I’m a big fan of the Google suite of products. As a long time Outlook lover it took me a while to jump on board, but once I realized that Google had so much more than just email (Hangouts, Calendar, Surveys, Google docs, etc.), I was hooked. So many applications in one location? Sign me up! (See my past posts on Hangouts and Gmail.)
Google Docs somewhat mirrors Microsoft Office, with some major differences included the following awesome features that you should definitely be taking advantage of!
Live in COLOR | When creating a folder simply click on the drop-down menu next to each folder to edit the color. I use color as another way to organize my folders.
There is no “I” in “Team” | Gone are the days when each person has to wait their turn to edit a document. You can not only share your Google doc with others, you can actively collaborate on the same document at the SAME time with others. Select the ‘Share’ button in the top right corner, type in the email address of the collaborator and select which type of access they should have! Go back in the past | You can easily find past revisions of your document by going to File -> See Revision History. This will take you to all the times that you (or others) have made a change on a document. Another nice feature is that it shows WHO made the revisions for documents that you’re collaborating on.
Recently? | One of the nifty ways to overcome searching through folders and folders to find that one document is to select the ‘Recent’ tab on the left hand side. This will sort your documents & folders based on when the last edits were made. TIME SAVER.
Distraction Free | To really get ‘in the zone’ on a document, get rid of the top bar. To do this click the two arrows on the top right hand side of the screen. This will push up the menus and leave you with the bare minimum to allow you to focus that attention on the document at hand.
Research it! | A rather hidden feature in Google docs is the ‘Research’ tab, but once you find it, you’ll realize how amazing it is. Simply go to “Tools” and hit “Research” to ‘research’ (aka search) any topic you choose straight from your document. No more toggling between webpages! You can also pull images and links straight over to your document.
Style Me | Fonts are another feature that’s pretty well hidden, but really should be front and center. At the very bottom of the ‘Font’ drop down select ‘More Fonts’. Say goodbye to Arial!
Typing is SO 2015 | Start ‘typing’ with your voice! Simply go to “Tools” and “Voice Typing” to get started. Google will type what you speak. You’ll need to open your document using the Chrome browser & have a microphone on your computer. Then you can write an entire document without even typing!
May all your organizational needs be fulfilled with Google docs!
Teresa says
I have never used Google Docs and actually just heard of it recently. Thank you for the information you provided! I’m definitely going to look into it.
Sara says
This is such a useful post! I did not realize you could research while doing other things. Such great tips!
Megin says
Thanks for these tips, Lindsey! I love Google Docs and some of these tips are new to me.
Thank you for sharing this week at Brag About It link party on VMG206 (Mondays at Midnight).
~ Megin of VMG206
Jess says
Definitely some great tips you have here! I’ve used Google Docs every now and then, but I know i haven’t used it to it’s full potential! 🙂
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Jaime says
Great tips! I use google all the time but not all of the features. Thanks for teaching us about a few of them!
Lindsay @ Crazy Organized says
Aww thanks so much and thanks for stopping by!