Google Docs Tricks

In this post, you will find a collection of Google Docs tricks and tips to make your life easier when using Google Docs.

Convert Microsoft Word to Google Docs

You can convert Microsoft Word documents to Google Docs. Although you can edit word documents in Google Docs and also collaborate with others, you might ask why you should convert it.
The reason is, that there is a possibility when you are using some Google Docs features and editing the document in Microsoft Word, the document will be corrupted. And when you convert it to Google Docs, you can use all the features of Google Docs, including extensions, and you are only able to edit it in Google Docs.

How to convert it:

1. Open the document in Google Docs
2. Navigate to File > Save as Google Docs
3. The Google Docs version will be opened in a new tab and saved at the same location
4. Check if the document is working as expected
5. Delete the original document

Note: This also works with Excel and PowerPoint documents. (docx, xlsx, pptx)

Linking and Mentioning

Another great feature is the ability to link and mention all different types of things that are linked to your Google account. This includes:

• People/ Contacts
• Files
• Calendar events
• Places
• Dates

Mention People

You can mention people in your document. This can be either a person from your contact list or someone that has access to the document. If you mention someone, you can also give them access to the document.

To mention someone, you can either type @ and then start typing the name of the person, or you can navigate to Insert > Smart Chips > People.

Note: This also works with Google Sheets

Link documents

You can link other documents from Google Drive. If you hover over the link, you get a preview of the document, and you can also open it in a new tab.

To link a document, you can either type @ and then start typing the name of the document, or you can navigate to Insert > Smart Chips > File.

Note: This also works with Google Sheets

Insert dates

When you want a date in your document, you mostly type it manually. But you can also create a date chip. When you hover over the date chip, you can create a calendar event and change the format of the date.

To insert a date, you can either type @ and then start typing the date, or you can navigate to Insert > Smart Chips > Date.

Insert calendar events

If you have an event in your calendar, you can insert it into your document. You also can add meeting notes and attach the file to this event.

To insert a calendar event, you can either type @ and then start typing the name of the event, or you can navigate to Insert > Smart Chips > Calendar event.

Note: This also works with Google Sheets

Offline editing

Most of the time, you have an internet connection, and then it’s not a problem to edit your documents. But if you are in a situation where you don’t have an internet connection, it is still possible to edit your documents. And when you are back online, the changes will be synced.

To edit your document offline, you can navigate to File > Make available offline. You get a notification, that you have to install the Google Docs offline extension. After you have installed it, you can edit your document offline.

Note: This works with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Communicate with collaborators

When you are working on a document with other people, you eventually have to communicate with them. Until now, you probably used discord or WhatsApp or just wrote directly in the document. But there is a better way to communicate with your collaborators.
You can chat with them in a sidebar and also create a Google meet call and comment on specific parts of the document and make suggestions.

Note: This works with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Chat

When you have shared a document with other people, you can click the chat icon in the top right navigation bar. This will open a sidebar where you can chat with your collaborators and also see the comments and suggestions.

Commenting

Comments are a great way to communicate with your collaborators. This way you can discuss the document and mention people and reply to them without making the document messy or changing between different windows when using an external chat.

When you want to comment on a specific part of the document, you have 3 options after you selected the text:

1. press Ctrl + Alt + M
2. Click the comment icon on the right side of the document
3. Right-click and select Comment

Suggesting edits

Sometimes want to change parts of the document. But it’s not always the best solution to just change it. You can suggest edits to the document. This will create a comment with the suggested changes. These changes then can be accepted or rejected. This way, you can discuss the changes with your collaborators and make sure that the changes are correct.

To suggest edits, you have 2 options:

1. Change to the Suggesting mode by selecting it in the top right corner of the window
2. Select the text and click the Suggest icon on the right side of the document

Document Outline

When you have a long document, it can be hard to navigate through it. With the outline feature, you can see all the headings and subheadings of the document and navigate to them by clicking on them.

Enable the outline by clicking on Show outline in the View menu in the main navigation bar.