Macro Extensions for Google Office

Developers believe that a great addition to Google Apps would be the ability to create custom extensions that complement the default functionality of Google Writely, Google Spreadsheets, Gmail, etc. Of course, now it can be done, for example, through Firefox extensions (via Greasemonkey), but this is not entirely correct.



Ideally, I would like to see some additional version of the Google Apps API , that is, the version of the API for extensions. Using these interfaces, connecting additional modules should be as simple as running macros in MS Office. A directory of such extensions can be created on Google’s site for each program in the Google Apps suite, as there is now a widget directory for Personalized Homepage .



Obviously, in the future, Google Apps will show contextual advertising depending on the content of edited documents. To encourage developers to create add-ons, Google can share advertising revenue with them. If the user has n extensions installed, then the author of each extension receives half of the nth part of the revenue from displaying advertisements on these documents. The second half, of course, takes Google.



Of course, the API for Google Office extensions is not without risk. The main risk is a security threat if the ability to create malicious macros is detected. It requires, first, to clearly inform users of the potential danger. Secondly, to take additional measures to prohibit obviously malicious actions (for example, sending a letter with a password via Gmail to a remote mailbox).