Microsoft alternatives - google docs tips

 Updated information on July 6, 2022

Google docs:

Step up your Google Docs game with these hacks. If you regularly use Google Docs, features like translating your entire document or creating custom shortcuts can help optimize your experience. See the 11 Google Docs features that will make your life easier.

 

quotes from above article

• You might think you know Google Docs well, but there are a lot of lesser-known but useful features.
• Not only can you voice dictate to Google Docs and display a real-time word count, you can create comparisons between similar docs.
• Here are 11 of the most useful lesser-known features in Google Docs. 

• Dictate with your voice

  Voice dictation isn't yet 100% accurate, but it's still a convenient way to create a document using just your voice. Google Docs supports voice dictation. To do it, just choose Tools, then Voice typing. You might need to give Google Docs permission to use your microphone, but after that a Click to speak button will appear on screen (you can drag it around if it's in the way). Click, dictate, and click again when you are done. 

  

 

 

- Crop and edit images in a document

(note: I do use this feature often)

- Translate your document to another language (note: this is totally unexpected amazing feature - got to look into it)

for info check out in detail at:

How to change the language in Google Docs to translate a document or type in a different language

Jennifer Still

Dec 18, 2019,

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- Turn on an automatic word count display (note: I don't need this feature, but it's good to know for those who need it) - how to: you can enable an automatic word counter if you need it. To turn it on, click Tools, then Word count. In the Word count pop-up, click the checkbox for Display word count while typing and then click OK. 

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Bookmark sections of your document

You can bookmark sections within a Google Doc and then link to them from elsewhere in the doc. It's handy for setting up an interactive table of contents, for example, or just linking to another part of the document as a reference. 

To do that, select the text you want to bookmark and then choose Insert, followed by Bookmark. Then select the text that you want to hyperlink to the bookmark. Click Insert link in the toolbar and click Headings and bookmarks. Find the bookmark you just created and select it. 

(note: I might need this in my notes - it's good to know!)

- Templates are hiding in plain sight

It's easy to ignore on the Google Docs home page, but the top of the screen has a row of handy templates in Google's Template gallery. You can click Template gallery 

(note: I should look into this, as I use google docs so often!)

- Compare two documents (note - not sure if I need this)

-Paste without formatting (note: sure if I need this feature)

- Quickly add a header or a footer 

You can add headers and footers to your Google Doc files, and even create a different header and footer on the first page of the document. 

To create a header, double click at the top of a page. You'll see the header region appear, and you can simply start typing to create your header. For more customization, click Options and choose the setting you want to change. For footers, do the same thing at the bottom of the page.

(NOTE: not sure if I need this feature)

 

 

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• 10-12-21

Move over, Microsoft Word: The race to reinvent document editing

As ambitious apps such as Notion and Coda think beyond word processing in its classic form, even Microsoft and Google are taking notice. 

Here are some quotes from the above article:

 

"Modern editors such as Notion and Coda don’t mimic the printed page. Rather, using them feels more like browsing the web. Their writing spaces flow freely without page breaks, and they can branch into subpages that link among themselves. Those pages are also interactive by nature, with checkboxes, charts, Trello-like kanban boards, and tie-ins to outside data sources."

 

"Google Docs added interactive checklists and simpler linking to other documents earlier this year. A future update to Box’s Box Notes will add anchor links, callout boxes, and overhauled tables. The project management tool Monday launched a document editor in August with clear nods to Notion’s drag-and-drop content blocks. Microsoft itself is working on a modular Office editing system called Fluid Framework. Meanwhile, smaller upstarts Skiff and Craft are putting their own spin on the formula, with respective focuses on privacy and writing."

Conclusion:

"...All-in-one document editors like Notion and Coda could potentially be the holy grail for this kind of work, which explains why so many other companies are rushing to adapt. Google is trying to fit product planning into its document editor, while Monday is trying to fit document editing into its product planner. It wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Airtable or Trello were to expand beyond their core spreadsheet and kanban board interfaces to include word processing-like documents as well."