Using Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Google Docs & Spreadsheets allows you to share documents with other people via the Internet. You can also allow other people to edit the documents you share.

This document contains instructions for completing the following tasks:

·  Creating an Account for Google Docs & Spreadsheets

·  Creating, Publishing, and Sharing Documents

o  Creating a document

o  Editing a document

o  Publishing a document

o  Stopping the publishing of a published document

o  Stopping the sharing of a shared document

·  Creating, Publishing, and Sharing Spreadsheets

·  Uploading Existing Documents

Creating an Account for Google Docs & Spreadsheets

In order to use Google Docs & Spreadsheets, you must have a Google account. To create an account:

  1. Go to the Google Docs & Spreadsheets website: http://docs.google.com.
  2. Fill in the information requested on the account form, and click the button labeled I accept. Create my account to continue the account setup process.
  3. As part of the account setup process, you will receive an email message that contains instructions for verifying your account. (The message will be sent to the address you entered on the account form.) In order to complete the account setup process, you must follow the instructions in the message to activate your account.
  4. A browser window will open to display the status of your account activation. Once your account has been activated, you can access the log-in page by clicking the sign in link or by going to http://docs.google.com.
  5. To log-in, enter your email address and password on the sign page, and click the sign in button.

Creating, Publishing, and Sharing Documents

Google Docs & Spreadsheets allows you to share new documents that you create in Google Docs & Spreadsheets, was well as upload and share existing documents that you have already created in other programs.

To Create a Document:

  1. Log-in to Google Docs & Spreadsheets (if you have not already signed in): http://docs.google.com.
  2. Click the new document link to create a new document. The document editor will open in a new browser window. (Note: If the document you want to use in Google Docs & Spreadsheets already exists, you can upload the existing file. Refer the steps for uploading existing documents.)
  3. The document editor consists of several views organized by tabs. Click each tab to activate the corresponding view. The edit tab is the view to use for entering and formatting text in the document. The insert tab is the view to use for adding objects (such as pictures, links, comments, tables, bookmarks, lines, page breaks, and symbols) to your document. The revisions tab displays the changes that have been made in the document and allows you to access prior versions.
  4. The formatting tools on the edit tab work very similar to the formatting tools in a word processing program. To format a segment of text, select it and click the desired tool.

Tool / Function / Tool / Function
Undo the last edit / Insert a hyperlink or an email link
Redo the last edit / Apply numbering to the selected text
Cut the selected text / Apply bullets to the selected text
Copy the selected text / Reduce the indentation of the selected paragraph(s)
Paste the text that was cut or copied / Increase the indentation of the selected paragraph(s)
Make the selected text bold / Put the selected text in a block quote.
Italicize the selected text / Left-align the selected paragraph(s)
Underline the selected text / Center-align the selected paragraph(s)
Change the font of the selected text / Right-align the selected paragraph(s)
Change the size of the selected text / Remove the formatting from the selected text
Change the color of the selected text / Apply a formatting style to the selected text
Highlight the selected text / Change the numbering style or position of the selected paragraph(s)
  1. Save the document by clicking the save or save and close button. Clicking the save and close button will return you to the (Note: To revert to the last saved version of the document, click the discard changes button.)

To Edit a Document:

If the document that you want to edit is not already open, you can open it from the document list that displays after you log-in. You can only edit documents that you have created or that other people have given you access to edit. To edit an existing document:

  1. Log-in to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and display the list of documents (if the document you want to edit is not already open).
  2. Click the name of the document you want to edit.
  3. When the document editor opens,
  4. Save the document by clicking the save or save and close button. Clicking the save and close button will return you to the (Note: To revert to the last saved version of the document, click the discard changes button.)

To Publish a Document:

Publishing a document means making it available for other people to view over the Internet. To publish a document:

  1. Open the document for editing (if it is not already open). To open the document, click the document name in the list of documents.
  1. Click the save button to save the document.
  2. Click the publish tab in the document editor to access the publish settings.
  3. Click the publish document button to continue the publishing process.
  4. When the confirmation prompt appears, click the OK button.
  5. Once the document is published, other people can view it using the address provided.

To Stop Publishing a Published Document:

If you no longer want other people to be able to view a document that you have shared, you can stop publishing the document. To stop publishing a published document:

  1. Open the document for editing.
  2. Click the publish tab.
  3. Click the stop publishing button.

To Share a Document

Sharing a document means making it available for other people to edit over the Internet. When you share a document for editing, you designate individuals as collaborators on that document. To share a document:

  1. Open the document for editing (if it is not already open). To open the document, click the document name in the list of documents.
  2. Click the save button to save the document (if you have made changes in the document).
  3. Click the share tab in the document editor to access the publish settings.
  4. Select the option for collaborators, and enter the email address(es) of the people you want to be able to edit the document. If you do not want the people you designate as collaborators to be able to give other people access to the document, uncheck the box labeled collaborators may invite others. When finished entering names, click the invite collaborators button.
  5. When the confirmation box appears, customize the message that will be sent to the people you designated as collaborators. When finished, click the send button to send the message to your collaborators.
  6. The people you designated as collaborators will receive an email message that contains that information you specified in the previous step, along with a link to the document you shared. (Note: In order to view or edit the document, each person must have an account set-up for Google Docs & Spreadsheets. If the person does not have an existing account, he or she must create one to use the document.)

To Stop Sharing a Shared Document

If you no longer want other people to be able to edit a document that you have shared, you can stop sharing the document. To stop sharing a shared document:

  1. Open the document for editing.
  2. Click the share tab.
  3. To stop sharing the document with all the collaborators you designated, click the remove all link. To stop sharing the document with a subset of collaborators or a particular collaborator, click the remove button next to the collaborator’s address.

Creating, Publishing, and Sharing Spreadsheets

A spreadsheet in Google Docs & Spreadsheets is a special type of document that you can create, edit, publish, and share. Many of the same types of formatting and editing tools available in Excel are available in a spreadsheet in Google Docs & Spreadsheets. The steps used to create and edit a spreadsheet are nearly identical to the steps used to create, edit, publish, and share a regular document:

  1. Log-in to Google Docs & Spreadsheets (if you have not already signed in): http://docs.google.com.
  2. Click the new spreadsheet link to create a new spreadsheet. The document editor will open in a new browser window. (Note: If the document you want to use in Google Docs & Spreadsheets already exists, you can upload the existing file. Refer the steps for uploading existing documents.)
  3. The document editor consists of several views organized by tabs. Click each tab to activate the corresponding view. The edit tab is the view to use for entering information and formatting text in the spreadsheet. The sort tab is the view to use for changing the order of information in your document. The formula tab allows you to view and change the formulas entered in cells in the spreadsheet. Most of the tools on each tab function the same was as the corresponding tools in Excel. The revisions tab displays the changes that have been made in the spreadsheet and allows you to access prior versions.
  4. Edit the spreadsheet as needed.
  5. If desired, use the publish tab to allow other people to view the spreadsheet.
  6. If desired, use the share tab to allow other people to edit the spreadsheet.
  7. Save the document by clicking the save or save and close button. Clicking the save and close button will return you to the (Note: To revert to the last saved version of the document, click the discard changes button.)

Uploading Existing Documents to Google Docs & Spreadsheets

If you have an existing document (or spreadsheet) that you want to use in Google Docs & Spreadsheets, you can upload it. The types of documents that you can upload are Web pages (e.g., HTML or HTML files), plain text (TXT) files, Microsoft Word (DOC) files, Rich Text (RTF) files, OpenDocument Text (ODT) files, and StarOffice (SXW) files.

To upload an existing document:

  1. Log-in to Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and display the document list (if you are not already logged in).
  2. Click the upload link.
  3. Use the browse button to select the file or enter the Web address for the file that you want to upload. If desired, enter a new name to be assigned to the file once it has been uploaded. Then click the upload file button.
  4. When the upload process finishes, the spreadsheet will automatically open in the editor. Modify the spreadsheet as needed using the tools available on each tab. You may also publish and/or share the spreadsheet using the same steps used to publish or share regular documents.

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