January 22, 2019

Revisiting Google Docs - THE FILE MENU

We all feel like we've "got" Google Docs. I want to challenge you to looking at some of the unknown - or lesser known features in Google Docs! For the next few weeks, we'll take a close look at each of the menu items with more in-depth topics having their own entry!

File Menu:

SHARE - This is another way to get to the SHARE MENU. The other way is the little person with a + sign on the top right of your page. For a review of sharing, please see this DOC, VIDEO on basic sharing. Here is a little more in-depth information on SHARING.
NEW - This is the way to open a new document or other type of file without jumping out to your Google Drive. However, know that this new file will be put in to your main Google Drive - not the folder you are currently working in.
OPEN - From here, you can open another Google file without going to your Drive.
MAKE A COPY - This is a very useful tool! Make a copy of items that people share with you that you may want to modify for your own class. If you make a copy of a file that someone shared with you, you will not mess up their ORIGINAL if you modify it. However, remember if you need this information to be updated by the owner, the updates WILL NOT show up on the copy! Also, if you want to force someone to make a copy of a document you are sharing with them, see these instructions: DOC, VIDEO
DOWNLOAD AS - You have choices on downloading your Google files. You can download as a Microsoft Word (.docx), OpenDocument Format (.odt), Rich Text Format (.rtf), PDF Document (.pdf), Plain Text (.txt), Web Page (.html, zipped), EPUB Publication (.epub). For most uses, you'll either download as a Word doc or PDF.
EMAIL AS ATTACHMENT - This is a very useful tool. If you don't want to make your file public, you can email this file as an attachment to people that don't have Google accounts. You have the same choices as the download as button above, or you can just paste the entire file into the email!

VERSION HISTORY - Version history is also a very useful tool! Back in the old days, when I wanted to save a version of Word, I just gave it a different name. Sometimes you do want to keep certain versions of a file. To do this in Docs, simply click on Version History and give your current version a name. You can then continue to edit, but if you decide to go back to this named version, you'll be able to do this in the same way - go to Version History and find the name you gave that version. You can then restore the version. Just so you know, the version history doesn't save EVERY SINGLE change. Only if you get out of the document and come back, or if you name a version. Sometimes when kids are working on a document and they lose everything, you may be able to find it in version history, but many times you can't. You can generally check out who was working on what with your students who may be collaborating if they've shared the file with you. Another extension that helps see what a child was doing on his/her file is called DRAFTBACK. See this post to learn about Draftback. Here is a VIDEO on Version History.
RENAME - This is just what is says. You can rename your file here. You can always just go up the the name box to rename your document as well.
MOVE TO - This button allows you to move your file (without going to your Drive and dragging the file) to a new place. You can also find this command by clicking on the little folder next to the name of your file. VIDEO
MOVE TO TRASH - Another way to trash your file without going to your Drive.

PUBLISH TO THE WEB - This is an easy way to make your file a place that can be accessed by a URL. Simply click the button and this box will pop up:Now you have a choice: you can get a link you can share with others, or you can click on the tab called EMBED and then you can embed the file onto a website, blog, or other web-based product. When you embed, you'll have other options as well. I like to make sure the "automatically republish when changes are made" button is clicked so you don't have to update content in that file after it's published to the web if you change the information. For example, if you have a grading policies document and you embed it on your website, next year when you update the original document, you won't have to update it on the web page if that button is clicked. VIDEO
EMAIL COLLABORATORS - Anyone you've shared this file with will get an email if you want to email them and warn them with changes you've made to the document. Very handy! You don't have to go back to your share button and resend a notification!
DOCUMENT DETAILS - This gives basic information about your file such as: Location (what folder it's in in your drive), the owner of the document, the date of the last modification, and the date the document was created.
LANGUAGE - This allows you to type in a different language. However, you really only have input options for non-Latin languages. If you choose Chinese for example, you'll have an input button to help you write in Chinese characters. For Latin languages such as French or Spanish, there is no input help. However, we'll talk about TRANSLATION in another Tech Tuesday. VIDEO

PAGE SETUP - Here is a MOST USEFUL TOOL! This is where you can change your margins. You can also set the orientation of the page, paper size, and page color. If you want to permanently change the margins for all future docs, click the 'set as default' button! Changing the page color is handy for items you may send to students through Google Classroom so they stand out. Just know that if you print a page that has color, the color will print as well. VIDEO
PRINT - This is where you can see the print preview, choose the pages to print, choose your printer, choose how many copies, and other settings for your printer!

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