Aliza's chronicles: climbing out of document hell

Friday, May 09, 2008 10:34 AM

Posted by: Aliza Sherman, author, speaker, TV and radio producer

Aliza Sherman first wrote a version of these posts in a shorter item for Web Worker Daily, entitled Learning to Love Google Docs. She's generously expanded the ideas in that post for us here, and included tips and tricks for those of you attempting to incorporate Google Docs into your lives. Here's the first of a 5 part series we're calling Aliza's chronicles.

I’ve said it before and I'll say it again: I am a devoted Gmail user. I'm also a big Google fan but must confess that I avoided using Google Docs for far too long. Until recently, that is. At first, I couldn't understand why I'd want to upload documents to the Web when I've been emailing them to clients and colleagues for years. As a Web worker - Internet strategist, project director, pro-blogger, and a social media and virtual world marketer, I'm very comfortable online. But as a self-taught techie, I still experience that moment of fear that I just won't be able to figure out the technology.

Besides hating to read instructions to anything, I tend to always zero in on just a few capabilities of any Web-based application because I often feel overwhelmed by the options and possibilities. First, I test out an application at the moment I'm in desperate need of a viable solution. Then if it isn't easy to use without a manual, I continue to use it until the crisis is over. If it really makes my life and work easier, then it becomes second nature to me.

Adopting Google Docs into my suite of favorite Web apps came about after mixing up spreadsheets on a project where multiple people were updating the same document and emailing it back and forth. Looking back, I can't believe how primitive our "organizational system" was at the time. I finally gave in, uploaded the spreadsheet to Google Docs and invited team members to view and update it. Only one person had trouble accessing the document (user error).

Suddenly, a questionable "process" became streamlined. Any of us could access the document at any time and see the most recent updates from other team members. Work was no longer duplicated, tasks that had been in limbo were now completed. And whenever the client asked for a status report, I was confident that I was providing them with the most recent versions of the spreadsheets.

I gave in to my Docs resistance, the dark clouds parted, the sun shone through, and suddenly, there was order in the chaos.

Some things I've learned so far about the process of using Google Docs with others:

1. If you have clients or team members who don't have a Gmail account, encourage them to sign up for a Google account first before you direct them to your Google Docs. This just streamlines the process of getting everyone into the documents in the first place.

2. If you are working with someone who is not comfortable with technology but is fine with email, you can also attach the document as a PDF file to an email and send to them. Gradually, they'll feel more comfortable and will usually start accessing the document through Google Docs directly.

I'll talk more about the Big Switch in my next post.

Google Docs in burning marshmallows

Wednesday, May 07, 2008 12:43 PM

Posted by: Meredith Whittaker, Program Manager

I'll make this quick, but I have to share. The Google Docs team recently returned from a team-building offsite at Seascape Resort just south of Santa Cruz, CA (hint: many very cool things coming!). After a long day of hiking, eating and thinking big about the future of Docs, we gathered around fire pits on the beach -- drinking hot cocoa, making s'mores, and enjoying the full moon. Ben Margolin, one of our tech. leads, took these photos: Google Docs spelled with burning marshmallows! (For the record, the circle at the end of "Docs" is an artistic rendition of a trademark symbol :)

Thank you, teachers

Tuesday, May 06, 2008 9:44 AM

Posted by: Meredith Whittaker, Program Manager and Andrew Chang, Marketing Manager

Happy National Teacher Day! To celebrate, we have some inspiration, and some instruction.

Awhile back you may remember that we asked teachers to share their stories about using Google Docs. And did you ever. We were humbled by the exceptional creativity that you expressed to us. Reading through these submissions, we realized that we had to share these ideas, and the along with them the evident passion for teaching.

For anyone who's looking for inspiration on using Docs in the classroom, we've gathered a sampling of the ideas and stories we received from these teachers and put together this document, showing many creative uses of Docs in education.

But, while we were constructing this document, we realized that these solutions, while great, won't be immediately straightforward to those not familiar with Docs.

For people who'd like to know a little more before diving in, we've created a getting started document targeted specifically to educators: Using Google Docs in the Classroom. This Docs-specific resource is available, along with other documents covering many Google applications, on the newly-revamped Google for Educators page.

Finally, I'd like to close by saying that there's no one on the Docs team who'd be here without an exceptional teacher. I speak for all of us when I say to Ms. Berkebile, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Mulder-Wollon, Professor Trujillo, Ms. LaFon and all the other wonderful educators out there - a sincere thank you from all of us.

Good things come in multiples: multi-size embedding and multi-select

Monday, May 05, 2008 4:55 PM

Posted by: Andrew Perelson and Jeff Grimes, Google Docs Software Engineers

Embedded presentations now come in multiple sizes (small, medium, and large) to suit all your embedding needs. Small or medium sizes work best in blogs, while large is most suitable for onscreen viewing and reading.

And as a bonus, we've just added another new feature to presentations: you can now select and manipulate multiple objects at once. Drag over the objects you want to select or hold SHIFT while clicking on additional objects.

Want your docs to be stylin'?

Thursday, May 01, 2008 6:40 PM

Posted by: Joelle Fornengo, User Operations Team

If you've ever wished that you could add your own personal style to your documents, wish no more. We've recently enabled custom styles through an 'Edit CSS' function, so that you can apply your unique styles to your documents.

Some of you might be wondering what CSS is and how it can help spruce up your documents. CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. In essence, CSS is a type of style sheet markup language which enables you to create a personalized look for your web page or documents. For example, using this markup language, you have control over font type, colors and sizes. CSS's most common use is to style HTML for web pages. How is CSS different than HTML? HTML is a markup language that focuses on document content; CSS focuses on document presentation.

A picture's worth a thousand words, so take a look at the example below of a styled doc created by our very own webmaster, Melissa Louie (aka "The CSS Master"). You can also make a copy of this example for yourself, with all of the CSS in place.

Here's how you can get started in becoming a CSS master like Melissa:
1. Check out inspiring examples of styles that you can create and apply by checking out Melissa's tips and tricks page.
2. Engage with other Docs users in our user group community. There, you can share styles with each other and help each other create new styles.
3. Try it out for yourself by adding some CSS code to your own document.

We can't wait to see what you create. Interested? Go to any doc, click on 'Edit CSS' in the 'Edit' menu and style away!

Google Docs goes wild

3:07 PM

Posted by: Gill, wildlife enthusiast

We're thrilled to have Gill as a guest blogger. Through the evolution of Google Docs, she has been one of the most courteous and helpful members of the Google Docs Help Group, assisting users with all manner of questions.

I use Google docs mainly to keep track of the records I keep for the local wildlife group. I try and make a note of anything interesting that I see out and about every day (like this ladybird (or ladybug, as you say in the states), found on my front doorstep on 6th April).

In late 2006 I discovered Google Docs, and decided to keep my records online. I have never looked back. Using a Google spreadsheet gives me several advantages over the old system (uploding a Works spreadsheet to a MySQL database accessed via PHP).

• I can enter the records from home, from work or from a friend’s computer; this means I don't have to remember what I saw at lunchtime till I get home.
• The records are safe on Google’s servers
• Friends and family can enter species they have seen, after I invited them to collaborate
• Other members of the Society can see the sheet, as viewers
  
• The results can be made available, in real time, on the website, by publishing the sheet (click on the link to Current year’s records, in progress)
  

In the beginning, I set up a simple one-sheet file with columns for the English Name, Latin Name, Location, Habitat, Grid Ref, Date, Notes, Special and Recorder. This worked very well, but as I used it I soon found I wanted other information recorded, namely the species number such as the BSBI number for plants, and a (hidden) running counter to make life easier when adding the year-end records to the database. So, I added the extra columns.

I then began to think “Wouldn’t it be great if I didn’t have to keep looking up the Latin name? Or having to type in today’s date, or the Recorder when it’s me?”, so the project grew a bit.

I added my initials to the Recorder column, and =today() in the Date column, then filled down. I already had species lists as two- or three-column tables for species number, English and Latin names for the plants and birds. I uploaded these into a second worksheet, and added the information for common mammals, insects and the few reptiles and amphibians living in northern England. So far, so good. But, I'd hit a roadblock, because I couldn't work out what to do next – I knew what I wanted : type in the English name and have the Latin and the species number fill in automatically from the data sheet, but not how to do it. At this point I joined the Help forum and Ahab (the Google Docs Help Group's most prolific poster) came to my rescue – as he has on many occasions since for me and many other spreadsheet users. He provided me with the formulas I needed: =VLOOKUP(C2,'ref lists'!A:I,3,false) for the first data row, =VLOOKUP(C3,'ref lists'!A:I,3,false) for the next and so on.

I started a new spreadsheet for 2008 by the simple expedient of Copy Spreadsheet and then deleting all but the last couple of rows, that were empty apart from Ahab’s functions. I am very happy with the sheet in its current form, but of course I might need more modifications in the future.

This is from the current version, with the title row frozen:

I also use the Google Docs documents for writing wildlife reports, but that’s another story, for another time...

Find out what they're thinking, easily

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 5:33 PM

Posted by: Chris Pirillo, Gnomedex Conference founder, video blogger and CNN.com Live technology contributor

We're pleased to welcome back Chris Pirillo for another guest post. After discussing his use of Google Docs to coordinate the Gnomedex conference in his last post, he's here again, this time to offer instructions on how to host a live poll using spreadsheets.

The videos I usually record for YouTube are produced live-to-tape. I gather my audience at live.pirillo.com, with an always-on video feed (which is a free service from ustream.tv) and an IRC channel for interactive chat.

I recorded this "live poll" video after discussing a situation with a few of my chat room moderators. We were trying to come up with a way we could all vote anonymously on an issue at hand. Suddenly, it struck me: why can't a Google Docs spreadsheet form do this? I created the poll, set the options I needed... and the vote was underway. We answered our question quickly and easily - all the while, feeling secure in knowing that none of us were influenced by another's answer.

So, if you want this secure feeling, and instructions on creating a live poll with spreadsheets forms, check out the video, right here:

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