Mac Tip – Google Docs features from Safari

So you have your Google account and have gotten accustomed to using Google Docs for writing and saving documents online? Although it’s obviously much more limited then any proper office desktop application like Microsoft Office or iWork, Google Docs provides a great way of accessing and editing documents online. Personally I like using it in case of an emergency, or if I know that I won’t have my MacBook with me and still need to consult some documents.

Surprisingly, Google Docs doesn’t support Apple’s Safari, so, even though you can still open it, you lose out on all the features. One way to activate those features in Safari is by tricking Google Docs into thinking you are using Firefox. As macosxhints explains, you’ll need to activate the Debug Menu in Safari in order to this. Make sure Safari is closed, then open up a Terminal window and type in the following:

% defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1

This will activate the Debug Menu in your Safari browse. Then select Develop>User Agent and choose a Firefox entry. Normally Google Docs features will be enabled and you will be able to enjoy them just as much as if you were using it on Firefox.