GeekSugar

How-To: Easily Organize Your Google Docs

Anna Monette Roberts — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:12:02 PDT

"I'll start a Google Doc." You might hear it every day, because volunteering to share documents via Google is almost an instant reflex these days. Most people are shifting away from sharing documents via a flash drive or network, because Google Docs makes it so easy to view and update files. But with so many schools and offices making the Google move, it can be overwhelming to keep track of all your personal and professional files. Luckily, Google allows you to organize files into neat little folders, so here's our simple and efficient how-to.

Connect With Gmail Offline

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:13:31 PDT

Productivity hounds, your moment is here. Google released a new Chrome app giving offline access to Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. Continue to view emails, draft responses, and view documents when your flight doesn't have WiFi or the office's Internet connection goes down.

The Offline Google Mail app is available in the Chrome Web Store for free download. The app has the same basic layout and feel as the web app designed for tablets. Once installed, use Gmail without a connection by clicking the offline icon on the "new tab" in the Chrome browser, and go to work!

The offline modes of Google Calendar and Docs lets you views events and documents, Internet connection or not. Offline editing in Docs isn't quite ready, but Google hopes to make it available soon. The Offline Google Mail app is available immediately, while Docs and Calendar offline apps will roll out over the next week.

New and Improved Google Docs, Now With Discussions

Kristen Hawley — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 04:09:19 PDT

Google has just made it easy to collaborate with the introduction of discussions to Google Docs. The new functionality, which was introduced yesterday, allows users to take comments one step further, aggregating all of them into one location and attaching the commenter's image. Each comment also includes a time stamp so you can see exactly when it was posted; comments are displayed in chronological order.

You can also elect to receive email notifications if someone adds a comment to your discussion, and reply to comments directly from your email. Discussions are being rolled out to all Google Docs users with registered Google accounts now, and are just the latest in a series of upgrades to Google Docs that includes support for new file formats and more comprehensive mobile access.

Google Docs Viewer Supports 12 New File Formats

Kristen Hawley — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:15:32 PST

The Google Docs Viewer used in conjunction with Gmail is a great way to view attachments without having to save them to your computer's hard drive. Now, it supports more file formats. Additions include common file types like Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and more technical types like .EPS and .PSD files.

The newest additions round out support for all major Microsoft files and also what Google says are the most requested image files. Look for the "view" link at the bottom of a Gmail message with a supported type of attachment. You can also upload these types of files and share them via Google Docs.

Google Aims to Simplify Wedding Planning

Kristen Hawley — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:45:39 PST

Last year, Google introduced 20 different wedding-themed templates for Google Docs. This year, it's upped the ante with Google Weddings, a new service that allows you to create your own wedding website, create personalized photo announcements, and keep track of planning nuances with specialized Google Docs templates.

Choose from 12 different themes to use across your site and announcements, from Classic's white lace theme to the brilliantly colored and floral Lily theme. Sites are incredibly simple to build, prompting you for relevant information and images. Announcements work seamlessly with Picnik to enable fast photo selection and editing.

A huge part of wedding planning is keeping track of a crazy amount of information. Specialized Google Docs templates make it easy to organize guest addresses, seating charts, your budget, menu, and more.

Google Docs Editing (Finally) Comes to Mobile Devices

Kristen Hawley — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:45:13 PST

Google Docs went mobile over the Summer but lacked some key functionality: the ability to edit your work. Now, you can. Today, Google announced mobile editing for Google Docs on Android and iOS devices.

In addition to editing saved documents, you can also create new documents from mobile devices. To view and edit documents, visit docs.google.com from your iPad, iPhone, or Android device and tap the Edit button to switch from viewing mode to editing mode. Mobile editing capability will be rolled out to Android devices running version 2.2 and iOS 3.0 and above.

Check out a demo video of the new functionality after the break.

Geek Tip: Drag and Drop Images in Google Docs

Kristen Hawley — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:15:31 PDT

It doesn't really get easier than drag-and-drop ability when it comes to creating documents, and now Google has added Google docs to the list of features that support the functionality. Users who are running the latest versions of Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are able to use the feature.

Earlier this year, Google added the ability to drag and drop files within Gmail, both from your desktop onto a message and from a message onto your desktop, two very helpful features. The addition of drag-and-drop ability to Google Docs makes it even easier to collaborate with others on documents stored in the cloud.

How-To: Use Google Docs to Store and Play Music

GeekSugar — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:30:14 PDT

Although a Google music service is rumored to be on the way this Winter, there is a way you can utilize Google's services that are already in place to store your music, and even play those tunes on your iPhone.

How do you do it? There are two steps to this process. First, you'll need to have a Google account to get access to Google Docs. Second, download the Cloud Music app ($2) from the iTunes store. From there, it's easy peasy. Find out what I mean after the break.

Google Docs Goes Mobile For Android, iPhone, and iPad

GeekSugar — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:47:06 PDT

Last week, Google announced the ability to view .doc attachments in your browser without having to download the files; and today it's announcing another time-saving update: a Google Docs Viewer for mobile. Available on Android devices as well as the iPhone and iPad, the mobile viewer will allow you to view PDFs, .ppt, .doc, and .docx files in Google Docs in a clean mobile interface.

The mobile browser also allows you to quickly flip through pages and zoom in within a specific page. One-touch downloading allows you to download the full document to your device. To use the new mobile browser, just visit docs.google.com from your device. It's completely web-based, so there's no program or app to download, and you can access all of your stored documents right away.

Google Docs Gets Another Update

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:47:34 PDT

Google just announced another set of improvements for Google Docs aimed to make the service faster and more accessible for users. Included in the changes are new document features like better numbering and bullets, auto-complete, and drag-and-drop columns in spreadsheets. They've also improved document importing, helping to preserve the original structure of documents after they're uploaded to Google Docs. And amid all of these changes (and those introduced last week), it's even faster!

Plus, there's good news for collaborators: up to 50 people can work on one document at a time. Changes and edits will be shown in real time, designating who is making the changes. And you'll still be able to chat with everyone who is viewing the document at any given time - helpful whether you're working with someone sitting next to you at the office, or working with someone across the country. Also included in the update: a new Drawings editor allowing for easier collaboration on flow charts, designs, and diagrams. The changes are expected to roll out over the next week or so.