As a content creator, I am constantly creating documents – word, excel, presentations and beyond. And for all of them, I use documents to take nIf like me, you rely on Google for everything, then google docs must be your best friend as well. I do 99% of my work on Google drive unless the client insists on another platform. Even if they want a word document, I create it on Google drive and download it as a document before mailing it out to them.
Some of the benefits of working with Google Drive are:
- Your work/documents are all safe & secure
- No worries about not finding any document or information on your laptop
- Comes in handy when you are away from your system, and yet need to access a document
- Perfect to edit, make changes even after sharing it with someone else
- Gives the other person the ease of access, ability to add comments and suggestions and chat on the document
- Connected to your google account & so no fear of someone else accessing the same without your knowledge.
- If a 3rd party wants to view/edit the document, they need to reach out to you for access.
- You get to choose who can see/view/edit/comment
- It shows you different versions and gives you the freedom to make a copy, download, move to different folders etc.
- And above all, it is free & easy to use. Includes speech to text typing also [comes in handy for those who hate typing or cannot type with ease]
A few hacks I have learned over the years that help me, which am sure will come in handy for you as well. Am putting options for both Mac and Windows.. 🙂
- New doc – Open a new document in seconds. Press Command + T (Mac) or Control + T (Windows) to open a new tab. Type doc.new to create a new doc [similarly, sheet.new or slide.new to open]
- A specific Google account – In case like me you have multiple Google accounts, you can perform the same action with a number attached to the command to open a doc connected to a particular email account. If you click on the gmail account you are logged into, you will see a drop down listing other mail Ids – just remember the sequence order. Based on that, to open a new doc/sheet/slideshow, type doc.new/1 or /2 and so on…
- Word count – All of us content creators are constantly keeping tabs on the word count when creating a document, cos we need to stick to the limit assigned by the client. Every time, we have to head over Tools→ Word count to check word count. Instead, select the ‘Display word count while typing’ and you can see the word count displayed at the bottom left corner while you type away. Shortcut keys are “Command+Shift+C” on a Mac [Control+Shift+C” in windows]
- Editing – To offer suggestions or edits, click on the little pencil symbol in the upper right corner of your screen and choose “Suggesting” mode. Every edit you make will be visible [similar to track changes on MS Word] Each update has its own comment box on the document’s right side, with the ability to accept, reject, or reply to the modification. If you’re working on a project with a group of people, you may assign an edit to a specific individual by clicking “+” in the reply box and adding an email address; Google will then send the person an email telling them of the idea.
- Voice typing – Off late, I have begun using voice to text format a lot. I either use WhatsApp voice typing o the feature within Google Docs. Simply go to Tools → Voice typing, and you can connect a headphone to the laptop, speak and it will translate the same to text. It is quite accurate, but do check spellings and formatting before shipping it out or using the document.
- Working offline – While it is amazing to have high speed internet, there are times when I want to switch off and work in peace, with no distractions. I simply open all relevant links and tabs, then go to File→ Make available offline and continue working on the document. You can alternatively turn off the wifi as well and keep going.
- Spell & Grammar check – I have Grammarly installed as an extension and app on my Mac. This makes life so easy, the extension opens on the side and when done with the document, I can correct all spelling and grammar errors with a click of a button, literally!
Found a few more on this site.
The ones mentioned above are. all that I use. Are there others you use? Do share…
