Fabulous Features of Google Docs

Session Agenda - bit.ly/curts-docs

🧔 Presenter

  • Eric Curts

  • Sharing Doc - Share any comments, questions, answers, resources, links, examples, and more - Google Document link

Table of Contents

🧰 General Resources        2

🗣️ Voice Typing        2

🔠 Web Fonts        2

🖌️ Paint Format        3

🅰️ Set Default Fonts and Styles        3

😀 Emojis        3

🔗 Internal Links        3

✨ URL Tricks        4

▶️ Playing Videos        4

🟢 Smart Chips        4

🔽 Dropdowns        4

🧱 Building Blocks        5

🎨 Embedded Drawings        5

🔎 Explore Tool        5

💡 Google Keep Integration        5

🈴 Translate        5

🤖 AI Assistant        6

🔔 Notifications        6

⏳ Version History        6

➕ Add-ons        6

🔌 Extensions        7

👩‍💻 Apps Script Code        7

📃 Templates        7

📶 Offline Access        7

🧰 General Resources

🗣️ Voice Typing

Speak to Docs and have your words automatically typed for you.

  • Click "Tools" then "Voice typing".
  • Click the microphone and speak to dictate to the document.
  • Can include punctuation.
  • Can change language.
  • Can be used for comments - say "Insert Comment" followed by comment
  • Can be used for emojis - say name of emoji followed by "emoji"
  • Great for assistive technology, young students, multi-tasking or poor typists.

🔠 Web Fonts

Choose from over 1,600 fonts.

  • Click the font menu and then choose "More fonts"
  • Use them in Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings, and more.
  • Display correctly for all users.
  • Also browse with previews at fonts.google.com

🖌️ Paint Format

Easily copy the style from one part of your document to another.

  • Select the source text, then click the "Paint format" button.
  • Select new text to apply the format.
  • Double-click the "Paint format" button to repeatedly apply style.

🅰️ Set Default Fonts and Styles

You can set the default fonts and styles for any new document you create.

  • Format some text the way you want the defaults to be.
  • Select the text.
  • Click "Format" then "Paragraph Styles" then "Normal Text" and finally "Update Normal Text to Match".
  • Now click "Format" then "Paragraph Styles" then "Options" and finally "Save As My Default Styles".

😀 Emojis

You can add emojis to your documents.

  • Click "Insert" then "Emoji", or type "@:" followed by the name, or voice type name followed by "emoji".
  • Can be used for organization, reactions, rebus stories, summaries, and more.
  • Blog post - "5 Emoji Learning Activities with Google Docs" - Website link
  • Sample activities
  • Write a summary with emojis
  • Create a rebus story with emojis

🔗 Internal Links

Add internal links to jump to different parts of your document.

  • Click "Insert" then "Link".
  • Link internally to headers or bookmarks.
  • Can be used for organization, navigation, "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories, and more.
  • Blog post - "Choose Your Own Adventure Stories with Google Docs" - Website link
  • Sample - "Dragon Quest" Interactive Story - Google Document link
  • Sample text to use for your story - Google Document link

✨ URL Tricks

Change the document link for other ways to share it.

  • Normal view link - "docs.google.com/…/edit" - Example
  • Force a copy - "docs.google.com/…/copy" - Example
  • Show Doc without menus - "docs.google.com/…/preview" - Example
  • Preview with copy option - "docs.google.com/…/template/preview" - Example
  • Sir Links-a-Lot extension - Chrome Web Store link

▶️ Playing Videos

Play YouTube videos in Docs with the popup window.

  • Add a YouTube link to your document.
  • When you click on the link, you will see a small animated thumbnail showing the first few seconds of the video.
  • You can then click on the "Open preview" link in the bottom right corner of the thumbnail.
  • The video will now open in a popup window in the bottom right corner of the Google Document and start playing automatically.
  • You can click and drag the top left corner of the video window to make it larger or smaller.
  • The video will stay on top and play while you continue to work in the document allowing you to watch the video and do your work.
  • Normal video functions are still available such as volume, captions, playback speed, and more.
  • When done you can close the video window.

🟢 Smart Chips

Add interactive chips to your document including:

  • Date, People, File, Calendar Event, Place (free version)
  • Voting Chip, Stopwatch, Timer, Variables (paid version)

🔽 Dropdowns

Add interactive dropdown menus inside of your documents.

  • Click "Insert" then "Dropdown".
  • Can be used for tracking projects, grammar activities, cloze reading, and more.
  • Blog post - "Create Cloze Reading Activities with Google Docs Dropdown Chips" - Website link
  • Tutorial video - YouTube link
  • Sample - "Frog Cloze Activity"

🧱 Building Blocks

Insert pre-made templates for common tasks.

  • Meeting notes, Email drafts, Calendar events, Product roadmap, and more.
  • Create, save, and reuse your own custom building blocks.

🎨 Embedded Drawings

Embed Google Drawings inside of a document to add an interactive element.

  • Add a Drawing by clicking "Insert" then "Drawing" then "New".
  • Can be used for interactive elements such as graphic organizers.
  • Compare and Contrast Writing Example - Google Docs link - Google Drawing link
  • Sample graphic organizers to copy
  • Can also be used for:
  • Inserting an eSignature - Blog post - Sample Doc
  • Adding a textbox
  • Captioning an image
  • Embedding a video

🔎 Explore Tool

Search for content from the side panel in Docs.

  • Click "Tools" then "Explore".
  • Search and insert web pages, images, and more.
  • Provides proper citation for inserted web pages.

💡 Google Keep Integration

Access and insert Google Keep notes from the Docs side panel.

  • Click "Keep" in the Docs side panel.
  • Docs allows you to access anything you have saved in Google Keep.
  • You can then bring those items into your document.
  • Great for frequently accessed content, comments, images, resources for a project, and more.
  • Blog post - "Using Keep for Grading Comments" - Website link
  • Sample comment banks - Google Docs link

🈴 Translate

You can translate an entire document into another language.

  • Click "Tools" then "Translate document".
  • Choose the language you want to translate into.
  • A new copy of the document will be created in the chosen language.
  • All of Eric's ELL resources - bit.ly/curts-ellgoogle

🤖 AI Assistant

If you have Gemini for Workspace or Gemini Advanced you can use AI to help write and rewrite text.

🔔 Notifications

Get notified anytime someone makes a change to a particular document.

  • Click "Tools" then "Notification settings".
  • Select notification option for "Added or removed content".

⏳ Version History

See all changes ever made to the Doc, who made the changes, and when.

  • Click "File" then "Version history" then "See version history"
  • Great for tracking changes, group work, plagiarism, etc.
  • Different versions can also be named (such as Rough Draft, Final Version, etc.)
  • Older versions can also be copied as their own documents.

➕ Add-ons

Extend Docs features and options with Add-ons

  • More details at bit.ly/curts-docsaddons and Blog Post link
  • Add-ons are third-party tools that you can install and use inside of Google Docs.
  • They provide additional features or tools that you normally would not have in Docs.
  • Some recommended add-ons:

🔌 Extensions

Extend Docs features and options with Chrome Extensions

👩‍💻 Apps Script Code

Extend Docs features and options with Apps Script code

  • Google Apps Script is a scripting language based on JavaScript.
  • Apps Script can be used in tools such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Calendar, Drive, and more.
  • Apps Script can be used to automate tasks, create custom features, integrate with other tools, and more.
  • More details at bit.ly/curts-aicode - Webinar video - Blog post
  • Examples:

📃 Templates

Templates can save time when creating documents.

  • Use pre-made templates from the "Template Gallery".
  • Add your own templates to your school's gallery.

📶 Offline Access

Google Docs can be used when offline to edit and create documents.

  • Click the settings gear in the top right corner of Google Drive screen, and choose "Settings".
  • Scroll to find "Offline" settings.
  • Check the box for "Create, open and edit your recent Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files on this device while offline."
  • Click "Done".
  • Now when you are offline you can go to Drive and can access and edit any files that are not grayed out (these will be recently used files).
  • Specify a particular file for offline use by clicking "File" and "Make available offline".

© Eric Curts - ericcurts@gmail.com - ControlAltAchieve.com

This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 United States license. In short, you may copy, distribute, and adapt this work as long as you give proper attribution and do not charge for it.

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