Things You Didn’t Know Google Docs Could Do
Posted on February 24, 2010 at 5:20 am
Google Docs is slowly evolving into a set of extremely useful tools and applications. Even though it may not be able to compete on every level with Microsoft Office or the other major office suites, Google is doing a good job of adding useful functionality at a steady pace.
A lot of useful functionality does still get overlooked, even by regular users. Here are some underrated features in Google Docs that you may not even know about.
Publish to Blog from Google Docs
One of the best things about Google Docs is the ability to share documents. What most people don’t know is that you can publish documents directly to your blog.
1. Once you’ve saved your post, click on Share, and then choose Publish as a web page.
2. On the Publish this document page, click on the change your blog site settings link.
3. On the Blog Site Settings page, fill in your blog settings, User Name and password.
4. Once you’ve verified that Google Docs can connect to your blog (use the Test button), click OK.
5. When you’re ready to post your document, click the Post to blog button, and then click OK on the confirmation dialog box.
Your document should appear on your blog. You may have some minor formatting issues depending on the complexity of the document, but being able to post to your blog directly from a good online word processor is worth the trouble, and saves you the extra work of having to copy and paste everything to your blog editor.
Bulk Upload All File Types
Google recently changed their policy to allow you to upload any type of file you would like up to 250mb. Previously you were restricted to typical office file types which Google Docs converted to its native format upon upload.
Now you can use Google Docs to store important files, which is really handy when you’re on the road, or when you need to access files from multiple computers.
1. From the main Google Docs dashboard, click Upload.
2. Click on the Select Files to upload link.
3. Select the files you would like to upload and click Select.
4. A list of the files you’ve chosen to upload will be displayed. If you would like your documents converted to Google Docs format (from Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.), click the checkbox next to Convert documents, spreadsheets & presentations to Google Docs format.
If you would like to save the files to a folder, choose the folder from the drop-down menu. When you are ready, click Start upload.
5. Once your files are loaded, Google Docs will display a check mark next to them.
These are just two of the lesser known Google Docs functions that can really improve your productivity and mobility. With these tools you know that you can post to your blog and access the files you need from anywhere at any time.
» Filed Under Google Software/Tips
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Hi!
Very Good information. But is there any way to connect Google Docs to my website, by which I mean can I publish from Google Docs to my website ( not my blog )
Prashant
Prashant,
You can embed a Google Doc into a Google Site. If you enable auto updating it will update the web page whenever you update the document. You could also complete this task with your own page using frames.
Hi, I love Google Docs and have had great success teaching online with just Google Docs. It would be great if they can accept .pdf uploads cus it makes uploading much easier.
Way to go Google.
Hanifa, Google Docs does allow for pdf uploads. Gmail is too awesome.
Anything you need to do to enable this option? Google Docs does not give me the settings you have listed above.