CC image courtesy of Carlos Luna on Flickr.
Google has introduced a feature allowing Gmail and Google Docs users to use their own handwriting to input words, using a mouse or trackpad.
“Handwriting input makes the internet easier to use by people worldwide and is also part of a larger effort to break the barrier between languages,” said Google’s Xiangye Xia in a blog post.
The tool offers more than fifty languages for Gmail and more than 20 for Google Docs, and enables the user to write out what they want to say using a mousepad or cursor for Google to create a typed version of the words.
To try the new feature users can go to the Gmail or Docs settings, under the languages setting in the “General” tab, and click “show all language options”. The user can then select the box that says “Enable input tools” and receive a list of every type of keyboard Google has to offer. Languages with a pencil icon beside them are the ones supporting written words.
The firm also has handwriting support for its mobile translation to provide another languages for the typed word.