No PowerPoint? No problem! Google has added the ability to view TIFF and PPT files directly from the Web browser without the need to install additional software.I don't use PowerPoint. I've used Google's Presentations service for some time as a replacement. Presentations allows me to import PowerPoint files that others send to me. In order to do that, the files need to be downloaded to Google Docs. Now, no downloading is necessary.

In order to make this work, Google has enhanced the capabilities of the PDF viewer that it made available several months ago.

According to software engineer Marc Miller, "This viewer provides a richer set of features than the old 'View as slideshow' version: you can zoom in and out, select text to copy and paste, and 'print' the presentation to a PDF document. And, unlike the old version, we no longer require you to have a Flash plugin installed on your browser."

In addition to that, the TIFF viewer allows you to see an entire TIFF document, and not just the first page.

Why does this matter? As a journalist, I can't tell you how many times a company will send me a PowerPoint presentation that I use during a briefing. In order to follow along, I have to download the presentation, save it somewhere, open it, and then delete it when the call is over or archive it.

Now, I won't have to do any of that. I can simply open and view the presentation directly in my browser without the need to download it first.

From an enterprise perspective, this is actually a good deal. Many businesses place limits in files that can be emailed back and forth, and some may not permit employees to download some files at all. With a feature like this, employees won't be putting their PCs at risk by downloading files.