In my opinion, one of the best features of Gmail is that it lets you view attachments directly on your browser as a webpage (by clicking on the view as HTML link beneath the file name of an attachment). This means less hassles, since you no longer have to actually download the file on your computer and open with the associated program, like a word processor or spreadsheet program. One added benefit is security. Opening documents on your desktop could also be dangerous, since some malicious code might slip through Google’s virus scanners and run on your local machine.

Here’s something even better. You can also edit attachments directly on your Web browser via Google Documents and Spreadsheets. Of course, this is only for attachments that are documents (DOC, RTF, or even text) or spreadsheets (XLS, CSV and the like).

It’s strikingly simple. Just look for the Open as Google Document link at the bottom of your email, beside the download link.

This will open a new window (or tab) on your browser with Google Documents. You will notice that the attachment has already been added to the list of documents on your account. After a few seconds, the document will automatically be opened and you can edit this on your browser.

You can then use Google Documents to edit the file as you please, and to save it locally once you’re finished. You have the option of saving in different formats (Word, Open Office, PDF, etc.). You can even email back the document by clicking on the email link.