Hello! Google’s office suite is a worthy competitor to the more classic options, such as Microsoft Office. Moreover, it is a free option that only requires a Google account and a connection. Although, a browser extension also allows you to use it offline. Consequently, today we will see some Amazing Google Docs tricks.
An effective and powerful OCR.
Occasionally, we are writing a text, which needs to be accompanied by several quotations, and we must transcribe them all from a physical book. We have good news for you, it can be done with minimum effort. You only have to take a clear photo, where you can size each of the letters in the image. Then upload it to Google Drive.
You must do the next part of the process on your computer. In Google Drive, you stand on the image you uploaded and right click on it. Now, select Open with and finally, Google Docs, you will have the image transcribed in seconds.
Voice typing.
This is a very effective trick for Google Docs. In effect, we will be able to create a new document without typing. With this in mind, we will use voice typing. That is, through the microphone, we will be able to indicate the text and the tool will copy it automatically. Check how to do it. First, open a new document from Google Docs. Next, go to Tools. Then scroll down to the Voice Typing option.
Then, we just have to start dictating. The tool will start copying what we indicate via voice. It is so effective that it even works with YouTube videos.
We should add that Google has one of the best voice recognition, thanks in part to the development of its assistant. This technology applied to text documents becomes a really reliable and fast dictation service. Note that it is possible to modify the dictation language and choose from an infinite number of languages.
Wizard to create a web page.
Do you need to create a website and don’t know how to do it? Don’t worry. With Google, you can create it from scratch. This time, we will not use Docs itself. Actually, we should go to Google Drive. Once there, just click on the +New icon. Now scroll down to the bottom under More. Finally, click on Google Sites.
And you can start editing immediately, with all the customizations you require.
Create a new document from the navigation bar
If you want to create a new document quickly, type in the Google Chrome navigation bar:
- http://doc.new. This will create a new text document.
- http://sheet.new. This will open a new blank spreadsheet.
- http://slide.new. Use this shortcut to create a new presentation.
- http://form.new. With it, you can create a new form.
- http://site.new. Quickly create a new website in Google Sites.
Create customized drawings for your documents
Google Docs incorporates a simple graphic editor that will help you insert custom drawings in your documents. Just go to Insert>Drawing>New. A pop-up window will display a blank canvas where you can add shapes, text, images and more. Then click Save and Close to add it to your document.
Add a comment for another user
Notify other users of changes with comments. Indeed, collaboration is one of the pillars of Google Docs. It is very easy to add users to a document, a spreadsheet or a presentation. This way, they can edit it completely. Or simply view it. People who have access to a document can add comments. As a result, everyone else will know that a modification has been applied or that a task is pending in a particular place. Add comments easily like this:
- Select a text, an image or any other element.
- Right-click to reveal the context menu.
- Select Comment. You can also use Control + Alt + M.
- Type your comment and save it.
From that moment on, your comment will be visible to all users. You can assign comments to specific people or quote them in the text using the @ symbol.
Change the page configuration
Like its competitors, Google Docs allows you to modify some page parameters. In File>Page Setup you can change the margins, orientation and even the background color.
Export your files to popular formats
Google Docs supports the most popular formats. Indeed, the Google suite uses its format. However, it is compatible with other file types. Exporting a document, a spreadsheet, or a presentation to a known format is easily done in the menu. Just go to File>Download. As a result, you can get your file in the format corresponding to its Microsoft Office equivalent or create a PDF.
Go back to a previous version of your document
Google automatically saves changes made to any file and does so every few seconds. Therefore, it is very difficult to lose data or information with Google Docs. Additionally, it saves a history of changes that will allow you to quickly return to the previous state of the document. Just click on the link next to the Help menu. It indicates when the last change was made and whether a copy has been saved to Drive.
Add functionality with add-ons
All Google Docs tools can be extended with various add-ons. To get them, just click on extensions. Then click on Add-ons>Get add-ons. Among the functionalities you can add are document signing, formatting functions for spreadsheets and advanced database management. There are also spelling and grammar tools.
Protect your spreadsheet data
Finally, we will tell you how you can protect a specific part of a calculation book. Click on Tools>Protect sheet. Then, select the sheet you want to protect to avoid unintentional changes. You can also specify a range of cells. This way, even if you share your sheet with other users, the data in that area will remain secure.
Okay, we have finally seen the best tricks for Google Docs. So you can get the most out of Google’s office suite. Bye.
