Tip #4223 - What You Can Do With Google Docs
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Q:
I'm new to using Google Docs and I was wondering if you could give
me some pointers on some of the things I could do with it. I just
want to learn everything about it that I can. Thanks for your help!
A:
First of all, welcome to Google
Docs and Spreadsheets! In my opinion, it's one of the best programs
to come out of the Google offices and once you become more familiar
with it, I think you'll agree. As most of you probably read above
in today's quick tip, Google Docs recently went through a redesign
and it has just made the program 100 times better. It's so much easier
to use now and all of the new features just make it so much fun. So,
if you're like the person who asked today's question and you're just
starting out with using Google Docs, you've come at the perfect time.
Now, let's move on and check out some of the awesome things you can
do with this program!
Here
are five things you probably never knew you could do with Google Docs
and Spreadsheets:
1.)
Do a Live Lookup Through Google and Google Finance:
This is one thing you can only do through the Spreadsheets program,
but it's definitely worth checking out. If you do a lot of searches
with Google Finance, you can take the information you accumulate from
those searches and create cells for it. That information will then
be constantly updated as new material comes out. For example, you
could use this feature for certain things like stock symbols, sports
statistics or just anything else you want to stay up to date on. Again,
once you create the cells you want, the information will automatically
be updated for you on a regular basis. You can create up to 250 cells
per spreadsheet when using the Google Spreadsheets program. How nifty
is that?! You can get started with this just by clicking here.
2.)
Perform a Google Search Within a Spreadsheet: Let's
say you're working on a spreadsheet and you happen to come across
a word or phrase you're not sure about. Or, perhaps you just want
to learn more about it. When that happens, you can perform a search
for it without ever leaving your spreadsheet page. All you have to
do is highlight it, right click and then choose the "Search
the Web" option. Your results will come up in a new
browser and you can then go on to find what you're looking for. Pretty
cool, huh? FYI: This one only works with Google Spreadsheets
as well.
3.)
Color Code Your Live Comments: If you're not sure
what I mean by live comments, Google Docs has a feature where you
can go in to your document and leave annotations for yourself wherever
you may need to. Well, low and behold, you can color code them as
well! This also works well if someone else wants to leave a comment
in your document, because they can choose a color to use and you'll
always be able to tell which comments are from who. When you or someone
else puts a comment into your document, all you have to do is right
click on the comment and choose the Color Code option
from the resulting menu. You can also use the coloring system to denote
certain items as priority. It's just an easy way to keep everything
straight when you're working on a very important document. This one
can be used for both documents and spreadsheets.
4.)
Revisioning: You can use this feature to keep track
of any changes you or any of your viewers may have made over the course
of working on your document or spreadsheet. You can jump back and
forth between the edits that have been made on your document or you
can view certain ones by clicking the Older and Newer
buttons. Now, in Google Docs only, you can take this feature
one step further. With it, you can view both versions of your document
(edited and non-edited) side by side. The revision feature will highlight
the differences for you in various colors, which makes it very easy
to spot any errors, etc. that you need to change right away. Yes!
5.)
Backups Are Always Being Made: With Google Docs and
Spreadsheets, there is a feature that automatically backs your projects
up in several places at once. Google has a filing system called the
Google File System and it has been designed to regularly back up any
documents you're working on. Therefore, even if the server in which
your file is stored on suddenly crashes, the Google File System will
automatically switch over to your backup copies. So, if that ever
happens to your computer, you won't have to worry your pretty little
head about your Google Docs and Spreadsheets work. Several copies
of it will have been made and you'll still be able to easily recover
them. It doesn't get any better than that!
So,
there you have it. Five things you can do with this awesome Google
program that you probably never knew about. Whether you're a seasoned
Google Docs user or you're just getting started with it, these five
tips are sure to help you get the most out of your Google experience
as possible. I'm lovin' it, aren't you?!
~
Erin
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