Google Spreadsheets Adds Gadgets, E-mail Notifications

Every wish you could add an organization chart to your Google Spreadsheets spreadsheet? Or a pivot table? Perhaps a Gantt chart or timeline? These and other options are now a few clicks away thanks to newly added support for gadgets -- little plug-ins that add capabilities to Google Spreadsheets.

Just open a spreadsheet, click the Insert button, and then choose Gadget. Pick the one you want and presto: It's added to your sheet. The couple dozen gadgets currently available are just the tip of the iceberg; more are sure to follow.

Meanwhile, Excel Online -- sorry, Google Spreadsheets -- also added a handy new collaboration option: The system will send you an e-mail notification whenever someone makes a change to a sheet, cell, or anything else. (You can also get notifications when collaborators are added or removed.) That's a huge time-saver for anyone working on a group project.

Head to the Google Docs group for a full list of Google Spreadsheets' latest and greatest improvements. [Via Google Operating System]