Navigate your documents and screen a lot faster when you use these keyboard shortcuts for formatting and more. Using a Mac, then go here and check out the change. These hacks will make your Google Docs experience even more efficient and streamlined. Templates: Use Docs’ 300 templates to get started on different types of documents. May 5, 2014 - Keyboard shortcuts in Google Slides. Below, you'll find a list of keyboard shortcuts for Google Slides. Ctrl + Shift + Right. Text formatting. Mac shortcuts.
Google Docs is a great business productivity application with most, if not all, of the features you could want from a word processor. But some users have been slow to abandon desktop office applications for cloud-based options, because they fear they’ll lose functionality. For those who doubt the practicality of Google Docs—or have yet to make the most of Google’s powerful word processor—here are over three-dozen tips and tricks that make the app more useful. These should be of help to not only professionals, but students and educators, as well. Adding and Editing Images 1.
Insert an Image by Its URL. Any word processing application worth mentioning allows users to insert images from a local hard disk.
But Google Docs allows you to add any online image via a URL—just click 'Insert' in the menu bar, select 'Image' from the dropdown list, navigate to the 'By URL' option and paste your image link in the text box. Docs saves the image in your document, so even if the original file is removed from the internet or, the image stays just where you placed it. Bonus: you can also add images using Google Drive, your hard drive in the cloud. Search for an Image. If you want to add an image but haven’t yet found the right pic, there’s no need to leave your document and kill your productivity: The 'Research' tool can help you search the web for images by keyword right within the 'Research' sidebar.
To use this feature, activate the Research sidebar underneath the 'Tools' menu. From there, filter images by usage rights—make sure you’re not using a picture that requires any special license—and automatically add a citation with the 'Citation' dropdown. (If you don’t want or need to include a citation, simply select and delete the superscript that automatically appears.) Clicking an image in the 'Research' results will take you to the URL where the image appears, and dragging the image will allow you to place it in your document. Edit an Image. For works in progress, collaboration tools are where it’s at.
Google Docs allows you to make a document visible to only a few people, and control how each person interacts with the document. To just share information internally, allow specific people to view your document and nothing more. That’s not incredibly useful for feedback, though. For that you need the 'Can edit' and 'Can comment' permissions.
To collaborate with another user, give them full access to edit the document, but if you’re just looking for some feedback, limit them to commenting only. Utilize Comments and Notifications. When you initially share a Google Doc, collaborators will receive an email, in which you have the option to compose a note.
Beyond that initial email, however, the only email they'll receive going forward is either a notification when a suggestion they've made is acted upon or when they're tagged in a comment. If you'd like to email all collaborators, maybe to tell them you're ready for their final review of the doc, Google gives you that option—'Email collaborators'—under 'File' in the menu bar.
Email a Document. This might sound crazy, but not everyone has a Google account, or even a passing familiarity with Google Docs.
Less experienced users might get bogged down in the functions of shared documents, but you may still wish to have their feedback or provide them with access to your completed document. That’s where 'Email as Attachment'—accessed under the 'File' dropdown in the menu bar—comes in. Enter your contact’s email address, and add a message before sending. You can select a file type, including PDF, DOCX, and RTF, or just let Google Docs paste the document into the email. Download a Document as a PDF, Word Doc and More. If you're creating a resume or writing an assignment in Google Docs, you'll want to send the recipient a finished copy rather than an editable document.
To do so, download your Google Doc as a PDF. You'll find this option under 'File' in the menu bar, where you'll select 'Download as'. There you have the option to export the doc not only as a PDF but as five options: Microsoft Word (.docx), OpenDocument Format (.odt), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Plain Text (.txt) and Web Page (.html, zipped). Change Viewing Mode to Review Final Draft. You can allow others to view your document without editing, but there are times you’d like to do the same. This will likely come at the last stage of the draft, after you’ve ironed out all of the errors. Choose 'Viewing' from the toolbar dropdown in the upper right to read through your document without making any changes.
No accidental keystrokes will inadvertently change your document, nor will cats running across your lap replace all of your hard work with random gibberish. Track Edits with Suggestions. From the 'File' menu, select 'See Revision History' for a list of changes made in the document, all the way back to when it was first created.
Unfortunately, the revisions list isn’t very descriptive, giving only the date and time of the revision and the name of the editor. With 'Show Changes' selected, however, you can take a look at how the document was edited for each revision, allowing you to easily revert to or compare with a previous version if necessary. Shortcuts and Tips to Speed Up Editing 17. Learn Keyboard Shortcuts. There are a ton of keyboard shortcuts in Google Docs to speed up editing.
While the basics—like Control + I in Windows and Command + I in OS X to italicize text—are all included, there are a bunch of Google Docs-specific shortcuts designed to cut down on mouse clicks. Google provides a list of all of its, accessible from the 'Help' menu. Shortcuts are broken out by operating system (OS), so you won’t need to figure out the various keystrokes from Mac to PC to Chrome OS. Access Menu Items with the 'Search the Menus' Shortcut. There really are a lot of shortcuts available in Google Docs, but this is one of my favorites. It's the 'Search the Menus' shortcut, accessible via the Alt + / or Command + / keystrokes.
This shortcut opens the 'Help' dropdown and places the cursor in the search field. But you’re not going to search the FAQs: Instead, you can search all of the menus in Docs. By typing in what you want to do, you can accomplish a lot without bothering with any of the actual menus. Quickly change fonts, apply paragraph formatting, insert special characters, run a spell check, and a lot more.
Quickly Add a Link. If you’re crunching numbers while you write, the Google Docs equation shortcut can be a time saver. They don’t rely on memorizing special keystrokes, so they’re easy to implement with very little effort. Select 'Equation' from the 'Insert' menu to place a new equation field in your document. From there, just type names of the symbols you wish to include, preceded. Greek letters, math operators, and relations symbols are all included, and you can get a full list of shortcuts from the, accessible from the Help menu.
Create Your Own Shortcuts. A big plus for people who like hands-on ways to improve their workflow is. Scripts can create and modify documents, streamlining how you interact with your document, or they can customize the Google Docs user interface, placing the tools most important to you in easy reach. Google suggests you should have some familiarity with Javascript before digging into Apps Script, and suggests some that will work for beginners. If you’re already comfortable with Javascript, though, Google offers a guide for.
Writing Tools for Scholars 28. Get Definitions and Synonyms. The 'Scholar' search in the 'Research' sidebar can provide you with sources for your research paper or assignment. The results are truncated, but Google Docs will provide you with some of the most cited works on a given topic or keyword. Select a result to read the source document and see how many people have already cited it in Google Docs. If you decided to use the source in your document, the 'Research' sidebar will automatically add a citation in your preferred format, either as a footnote or as an inline citation.
Find Famous Quotes. Well-placed quotes can be a big help in driving your argument home, but general quotation searches can be unreliable. The 'Quotes' search in the research sidebar will provide fewer but higher quality quotes results, and you can examine the sources for each quote to determine its reliability. If you choose to include a quote in your document, select Insert from the Research sidebar. Again, Google Docs will automatically include a citation in your preferred format, this time linking back to the quote site in a footnote. Add Footnote Citations.
It’s likely most of your sources are going to come from books and articles you’ve found elsewhere. In that case, you’ll need to create your own citations. That’s where the 'Footnote' insertion tool comes in: Google Docs won’t automatically generate your footnote citation the way it will when you add a source from the 'Research' sidebar, but it does place a superscript number in your text that coordinates to an empty citation in the footer. Tip: Along with your footnotes, your page footers can include unique text—or no text—on the first page, and you can choose how you want page numbering to appear, both from the Insert menu. Create a Table of Contents. Google Docs will translate your document into dozens of different languages from the Tools menu.
Google’s translations aren't perfect, so don't rely solely on Docs for translations, but it will be useful if you’re reading a document in another language and need some help. Translate Document creates a new, translated version of the original document, so it’s not great for inline translations. Fortunately, there’s an add-on for that. Get More with Add-ons and Integrations 34. Translate a Single Word or Phrase. Select 'Get Add-ons' in the 'Add-ons' menu to navigate to the. Some of the most popular add-ons will be listed on the front page, but you can also browse by categories like Education, Business Tools, and Productivity.
If you don’t see what you want, try a keyword search. Once you’ve installed an add-on, you can access it from the 'Add-ons' menu. It’s worth noting, though, that most add-ons come from third-party developers and, while some add-ons are great productivity boosters, some may not work as advertised. Edit Microsoft Office Documents.
One of the most useful add-ons is. It’s actually a Google Chrome extension, so you’ll be restricted to the Chrome browser, but it integrates seamlessly with Google Docs to handle Microsoft Office files. Without the add-on, you can view Office files in Google Docs, but you can’t edit them. Editing functions are limited while in Office Compatibility Mode, but at least you get some access to your DOCX files without relying on Microsoft Office. If you need the full functionality of Google Docs, you can save a copy of your original file in a compatible format. Automatically Save Email Attachments as Google Docs Files Google Docs is all about streamlining the writing process.
A big part of that is having your documents available anywhere, consolidating them in one place rather than keeping out-of-date copies in your email inbox, on a USB drive, and wherever else. Using, an app integration tool, you can automatically copy any email attachment that hits your inbox to Google Drive, allowing you to edit it at any time in Google Docs. Spruce up Your Documents with Templates. You may already be familiar with the open source web fonts provided by Google Fonts. Now, every one of those open source fonts is available in Google Docs. From the 'Font' drop down, click 'More Fonts.'
Browse fonts by type—such as serif, sans serif, and handwriting fonts—and sort alphabetically or by popularity. Add a font by selecting it from the fonts list, and remove a font from your personal stash by clicking the 'X' next to its name in the list on the right. All fonts added here will appear in the 'Font' drop down and can be used in your document like any other font. Write In (Just About) Any Language. Google Docs isn't handcuffed to the English language.
To change the default language for your document, select Language in the File menu. Sure, you’ll see lots of languages that use the same alphabet as English, but there are also lots of others that would be almost impossible to work with without a special keyboard. Automatically Import or Export Docs Maybe you rely on Google Docs, but prefer another cloud-storage app like Dropbox, Box, or Onedrive for your files. No worries, you can still do your word processing in Google Docs even if you're uncommitted to Google Drive. Using app integration service Zapier again, you can start automatically sending files from one cloud-storage service to another. For example, take Dropbox and Google Drive: create a Zapier integration to automatically copy new Dropbox files to Drive or utilize an integration that copies Drive files to Dropbox. When setting these up, you can select specific folders in your cloud storage provider, too, and use multiple Zapier integrations to keep the two services in sync.
Take Advantage of Offline Editing. Offline Editing allows you to save a copy of your document on your device to edit while you aren't connected to the internet, and your document will sync when you’re back online.
Offline editing may be old-hat for some users, but it’s a pretty big deal if you don’t have a 24/7 internet connection. You’ll need to use Chrome to make offline access work, and it’s best to only use one Google account per Chrome profile. In the Chrome menu, sign in to your Google account. Offline access will automatically be turned on the next time you visit Google Docs. Bonus: Learn More About Google Sheets with Zapier's Free Book.
Need to crunch numbers and manage data alongside your documents? Google Docs companion spreadsheet tool, is the tool for you. It includes the core spreadsheet features you'd need, along with add-ons and a built-in form tool to gather info and connect your spreadsheet to web services. To help you get started, we're written an entire book about Google Sheets:. It takes you from the spreadsheet basics of creating new sheets and formatting your data all the way to building custom apps inside your spreadsheet and automating it with. Whether you're a beginner spreadsheet user, or are trying to switch from Excel, it's the perfect resource to help you get more out of the Google Apps suite. Download The Ultimate Guide to Google Sheets.
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Download in (69.4 MB) Your Turn This list a few years ago might have been half as long, but the team behind Google Docs has new features and enhancements. So these tips are far from all there is—missing, for example, are the options to 'Find & Replace' a word or 'Insert Table,' two handy features for professionals. What Google Docs feature have you found most helpful to your work? Which tips did we miss sharing? Related: ' Updated Feb 25th to add info about Google Docs new page footer features.
The good thing is there’s a workaround and it can be done by adding desktop shortcuts. So with a simple desktop shortcut, you’re just a “double-click” away to creating a new Google Docs document.
Just read this post to learn how. How to create desktop shortcuts for Google Docs in Windows. First and foremost, open your web browser and make sure that you’re already signed in to your Google account. By signing in to your Google account, you can open any Google service or app without being constantly prompted to enter your Google account email and password. So once you’re logged in, just minimize your browser and go to your desktop.
Right-click on your desktop and then on the right-click menu, select “New” “Shortcut”. On the dialog box that appears, paste the following URL on the “Type the location of the item” field:. For creating new Google Docs documents, use:. For creating new Sheets, use:. For creating new Presentations, use:.
To continue, click “Next”. On the next dialog, you will be asked to enter a name for new shortcut. Just enter “Google Docs” or any name that you want. Click “Finish” to confirm. Setting a custom icon for your new Google Docs desktop shortcut. Now, that your Google Docs desktop shortcut is ready, you may opt to change its icon as well.
Just right-click on the shortcut icon and then on the menu that appears, select “Properties”. Go to the “Web Document” tab and then click “Change Icon”.
Select the icon that you want, click “OK” then “Apply” then “OK” again. So every time you click the shortcut icon for Google Docs on your desktop, it will automatically open Google Docs on your default web browser. Just click the “+” icon on the bottom-right side of your Google Docs interface to create a new document and you’re all set. If you want to create another shortcut for Google Sheets or Presentations, just repeat the steps above but use the given URLs for Sheets and Presentations.