Featured gadget: map it in your spreadsheet

Posted by: Meredith Whittaker, Program Manager

The situation: My good friend Tomashi is visiting New York, and I want to map out a few places for her to visit near my work before we meet for the evening.

What do I do? I use the spreadsheets map gadget, which easily adds a Google map pinpointing all the addresses I've entered.

Here's how:

1. I choose some places in the neighborhood that I think Tomashi would like visiting, and add their addresses along the first column of my spreadsheet.
2. In the next column, I enter the name of each place, and a short description.
3. I highlight all of the cells that contain information I'd like included in the map.
4. Along the top of the toolbar, I click, "Insert Gadget." In the menu that appears I select "Maps" from the list on the left, and choose, simply, the "Map" gadget.
5. Finally, I give the map a title, check the box next to "Last column as tooltip" and, as is my preference, choose to allow zoom using mouse wheel. When all's done, I click "Apply and close."
   

Here's the published map (which can be embedded in any HTML page, if you'd like):




And, here's a link to the full spreadsheet, showing the guide that I'll share with Tomashi when she visits.

Of course, this is great for a lot of other things, apart from visiting friends. These include:

• House hunting (enter the addresses in one column, and any corresponding numbers, or information in the next)
  
• Road trip planning
  
• Charting restaurants, shops, or other places you'd like to visit
• Anything else where a map could flesh out a list of addresses :)

Hot tip: Create new docs, even faster

Posted by: Michelle Lee and Dave Young, User experience designers

With all of the meeting notes, design documents, bug lists, presentations, and other files we share with our teams at Google, we create up to a dozen new documents a day. Of course, this means a daily stream of new docs.

To make this as fast as possible, we use these three shortcuts:

1. Drag the links below (one for each type) into your browser bookmarks toolbar (also known as the navigation toolbar).

New Document

New Spreadsheet

New Presentation

2. Now, you can create a new doc simply by clicking the appropriate link. And to create a new doc in a new tab, you can hold Control (command on Mac) while clicking the bookmark.

Google Docs on the Eee PC

Posted by: Regina Dinneen, Docs User Operations (aka Google Docs Guide 2)

I recently took the plunge and bought an Eee PC to bring with me on my volunteer mission (see the Craigslist / Forms post). If there's Internet on the island and in the schools, I'd really like to use Google Docs with my students. So, after booting up my new computer I noticed that it came pre-installed with a Google Docs icon that automatically sends you to http://docs.google.com.

I was intrigued – could I actually use Google Docs on a computer with such a small screen? Turns out it works pretty well. Here are two pictures to show you how it looks (to get an idea of just how small the Eee PC is, I've put it on top of my Macbook Pro).

Although the toolbar and white space take up a lot of room, spreadsheets is still usable on this subnotebook.

However, if you freeze too many rows, the vertical scrollbar will disappear. Not good at all.If you've tried Docs on the Eee PC, leave us a note in the comments below.

What could we change in Docs to make the experience better on the smaller screen? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Google Docs means business

Posted by: Meredith Whittaker, Program Manager

Recently, we were introduced to Lynette Chandler through her wonderful video detailing how to create spreadsheets forms.

Well, Lynette and her Docs expertise are back. This time, she's put together a resource for businesses, giving six creative ways to employ Docs in the workplace.

Check out her guide, 6 Ways Google Docs Can Improve Your Team's Efficiency, then leave us a comment here, letting us know how you use Docs in your business life.

Upload your PDFs!

Posted by: Jen Mazzon, Product Manager

I spend a good chunk of time each week combing our Google Docs Help group, where users share questions and information with each other, and with me! (You'll see me as Google Guide Jenmazz in the group.) The questions people ask tell me how we need to clarify and simplify, and what we need to enhance and build in Google Docs.

Here's a common request:

"I'd like to use Google Docs to share information in PDFs for
discussion & for download, especially (though not exclusively)
with those who can edit PDFs."

"Hey Google! this is a serious setback. Why no PDF uploads?
Let's get on this already."

"If you're listening O Great Google Demi-Gods, we supplicate
thee for PDF storage!!"

And so... I'm very pleased to confirm that you can now upload, preview and share PDFs in Google Docs. (While you can't edit them yet, you can copy & paste text.) We eagerly await your feedback on this highly requested feature.

To get started, click the Upload button in the Docs home toolbar, select a PDF file from your computer and off you go!

Google Docs and Craigslist, a perfect match

Posted by: Regina Dinneen, Google Docs User Operations (aka Google Docs Guide 2)

In mid-July I'm headed off to volunteer with a non-profit, stationed in the South Pacific. As a result, I'm currently scrambling to tie up loose ends and organize the logistics of this rather big change. One of these loose ends involves helping my current roommate find someone to fill my room in the house.

In the Bay Area, the best way to find a room or replace a roommate is through Craigslist.org.
(Craigslist is how I found the room in the first place.) What I remember about my room search 2+ years ago was that everywhere I "applied" had at least 30-50 other applicants. This is stressful not only for the applicants, but for the poor person taxed with choosing the best of the bunch. So, to ease the burden on my roommate and myself, I decided to use Google Docs when placing our ad. This allowed us to update and expand the information linked in the ad on a moment's notice, without having to take down, edit, and resubmit through Craigslist. In addition, we added a form to our ad which collects information from interested parties, and aggregates it on a convenient spreadsheet. No more stuffed inbox, ambiguous information or shady spam.

Here's the ad:

And here's how to create a Doc that helps streamline and simplfy this process:

1. Create a new document and list all the specifics of the room, along with pictures.

2. Set up a form that can be used to take down names of interested parties, eliminating obligation of receiving tons of email. Once the spreadsheet is populated, it can be used to keep track of who's been contacted, and the dates and times for each person's visit.

After implementing this process, I'm happy to report that after the post was put up, we had 4 people interested in the first 10 minutes. It's now been 2 days and we have 44 names on our spreadsheet. Although there is still a lot more to do, I've saved a whole lot of time using Google Docs to shared and organize information.

Featured Gadget: Bars of Stuff add *bling* to your charts

Posted by: Meredith Whittaker, Program Manager

We all know that charts are an essential way to present relative information. We also know that they help you appear smart, organized and professional. Too bad, then, that charts don't always make you look cool.

Or, at least until recently.

With the Bars of Stuff gadget for spreadsheets, you get your choice of a number of zany images to represent the body of your bar graph. Below, I chose the train image to show how many (grueling) hours my friends and I exercise daily. Apt, no?



Not into trains? Don't worry, you've got a number of other choices (including worms, truffles and rope).

If you're ready to get started making your charts cool, follow these simple steps (and maybe discover some other great gadgets, while you're at it):

1. In a spreadsheet, enter the data you'd like charted, each item corresponding in a single row across two columns.
   
2. Highlight the range occupied by the data you entered.
3. From the upper-right, above the editing toolbar, select "Insert Plugin..."
4. Scroll through the list until you find the Bars of Stuff plugin. Click, "Select Plugin."
5. Add a title, a header, and, very importantly, choose the type of chart you'd like from the drop-down menu (do you want chocolates? a train? It's up to you).
6. Click "Apply and close."
   

And there you have it! Your chart is fun, attractive, and ready to roll (if you'll pardon the pun :)

Note also that, as proved above, you can publish and embed your chart in your blog, webpage, or any other HTML page.

To Mars, and beyond

Posted by: Garnet Gratton

Following her last post describing her use of forms in the classroom, Garnet Gratton is back, this time with a simple, creative lesson-plan for you teachers, involving current events, Mars and Docs' forms, among other things.

It's the end of the school year and your students, who show no signs of recovering from spring fever, are doing the antsy-dance in their seats. Suddenly, the universe drops an antidote in your lap, in the form of a ready-made lesson plan: Phoenix Mars Lander.

While tailor-made for science or astronomy classes, the successful landing of the spacecraft on May 26 packs a wallop of timely relevance for any subject. English or journalism teachers, for example, can have your students write a journalistic piece, highlighting the objectives and timeline of the mission. Here's a rough outline:

1. Start with the Phoenix Mars Lander section of the JPL site. NASA has more here.
   
   
2. Have your students form small groups to compile information onto a Docs presentation, embedding images and videos, and linking to the interactive exercises.
   A great way to get your students engaged it to have them to have them write up reports covering the mission's progress, from beginning to end. By having each group set up Google alert, set to search for the words Phoenix Mars Lander, a wealth of topical information will be at their fingertips.
   
   
3. When complete, the students can publish their projects, and send you the link through a very simple Google docs form, something like this:
   

What's the benefit of garnering submissions via form?

For one, it makes grading extremely easy, you'll have all the links to all the projects in one place.

Secondly, when you publish the spreadsheet that's receiving the form's submissions, it becomes a website and the links are active. Voila! You can click right down the column to assess their projects.

And, finally, when it's time to present, have the published spreadsheet up on the monitor. Each group can easily click on their link to start the slideshow, share with the rest of class, and keep things moving along...which, with Summer nearly here, is a good thing.

To learn more on creating forms, see the instructional article in our Help Center.

If you're a teacher who's excited to get started using Docs, but isn't sure where to start (or, if you know a teacher who fits this profile), check out our quick start teachers' guide, Using Google Docs in the classroom.

Featured video: Setting up spreadsheets notifications

Posted by: Meredith Whittaker, Program Manager

Recently, we added a notifications feature for spreadsheets, which gives you the the ability to be notified, via email, when changes are made to your spreadsheet.

Docs user Bob Yang picked up on this new feature and created an effective and dead simple video, showing the steps to setting up notification emails for your spreadsheet.

So sit back and enjoy Bob's great contribution - you're one step closer to omniscience :)

Check out more great Google Docs videos, created by lots of you, on the Google Docs Community channel.

Have a Docs-related video you'd like to submit to the Community Channel? Let us know.

Aliza's chronicles, part 5: the personal stuff

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

In the last installment of her Google Docs chronicles, Aliza Sherman shows us how how Google Docs can be useful beyond the workplace.

Last time I discussed how I use Google Docs for quick or short-term collaboration and projects. I’d be remiss if I didn’t confess to one more thing.

I have actually been using Docs to track ... the results from each week of The Bachelor. I know, I know, this has nothing to do with work, but if anyone is tracking competitive shows like American Idol or The Bachelor with friends across the country as I am doing, making educated predictions is key. For me, using Google Docs gives me a competitive edge.

To stay on top of the show results, I create a spreadsheet with the first round of winning women who have received a rose from the Bachelor tracking. By each name, I have a space for my vote, a space for who actually gets a rose each show, and then a very important space ... for making snarky notes on the side. Genius!

And since my Bachelor docs are not public, here's a taste of those comments, because I know you're dying to know:

"Pretty? Oh my goodness, I think I'm going to throw up."
"Greek, down to earth, he likes her."
"Horse face."
"Love at first site; 'I really want you to know that some people brought their modeling portfolio here.' (catty wench)"

Other possible personal uses for Google Docs:

• Collaborating on the family grocery shopping list with my husband
• Keeping a running tab of all the books and educational DVDs I'd like to get my toddler, then sharing with friends and family since her birthday is coming up
• Keeping a list of anything that I tend to forget. I do have a spiral notebook with my To-Do lists but can I tell you how often I forget to bring it with me every day!
• Making notes that are way too short for a document, but you really want to be able to access that information later. I sometimes use my computer's Stickies program, but my desktop is starting to get cluttered. On Google Docs, no clutter and access from anywhere.

All too recently (this past week), I figured out that I can actually save my documents into labeled folders and I can give those labels different colors to designate priority. But of course, you say, that's an obvious feature. Well, I hadn't noticed it before, and I went through my docs and filed them all. I like the way I can also view the files by Documents Owned by Me, Documents Opened by Me, Items Not in Folders or All Items -- it gives me multiple ways of viewing what I have in my Google Docs account.

Extra feature: A little subtle spell-check feature shows a little red line under the questionable word. (I guess I spelled "catty wench" correctly.)

And that, my friends, is how Google Docs is working for me.

Luddite leapfrogs with Docs

Posted by: Paul G Mattiuzzi

Paul G Mattiuzzi is a writer, psychologist and member of a Google Docs using family. He currently writes, works and maintains a psychology resource website in California.

As the Career Development Director for the Engineering and Computer Science College at Cal State Sacramento, Cici is well known as the go-to and "on top of the current technologies" person on campus.

As her husband, I am part of her support staff. I am a psychologist by profession and a writer by trade. I help edit Cici's weekly newsletter, and I also help edit some of my daughter's papers. Lizzy is currently working on a Masters in Contemporary Urbanism at the London School of Economics. Despite having received the Senior Thesis Honor award last year at UC Berkeley, Lizzy still sends me her papers before she submits them. Despite having published a weekly newsletter for 20 years plus, Cici still asks me to check her grammar and punctuation before broadcasting this weeks' thoughts.

Lizzy's in London writing a paper. I help edit it from my office in Sacramento. Cici's at the office and on deadline. I sign-in at Google Docs and I add the commas needed in her story. As it is today, our daily work-life would come to a grinding halt without Docs.

For years, Cici has been telling me that I should get Microsoft Word on my computer. I've resisted, while has she kept telling me that I need to "catch up with the rest of the world."

I guess you could say that I am some kind of computer Luddite (or not). I have been doing desktop word processing since before IBM first introduced a personal computer and before MS-DOS existed. When it came time for me to write my doctoral dissertation, I spent $3500 to buy a 48K Apple ][. The only viable alternative at that time was an IBM Selectric Typewriter with a paper tape reader attached. In subsequent years, I've upgraded relentlessly, sticking with Apple products.

So finally, when I convinced Cici that she should start sharing her papers on Google Docs, she got the picture. She saw that by using the most ordinary Docs feature, the ability to collaborate, I could edit her writing and she could see it happening in real-time.

Finally, I was able to say to her: "Google Docs is how we need to do this ... you need to stop sending me those .doc files ... you need to catch up with the rest of the world."