Around Google Docs in 10 minutes

You can do anything for 600 seconds, right? It's only a couple of 5 minutes. How hard can it be? Each minute you will embrace a new platform of Google Docs--immersing you in it and throwing away the tools and software you are familiar with.

Google Docs is a very capable platform in many ways, and unique features, benefits in Google Docs simply don't exist in Microsoft Office. We readily admit that we are essentially telling you to abandon MS Office a platform you have used for more than a decade, and try to replace it with Google Docs, a turnkey solution.
But trust; we share a fairly wonderful experience each day with Google Docs. Suffice it to say, you will not be in complete awe with MS Office anytime soon. At first glance, it looks obvious that Google Docs does not have the bells and whistles of Microsoft Office, but when you start to poke around you find that Google Docs actually has a fair amount of advanced features and capabilities as compared to MS Office .Watch this video

Google uses Gears to sync and download Gmail for offline access

The first thing that pops into mind when we consider using a cloud-based tool or service is "what happens when the cloud is not available?" Most of the attention on the cloud focuses on how you can access things from anywhere and everywhere because it's just ‘out there' on the Web, but fail to mention what happens when you can't connect to the Internet.

Thankfully, Google has a solution for the same in Gmail. You just have to click the gear icon in the upper right of the Gmail screen and go to Mail settings, then select Offline from the options across the top. Within these Offline settings, you can select Enable Offline Mail for this computer, and configure the options regarding just how much email should be downloaded, and any limitations you might want to place on the size of file attachments.

Cool. Now, when you are out and about with no Wi-Fi, or if you happen to be at 35,000 feet in an airplane, you will still have access to your emails.

Google Protects Gmail Users with Suspicious Activity Alert

Intruder alert! Intruder alert! The new Gmail feature launched by Google won't have any cool audio alert blaring out "intruder alert", but it will alert us when suspicious activity is indicated.

A new approach from Google monitors certain criteria and considers a range of user behaviors to try to identify activity which should raise red flags.  Obviously we have to keep in mind that these notifications are meant to alert us of suspicious activity.

Google Docs 'Fidelity' leaves a bit to be desired

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘fidelity' as: a) the quality or state of being faithful, b) accuracy in details: exactness. So, how does Google Docs measure up on the quality or state of being faithful with the formatting and conventions of Microsoft Office, and can it deliver accuracy in details or exactness when working with Microsoft Office file formats?

In a nutshell  ...pretty good, really. The real answer, though, depends on the composition of your file.

We can tell you that Google Docs has improved by leaps and bounds. We imported a Microsoft Word white paper we wrote --complete with images and footnotes, and to our surprise it appeared virtually identical in Google Docs. The only noticeable difference was that the Microsoft Word table of contents (ToC) had been converted to links which corresponded with bookmarks inserted by Google Docs to allow you to jump from the ToC directly to that point in the document.

We were even able to add a footnote, insert an image in the Google Docs file, and include a new comment, and have those changes appear exactly as they should when we saved it back to Word. 

Our immediate impression is that working with spreadsheets in Google Docs seems simpler and more intuitive than working with documents--at least for someone like us who was under the shell of Microsoft Office for years.

Google Docs Scripts

We think we have established that Google Docs is more than adequate for creating simple documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other content. Now, let's take a quick look at some of the features that power-users might appreciate.

For more advanced users, Google offers Google Look Up and Google Finance to automatically search for and add information to cells in your spreadsheet.

Another power tool from Google is Google Apps Script--a JavaScript based language. You can create an expense report workflow that automatically converts currencies, catches errors and omissions, and forwards the expense report on to an approving authority.

OCR in Google Docs

The OCR in Google Docs - an improved experience. To test it out, we uploaded a PDF file from my Documents folder. It was a 4-page PDF document weighing in at 225Kb, but Google Docs managed to upload, and convert it in a matter of seconds. But, the million dollar question is "Did the OCR accurately capture the content of the file?"

The first thing we noticed when checking out the newly uploaded file is that it was now eight pages. Why? Well, Google Docs ensures the accuracy of the OCR translation--it included the original PDF / image, followed by the editable transcript of its contents. So, each of the four pages of the original PDF was now two pages--one original image, and one editable content.

We were pleasantly surprised. The transcript of the text appears to be flawless. The OCR version loses something in formatting in terms of inserted images or icons on the original, but it even manages to try and match heading sizes and bulleted lists. All in all, the Google Docs OCR is impressive and delivers what it promises.

With the Google Docs sweet spot--real-time collaboration you can share out a Drawing and enable whole teams of individuals to work on it together online in real-time. Visio is awesome, but it doesn't have the online collaboration piece.

Google Docs in iPhone

Keeping contact and calendar data in sync with iPhone is crucial. As you travel around, the iPhone is your lifeline to the world, and it needs to have current, accurate, contact and calendar information in order to be of any value.

Thankfully, Google figured out a way to leverage the Exchange Active Sync capabilities of iOS to sync email, contacts, and calendar information from my Google account. Best of all, it syncs wirelessly on the fly so do not have to be dependent on tethering your iPhone to your PC to make sure you have the most current information.

Google Docs Translations 

 
One of the features touted by Google for Google Docs is the ability to easily translate documents into 53 different languages.

Forms and Surveys Made Simple in Google Docs

Microsoft Word has built-in templates and tons available online. But…at least... Microsoft Word does not have any wizard-like feature walking you through & creating a form the way Google Docs does, Word never automatically tracks and tally the responses.

Forms in Google Docs are another area of real-time online collaboration where Google Docs seems to set the bar. In Google Docs, you can create a form or survey in a few simple steps using the forms feature. You can use the feature to create sign-up sheets, surveys, product feedback, etc.

Google Docs on the Go

 
Google Docs will save you. OK--"save your life" is a crumb melodramatic and sensational. No, it will neither give you the Heimlich maneuver, nor prevent you from seeing a video, but it will enable you to roll with the punches and remain productive even though you are not using your primary computer.

Google Docs will let you jump onto the nearest PC and stay productive without missing a beat. If you were reliant solely on Microsoft Office and locally-stored files, you would have been caught up in a major fiasco. You will have had to drive over to the office just to get your laptop and bring it home. You can have access to half-finished writing projects you started yesterday--all nicely organized into various collections.

There is something in this cloud thing!! 

 All in all, we will say that Google Docs is a solid productivity platform, and it delivers most of what you need at a price that can't be beat.

 

It is a culture shock coming out from Microsoft’s shell and getting into the groove of Google Docs. Now we cannot let go Google Docs.

Its time for you to relax and nurture innumerable functionality which will make your work process faster. We will help you migrating to Google Apps with complete set up and deployment process coupled with Training and Support.

Approach us. We are a Global Authorized Google Apps Reseller.

Google Docs -- A threat to MS Office!!

We readily admit that more than a decade of using Microsoft Office will make it hard not to judge Google Docs against MS Office. But trust us; we share a fairly wonderful experience each day with Google Docs. Suffice it to say, you will not be in love with MS Office anytime soon. Watch this video
 We've taken an extensive look under the hood of Google Docs and uncovered some tips for getting more done by exploring some of the less obvious features in its word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software—with a few hints for Gmail, too.   

Search Google Docs and Gmail together

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to search both Gmail and your list of Google documents at the same time? Luckily, the Gmail Labs have worked out a way to do this. To get to the Labs from Gmail, click Settings in the top right portion of the screen, and then click the Labs link.

Search Google Docs more efficiently

You can filter your searches on the home page by using operators, such as “type: spreadsheet”, which will return only matches from spreadsheets in the search results. 

Quickly back up all your documents offline

If you’d like to save all of the documents that exist on Google’s servers to your hard drive, start by hovering mouse over any file in the Google Docs homepage file listing. Next, choose Actions and choose Download in the menu that appears.

In the resulting dialog box, click the All Items tab. You’ll see many items of each file type that you can download; if you’re happy, click the Download button. The files will be downloaded together in a .zip file.  more info
Max out your editing space

To mislay the toolbar and use your entire browser window for editing, select View and then Hide Controls. To bring the toolbar back, press Esc.

In Google Chrome, you can merge this setting with the full-screen mode to give the entire screen to editing. The menu will be visible once more if you place your cursor to the top of the screen, and clicking the Restore button will return the window to normal.

Share docs with non-Google Docs users

Google Docs is all about collaboration, and you can even permit people who don’t have a Google account to view and edit your documents.

To share a file, click the padlock icon alongside the document title at the top left of the window. In the dialog box that appears, select Change alongside the Private entry in the list. In the new dialog box, select either Public on the Web or Anyone with the Link. If you want viewers to be able to edit the document as well as just to see it, put a check next to Allow Anyone to Edit. Then click the Save button, and copy and paste the link into one or more e-mail messages.

Star multiple documents at once

Adding a star to a document is a useful way to make it stand out from other entries in a homepage list.

On the Docs homepage, you can insert stars to multiple files by selecting them in the usual way: Hold down command or shift as you selecting the file name. Then drag the file name onto the top of the Starred entry in the filter list at the top left of the interface.  more info

 View a video’s technical details

You can store files, such as videos, in Google Docs. Just click the Upload button, and select your video file.

Right-click the thumbnail preview of any video file on the home page and select Show Video Info to see technical details about the file, such as its resolution.

Explore the templates

Many people don’t realize that Google’s word processor and spreadsheet tools offer hundreds of document templates, including some extremely sophisticated ones for tax work and other specialized purposes.

To view the document templates, select Create New and then From Template on the Docs homepage.

Automatically correct common typos

You can make Google Docs automatically correct your frequently mistype or misspell words as you type within the word processor.

Select Tools and then Preferences. In the dialog box that appears, enter the commonly mistyped text in the top-most empty Replace field, and enter the correct spelling in the neighboring With field.

For example, many people mistype the as teh, so you might want to enter teh in the Replace field and the in the With field. more info

Click and drag images into docs

To insert a picture into a word processing document, click and drag the image from a folder on your hard drive or on your desktop into the browser window.

Fix pictures in position

You can fix images into position within documents, forcing text to flow around them.

By default, the Google Docs word processor inserts pictures in such a way that they move with the text; this arrangement is known as Inline positioning. To fix the picture to the page so that it remains stationary while text flows around it (the only way to move the picture is to click and drag it). First select the image and then, at the bottom, click Fixed.  

Insert links in a snap

The most common way to insert a hyperlink into a text document is to choose Insert and then Link, or to press command-K. But if you’re using Google Chrome, another option is to click and drag a shortcut from the bookmarks toolbar or even from the bookmarks menu to the To What URL field, where it will instantly become a hyperlink.

You can even drag links straight from the bookmarks toolbar and the bookmarks menu onto the document to create hyperlinked text.  more info

Use Bookmarks to navigate long documents

Within word processing documents, you can define bookmarks and then create links elsewhere that jump straight to that bookmark. This can be useful when you’re creating table-of-contents pages, for example.

To insert a bookmark, choose Insert and then Bookmark. To create a link to a bookmark, highlight the word or phrase that you want people to click in order to jump to the bookmark, and then press command-K. Then select the Bookmark radio button in the resulting dialog box, and select the bookmark that you created earlier.

Use the word processor to create Web pages

If you find HTML or Website design software a little baffling, you can instead use Google’s word processor to create simple Web pages. To insert pictures, click and drag them onto the browser window, as mentioned above; insert links by highlighting the text or image file and pressing command-K.

Once you’ve created a page, click File, then Download As, and then HTML (Zipped) to download the data. The resulting folder will contain a single HTML file along with a folder of support files. Rename the HTML file as index.html, and upload that file and the folder of supporting files to your Web space.  

Work with multiple currencies in a spreadsheet

To set the base currency format for a spreadsheet, click File and then Spreadsheet Settings. Alter the Locale setting to the relevant country (United States for the dollar, for example).

Regardless of the Locale setting you choose, you can mark cells or ranges of cells to be formatted in a different currency. To do so, highlight those cells and click the More Formats button (labeled ‘123’) on the toolbar. Then scroll down to the More Currencies pop-up menu and make your selection.  more info

 Use Rules to color code spreadsheets

You can automatically change the color of spreadsheet cells based on their content. To do so, highlight the cells that you want to apply color coding to, and select first Format and then Change Colors with Rules.

From the dropdown list in the dialog box, choose the criterion that you want the color coding to filter by—the text of the cell, say, or the date. Then enter the filtering criterion that you want to use into the text field alongside. For example, to color-code all cells containing the name “Melvin,” select Text Contains from the dropdown list, and enter Melvin into the text field. (The field isn’t case-sensitive). 

Gather spreadsheet data using forms

Forms provide a quick way to satisfy this need, offering simple multiple-question interfaces that you can e-mail to people or include on Web pages.

To get started, open a new spreadsheet and click on the Form menu; then choose Create a Form. Once your questions are complete, e-mail the form to its intended recipients by clicking the Email This Form button.
Any data that people enter on your form will appear at the top of the spreadsheet. You can manage or delete forms by using the Form menu within the spreadsheet.

See Google Docs previews in Gmail

For a live preview (within the Gmail window) of a Google Docs link that you’ve received via e-mail, activate the Google Docs Previews in Mail add-on in Google Labs. To access Labs, choose Settings and then Labs. Once you’ve found the Google Docs Previews in Mail add-on, choose Enable and then click the Save Settings button.  more info

Create drawings within presentations

When creating a presentation, you needn’t switch to the separate drawing component to make a sketch. Instead, click Insert and then Drawing. These commands will open the drawing interface in a floating window.

When you’re finished, click Save and then Close to insert the drawing into the presentation, where you can change the position and resize it.

Save drawings in scalable form

If you create a drawing in Google Docs and want to download it for offline use, be sure to select the SVG option from the File, Download As menu. Doing so will create a scalable file—a drawing that you can resize without causing its quality to deteriorate, unlike JPEG and PNG files.  more info

           

 

Business is growing exponentially. Computing need and usage is getting bigger as each day surpasses. Shall we add software and hardware to meet the new demand?

Assuming recession is back and our business is loosing customers. The software and hardwares we added during last quarter’s peak season are now idle. Do we sell them?

Difficult indeed to handle this topsy-turvy situation.  But why do we lose sleep when we have magic lamp with us. Yes, Google Apps is our magic lamp. We just configured Google Apps and Google Apps is taking care of our needs. Watch this.

FORGET HEADACHE
Isn’t it a pain to select, buy or install software? Google Apps is a collection of web-based programs. What we just need to have is a Google account.  Now we can start accessing functionality for word-processing, calendaring, chatting, and other tools all under one roof of our good old browser.
CREATE YOUR IDENTITY

Who doesn’t want to establish a brand of his/her own? Domain name certainly is a way to encash brand name. Google Apps is providing us a wonderful break to create our own domain name with the service and customize interface.

 MOBILE WORK STATION

Urgent work? But out of office? We just need to find an Internet-connected computer and start accessing personal documents, without having to worry about software versions or compatibility. Google Apps fits well with always-connected, just-in-time lifestyles. 

Are you using iPhone or BlackBerry or Android or any other less powerful phones? Google Apps functionality is available on mobile devices also.
 

                                                       REDUCE TASK

A Free IT employee – Sounding paradoxical? ITans, Google Apps is your magic lamp. You can now transfer responsibility for software updates and maintenance to your magic lamp, freeing yourself from a considerable amount of software support. The resources saved can be directed at making the IT department more innovative and agile.

STOP WORRYING ABOUT SECURITY

The controls, processes and policies that protect data in the systems have successfully completed a SAS 70 Type II audit. We can add an additional layer of protection to our Google Apps accounts.

Each file has a creator/owner, who determines who is allowed to access the file, either as a viewer (with read-only rights) or a collaborator (who can change the file). To reduce exploit risks, each Google server is custom-built with only the necessary software components, and the homogeneous server architecture enables rapid updates and configuration changes across the entire network when necessary. Data is replicated / copied in multiple data centers for consistent availability.
WHO ON EARTH DO NOT WANT TO SAVE MONEY? ADOPT THE EASIEST WAY

Do you know Google Apps is as little as 1/3 the total cost of competing solutions.  As Google Apps require no hardware or software so the total server hardware cost, software licensing cost and infrastructure maintenance cost is absolutely nil.  Administration labor cost is only 8.8% of other cloud computing applications like Microsoft. More info

A number of companies and colleges have migrated to Google Apps, increasingly for the entire suite of communication and productivity tools. 

YOU TOO WANT TO MIGRATE? BUT NO IDEA HOW? RELAX. LET US DO IT FOR YOU

We are Global Authorised Google Apps Reseller and help you in express setting up and configuration of Google Apps coupled with excellent support including data migration, provide user training and best practices, tackle systems integration, and develop custom    application extensions. You can always approach us concerning any queries and we assure you to solve your problems.   

Google Goes To School

Going berserk on how to submit homework while fighting with flu… Stop worrying because schools and colleges are embracing Google Apps, the world’s largest & the most secure cloud computing service. Henceforth students, teachers & the school personnel will be interacting in a collaborative environment offering extreme mobility. Now we can share documents, chat, schedule assignments and even share video assignments all under one roof of our good old browser.

We did a quick survey and all the Google App users announced the below in unison:
a. It saves time, energizes the students and thus boosting performance. Let’s rephrase this as a “Digital Adrenaline Rush”
b. Helping students to explore and troubleshoot the ever changing E-world
and …
c. We can think of building a bigger lab now, Google Apps saves a premium.

What teachers are saying?
“Google Apps is mounting students’ engagement and thus saving our time”.
Shifting to a web-based platform has made distributing, sharing, and collecting material seamless and has significantly decreased workload of teachers, as they do not have to create several different versions. Students’ behavior has improved, attendance is higher, and suspension levels have fallen.
An educator says “Our students are increasing their reading ability at faster rates than anything we’ve seen before”.

Are students happy?
High school sophomore Kylie shares, "we no longer have to exchange contact information because everyone already has a Google account and it is saved in our contacts. Creating either a Google doc or group for the project, and inviting teachers to look at our work is just a matter of few split seconds." Others find that editing together in Google Docs "improved our writing by sharing with others and making comments at the same time"
And 5th standard student Sonia likes Google Apps for the practical reason that "you don’t have to worry about paper getting lost and having your things get torn or ripped."

Explore, troubleshoot and respond to the ever changing E-world

‘Survival of the fittest’ policy is very much pertinent for us.  Google Apps will make us fit if not fittest, to match up with the ever changing world with its obvious benefits of collaboration and fluency with technology. For instance, you, a student of Engineering keeping a running e-portfolio of the classroom projects with Google Sites. The digital accumulation of your college efforts will likely mean more to future employers than the mere bullet points on your resume.

Let us show you another example: A teacher is using Google Spreadsheets to free the science classroom from the confines of the textbook. Students conduct actual experiments and code the data in collaborative online tables. In this instance, students get their hands dirty, literally, by measuring plant growth in various soil types, and analyzing the data using digital tools, just as a real scientist would. 

Isn’t it an engaging way to help our Department of Education meet its goal of increasing scientific competitiveness, as outlined in the ambitious “Race to the Top” agenda?

Saving Money
We can kill two birds with one shot. Educational reformation + Cost reduction = Google Apps. The Google Apps services are apparently very attractive. After a survey we have found numerous schools and colleges using Google Apps saves millions of $ per year.
Sighting few examples: 1) The Oregon Department of Education estimates a savings of $1.5 million per year.

2) Vickram College of Engineering in India by using Google Apps is saving an impressive amount annually.

3) Even the relatively humble Maine Township District 207 in Illinois, another school system estimates their savings to be around $160,000 each year.
  

Now we can always think upon upgrading our schools’ infrastructure, because ‘Google saves a premium’. For example: A desire to have a technologically well equipped lab or a play station.
10 GB storage per account with good uptime guarantees and no longer having to deal with the spam policing will help IT administrators of the school to take a deep breath and relax. The free, Educational Edition is really useful, too, which offers Email, calendar, messaging, phone and video calls from a single interface.

Expert comments:
For Steve Nelson, Technology of Director of Oregon Virtual Schools, these savings allow the state to provide multimedia streaming services that support student-generated content, which he says was “not economically feasible” without Google.

Henry Thiele, IT director for District 207 says he is “surprised by how many schools don’t even know that [Google apps] is there.” And, when they hear about the opportunity, says, Thiele, they’re curious to know “what the catch is.” Thiele just responds, “There is no catch.”

Benefits in a nutshell

• Create personal email id with institute’s domain name (like petter@kingschools.co.uk, hannah@iimb.edu or manoj@woodstockschool.in)
• Collaborate documents using Google docs (sharing project works, etc)
• Use calendar to schedule their weekly exams
• Also create own sites using Google Sites (teachers can effectively use this system to communicate to students)

If students are happy, 100% endeavor they will give effortlessly on their studies. As a result teachers will be pleased. And trust us ‘Students performing well’ is the success mantra of every school’s escalation.

When we attended Google's one-day summit with numerous schools and colleges; their faculties and tech-coordinators, we heard about the myriad struggles faced by schools and colleges trying to implement Apps for Education.

You can always approach us concerning deployment or implementation queries and we assure you to solve your problems. We are Global Authorised Google Apps Reseller and help you in express setting up and configuration of Google Apps coupled with excellent support including data migration, provide user training and best practices, tackle systems integration, and develop custom application extensions. 

Now you can lower organization's costs and increase performance with absolute ease.

No More WORK HARD.. 

YOU + GOOGLE APPS = SMART WORK

What you need is simple and smart collaboration features at very low or preferably no costs. Google Apps offer exactly what is expected at a very reasonable price regardless of which sector you are operating.

A leading research firm found that Google Apps is as little as 1/3 the total cost of competing solutions. See switching to Google Apps can save how much $$$$ Estimate your savings


Legacy messaging systems have problems


1) High costs
Over $300/user/year
2) Labor requirements
Maintenance, patches and upgrades
3) User limitations
Less storage, poor search


On-premise messaging is expensive



                            Costs of On-Premise Email
                                          (Per User, Per Year)


Google's web-based messaging and collaboration apps require no hardware or software and need minimal administration, creating tremendous time and cost savings for businesses.
So switch over to Google Apps for smarter business.
http://www.ontrackindia.com/ontrackindia/index.php?option=content&task=section&id=181