Google Docs is a text editor that stealthily sidesteps the MS Office suite at a turnaround. But even the familiar tool has chips that only content experts know about.
Key Documents in Favorites
You’ve probably noticed the asterisk next to the title. It’s not done for beauty. Clicking on the icon will add the file to “Favorites”.
What’s the upside? Documents under the asterisk go to your Google drive in the “Marked” folder. It’s a handy way to put significant documents at your fingertips, making everything work as easy as a game library at CasinoChan. Of course, these documents won’t disappear from public folders, either.
Customizing Styles in Google Docs
Do you have clear requirements for document layout? For example, the main text is 14 points in Times New Roman font. Headings are 18 points, bold, in the same font.
To avoid having to adjust chunks of text manually every time, create text styles: Google Docs will apply the design to all new documents by default. To do this, select the desired style (e.g., header) in the toolbar and write something.
Highlight the text and set the options you want. Specify the font, size, color, set the line spacing, add effects.
Without deselecting the text, open the list of styles and hover your cursor over the desired heading level. You’ll see an arrow that opens an additional menu.
Click “Update to Match Selection”.
Now all the headers in the document will be created with the specified parameters.
If you want the rule to apply to other files as well, open the list of styles. Select the “Settings” section and click “Save as Default Styles”.
When you create a new document, the styles you’ve configured will already be available.
Comments and Tasks to Contributors
There are times when you need to promptly tag a co-author in a text. The perfect way to do this is to leave a comment. A comment is assigned to an individual word, a paragraph, or an entire section. Highlight a part of the text, call the context menu and click Leave a comment.
Alternatively, click the icon that appears to the right each time you select a text fragment.
If you want to leave an addressable comment, add a co-author via the @ symbol. But that’s not all. In the comment field, you can assign a task to an executor. Click the appropriate checkbox, and the user will receive an email notifying them that they’ve been tagged. A perfect and quick way to get a response or delegate a task.
Disabling Notifications
If you suffer from time management and are used to sorting out your email by the hour, remember the tip. In Google’s settings, you can choose the type of notifications you want. Go to the comments window and choose one of three options:
- All – you get notifications about every comment.
- Only mine – you get notifications where you’re tagged (through the @ symbol).
- Nothing – you get no notifications.
You can change the settings at any time.
Text Recognition in Pictures and PDF Files
Do you have a PDF file or a picture with text you want to retype? Don’t type by hand, use Google Docs tool. Upload the file to Google Drive, right-click the file, and choose Open With > Google Docs. Google Docs will convert the original file to text.
The accuracy of the tool isn’t yet 100%-you’re unlikely to recognize an old photocopy. But for most modern documents, this method works.
Word Counter on the Screen
Often there is a need to count characters in words. You need this to pay a copywriter or to limit the text for an ad. In Google Docs, you can turn on character counting, then you’ll see the stats online. This is done on the statistics screen (Ctrl + Shift + C or “Tools” > “Statistics”) – click on the checkbox “Show word statistics when typing”.
In the same way, keep track of page and character counts. If you get tired of tracking words, disable the tool in the same way.
Personal Dictionary
Digital marketing vocabulary adds up faster than academic manuals and even faster than Google. If you’re tired of the perpetual red underlines, add terms and other words to your personal dictionary. It’s under Tools > Grammar and Spelling.
After easy manipulation, Google will be on the same page as you.
Editing Images
Google Docs has its own image editor. It doesn’t compare to the power of Photoshop or Figma, but it can help with simple tasks. Choose Insert > Draw > New. You’ll see a drawing area. This is where you can upload a drawing or copy a screenshot.
The drawing function is useful if you want to change the image. For example, to circle a certain place on the map or to underline an important element of the drawing. The available features are on the toolbar of the graphical editor. Clicking the “Save and Close” button will add the image to the body of the document.
After all, Google Docs is easy to work with. Especially now, in the era of online communications. These features are enough to increase productivity and build effective interaction with colleagues and clients.
