Google Apps Hacks

Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) is the title of Google's text, spreadsheet, and presentation editor, similar in style to Microsoft's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint programs, but with fewer features, and a stronger focus on collaboration. With Google Docs, you can write letters, recipes, tutorials, a diary, book chapters—I'm using it to write this book—or anything else.

You can also create web pages, thanks to the export options that Google Docs provides. Google Spreadsheets, on the other hand, allows you to perform spreadsheet calculations; you can keep any numeric or textual data organized—from the prices of items in your antique collection to the age and address of your employees, and so on. Google Spreadsheets provides you with a variety of formulas to perform calculations within a spreadsheet. You can also create neat visualizations using the chart tool. Google Presentations, the last of the trio, is useful for creating presentation slides for online or offline use.

To sign up for this service, as is the case with most other Google services described throughout the book, you need a Google Account.

 

Hack 1. How to Get Your Google Account

You can create a Google Account through many of Google's services. The easiest way is to go to http://www.gmail.com and click the "Sign up for Gmail" link. (Note that if you already have Gmail, you also already have a Google Account.) During the sign-up process, you provide your first and last name and your preferred username, along with other information, as shown in Figure 1-1. Once you agree to the Terms of Service and complete the sign-up by clicking the "I accept" button, you'll see a Congratulations page. Now you can log in to most Google services using your email + password.

NOTE

If your email address is a gmail address, such as "officehacks@gmail.com", it's enough to enter just "officehacks" (along with your password) when you want to log in to your Google Account.

Log In to Google Docs

Now you can go to http://docs.google.com and log in to Google Docs. After you log in, you will see your file explorer, pictured in Figure 1-2. On the left side you can find different views of your items, and you can also see a list of people you have shared your items with; on the right side, you will see your files, if you have any.

To create a new document—"document" is Google's name for a word processing file—click the New button in the top left and pick Document. A new browser window with the document editor appears, as shown in Figure 1-3—now you can start writing, inserting images, creating tables, and more. Click anywhere on the document title to change its name, and then save the file. By default, unless you share the file with others, your document is private. It is, however, stored on Google's servers. (It would also be visible to anyone who's able to guess your password, so make sure that you use a strong password—more than just a single word, for instance.)

Google Spreadsheets, shown in Figure 1-4, has a similar look and feel to the Google document editor. One key difference is that it automatically saves your changes as you make them.

Google Presentations, pictured in Figure 1-5, allows you to prepare a new presentation and, to some extent, import an existing Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. It reuses interface elements from the document and spreadsheets editor.

NOTE

Sometimes you may not instantly see the document you saved when you switch back to the Google Docs file explorer. To refresh the window, click your browser's refresh button, and you will find your documents view has been updated.

If you have a problem with Google documents, Spreadsheets, or Presentations, the best place to find help—after you've checked the Google Docs help file, that is—is the official Google help group on the subject. Go to http://groups.google.com/group/GoogleDocs, click the "Join this group" link, and pose your question in one of the different sections, like "How do I . . . ?" (for general questions) or "Something is Broken" (when you think you've discovered a bug). If a Google employee answers, you will find a square "G" icon next to the member's name, but advice from nonemployees can be superb too.