custom time-line chart via Google Gadgets, and letting users see the plan’s progress. whether you use it for a wedding plan, they wrote,

how better to let your intended spouse know that you’ll be “late to your own wedding?”

The software enhancements enable users to add new ways to display documents, and to inform users via e-mail that documents has been updated. Those who have signed up for collaborations can see in their e-mail notifications the user names of citizens who’ve made changes. Ordinary viewers can set up notifications, but without seeing user names.

Google Gadgets are expected to be added to spreadsheet’s companions in the Google Docs suite, the word-processor and presentation applications, although that date line is not yet known.

Additionally, third-party developers can join Google in creating new capabilities for the spreadsheet. Gadgets include interactive time-series charts, Gantt charts, funnel charts, instance lines, organization charts, tables with filters and grouping, pivot tables, and maps. To add a gadget, the user simply clicks on “insert” in a drop-down menu and…

Orginal post by Top Tech News