Basics Series:
Google Docs
August 28, 2022 | by Alex Cormier, Technology Coordinator
Introduction
For hundreds of years, governments, businesses, social institutions and others have refined and perfected the typewritten form. The standards and best practices they've invented have long been committed to the page.
With the advent of digital media and the slow-but-sure progression to a paperless world, we must begin to ask ourselves about the standards of tomorrow. What will be the medium that replaces paper for our everyday communications?
Being a Technology Coordinator, you might think I cheer the inevitable death of paper. That simply is not the case.
Technology, in its current forms, cannot replace the intimate connection we have with the physical. We, as Catholic Christians, recognize the fact that we are both spiritual and material creatures. This connection with the material translates to the need for physical mediums of information and communication, as well.
I believe in a world where these mediums, the physical and electronic, are dependent and reliant on one another. I'm not convinced that paper is going anywhere anytime soon. While there are exciting developments, like E-Ink displays which replicates the look and feel of paper, I think paper will continue to be a big part of our world.
E-Ink solutions, such as this E-Ink "Digital Paper" from Sony, aim to replace all of those printed documents you carry around with you. Question is: if it's so great, why aren't we all carrying one? Answer: it's $700. (Source: Sony)
Now that I've evangelized on behalf of paper, how are Shaw students best preparing themselves to live in such a world? Part of the toolset we offer students is the Google Workplace suite of applications. This suite includes Google Docs, Google's answer to the word processor application.
Less than a decade ago, the browser-based word processing application seemed like a toy: it was limited in functionality and it was based on the web, meaning is was pretty much useless if you didn't have an Internet connection. Much has changed since then and the majority of students these days have never even touched other popular office-oriented software.
For students who are looking to enter business and academia, knowing how to use the basic functions of a word processor is a must. This post will focus on helping students use the Google Docs application.
What is Google Docs?
Google Docs is a word-processing application. It's considered to be a "progressive web app", meaning that while Docs can be accessed in a browser, it employs technologies that make it as responsive as a native app (like one you'd install on your computer or smartphone) and accessible offline.
Note: PWAs can also be installed to your computer for offline access. That's a story for another day...
Just like traditional word-processors, Google Docs lets you do a number of things you'd expect such as inserting images, copy-pasting text, etc, as well as some things you wouldn't (such as creating working hyperlinks and deploying working code). We're going to stick to the core functionality in this post so that you can master the basics needed for an educational career at Shaw.
Creating/Importing Files
Every great document has to start somewhere: to use Google Docs, you either need to create a new document or import and existing one.
Create a Document
To create a new document, go to docs.google.com. If you're doing this on your school-issued Chromebook, you'll already be signed into your Google account.
On the home page, you'll be greeted with the option to create a blank document. If you're looking to start from scratch, this is a great place to start. However, you'll also notice the "Template Gallery" which gives you helpful templates such as pre-formatted documents.
Importing Files
You'll also notice that the Docs homepage shows recent files that were either created by you or shared with you.
Let's say you were sent a .DOCX file (a Microsoft Office Word file) that you want to edit in Google Docs. How would you go about editing that file?
It's easy. Under "Recent documents" select the file picker (it's the icon of a folder on the right). Under the "Upload" tab, you can either drag-and-drop a file or browse for the file. Google Docs will conveniently convert the file, enabling you to edit it, and save any changes you make to your Google Drive.
Note: it's even possible to import and edit copies of PDF files, meaning you won't have to copy/paste everything you want to include in your document.
Editing/Formatting a Document
Once you've created/opened a new document, we need to do some simple setup before we can begin.
Rename your File
It's always best to give your file a short, concise name that can help you to identify it. While Google Docs/Drive has powerful searching tools to help you find and even suggest relevant files, a file name should be your first step.
Renaming a file while the document is open is easy. At the top of the editing page, click the existing title (for a new, blank document, the title will be "Untitled document"). You'll be given the option to type in a new title. When finished, press the Return/Enter key. Finished!
It's also possible to do this from the Docs homepage or from Google Drive by right-clicking on the file (on most laptops/Chromebooks, this means clicking with two fingers to open a "context menu") and choosing "Rename".
Setting Margins
It might be helpful to first explain what the margins of a page are exactly. This video does just that and it also explains the reason why margins are important for printed (or even electronic) documents:
The main takeaways are this:
Margins make reading the text easier.
Margins allow us to bind documents without cutting off content.
Margins prevent printers from cutting off content at the edges of the page.
Margins are the invisible "borders" of the page that keep things neat and prevent you from going over the edge.
Margins are usually set depending on the format you're writing in. For instance, your English teacher might ask you to use the MLA format. Perhaps, later on in life, you'll work in an office that follows standard conventions of typing memoranda. All of these formats will require different margin settings.
Changing margins in Google Docs is easy:
In your document, go to File > Page setup
On the right, adjust the margin sizes based on the kind of document you're writing (by default, on blank documents, Google will set 1" margins on the top, bottom, left, and right).
Click "OK". That's it!
Formatting Text
Google Docs has a number of options that allow you to edit the text in your document.
It all starts by either:
Setting the parameters before you start typing
Highlighting text and setting parameters after typing
Changing these parameters can easily be done by understanding these icons you'll see in your toolbar:
Using these tools will begin to make more sense as you start to write reports, research papers, letters, and other types of documents. The following video is a brief example of a kind of document you might one day want to write. Which of the tools above would you use to best format this type of document?
Inserting Page Elements
Some documents will require you to insert elements beyond just typed words. You may be asked to include a photo or to insert a table to help organize data. Using the Insert menu in Google Docs helps you to do this.
According to Google, the Insert menu lets you insert:
Image—Insert an image from your computer, the web, Drive, and more.
Table—Select the number of columns and rows to create a table.
Drawing—Create shapes, pictures, and diagrams right in your document.
Link—Add a link to another page or to a header or bookmark in the same document.
Bookmark—Add shortcuts to specific places within your document.
Table of contents—Create an auto-generated table of contents that links to each heading in your document that has a heading style applied.
There are even more options to format images and tables, but we'll discuss those at a later time.
If you're interested in learning "What is a table?", the following video might help:
Sharing your Document
As you know, we share a lot of files with each other here at Shaw. In fact, you may have already received a Doc from your teacher as part of an assignment or as their syllabus. How was your teacher able to share the file with you?
In the past, sharing meant physically handing a document to someone. This could become messy especially if that document was the only copy and your dog just so happened to eat it.
In early to contemporary computing, sharing also meant sharing a file with someone. You might make a copy of a document and send it to someone over email or with a flash-memory stick, for example.
Sharing these days solves a lot of problems that old sharing brought up: when you share a document, you don't need to create copies. You remain the owner of your file and you can share access to whoever you'd like. In addition, you can also set permissions so that people can't edit/delete your file, for example. Sharing also means that, if you make changes to your file after sharing it, others can see the changes you've made!
This idea of sharing extends to virtually any kind of file in Google Drive, but it is especially useful in Google Docs.
Let's take a look at a few ways to share documents with others, according to Google:
Select by right-clicking or open the file you want to share.
Click Share (usually seen as a blue button on the top right of the page).
Enter the name of the person or email address you want to share with.
To decide what role people will have on your file: select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
Note: a Viewer can, you guessed it, view the file ONLY. A Commenter can add comments to your file/document (we'll discuss comments later). An Editor can make changes to the file itself.
Choose to notify people.
If you want to notify people that you shared an item with them, check the box next to Notify people. If you notify people, each email address you enter will be included in the email.
If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the box.
Click Send or Share.
You may need to use this feature especially if you use Library Print on campus.
Conclusion
When it comes to Google Docs, this is only just the beginning! In future posts, we'll explore more advanced features of Google Docs and the other applications of the Google Workplace suite. Stay tuned!