Features of Google Docs You Probably Aren't Aware Of

This got me wondering as a marketer about other tools we might not be using as much. Even though you may have been using Google Docs for a very long time, there may still be valuable features that you are unaware of. Did you know, for instance, that you may examine a document's whole revision history to see what was altered and when?

Many people are unaware of the many wonderful things Google Docs has to offer. Let's explore a few of those characteristics. Here are 15 of the best that you'll wish you had known about earlier.

1. Templates Why start from scratch when a template is available? You can bet there is a template for that, whether you're using Google Docs to create your résumé, draft a project proposal, craft a business letter, formalize meeting notes, or design a brochure. In fact, practically all of your business needs can be met by templates. You can choose from a variety of templates for each category. Although not technically secret, this feature is frequently disregarded. These templates are all located at the top of your Google Doc homepage. To view all the options, click More in the top right corner.

2. Navigation Sidebar Have you written a lengthy essay with numerous subsections that readers might wish to skip to? A navigation sidebar is automatically created by the useful "Table of Contents" add-on. To navigate quickly around your document, click through the headers and subheaders on the sidebar. If your document is quite long, it may be a touch slow, but it gets the job done and is still preferable to scrolling. You can either open your document and select Add-ons from the menu at the top of the page, or you can click here to find the add-on. Look for "Table of Contents" under Get add-ons.

3. Clear Formatting You've probably run into formatting problems if you've ever copied text from another source and placed it into a Google Doc. Additionally, there are numerous other causes for it to occur. You can just highlight the problematic content and select Format > Clear Formatting from the toolbar rather than manually changing that text to fit it into the appropriate formatting. Boom: The foreign text will be formatted to match the rest of your content.

4. The Research Tool Anyone authoring something in Google Docs that calls for web research will find the Research feature to be a godsend. Why? Without ever leaving the page, you can browse the web for information and photos to use as references. That means you won't have to continuously switch between tabs. There are three ways to launch the Research tool on a computer:

5. Click Research from the dropdown menu after opening your paper and the Tools menu at the top of your screen.

6. Select Research by performing a right-click on a term.

7. Use Ctrl + Cmd + Shift + I on a Mac or Ctrl + Alt + Shift + I on a PC (PC).

8. Suggesting Mode Although it's nice to be able to edit and make changes to a document, there are instances when you'd rather just propose changes rather than actually make them. The "Suggesting" feature in Google Docs is useful in this situation. It functions quite similarly to Comments in Microsoft Word. By clicking the pencil icon in the top right corner of an open document, you can first change from "Editing" mode to "Suggesting" mode.

9. Comments You can add comments right in the Google Doc you're working on if you want to discuss something, make notes, or draw attention to changes you've made. As people can respond to the comments and continue a conversation, the comments can serve as a conversation thread. When it's finished, you can close the comment thread. If you own the document, you may also modify or remove other people's comments as well as your own at any time. To comment, simply highlight the phrase or image you want to address. Then, select Comment from the dropdown menu after selecting Insert from the menu at the top of your screen.

10. Footnotes Although adding footnotes to your Google Docs is quick and simple, not many people are aware of them. Place the cursor where you want the footnote to appear in the document, then select Insert > Footnote. Then, just put whatever you want into your footnote and click on the document to save it.

11. Revision History Speaking of editing content, have you ever wished you could view every change a Google Doc user (or you) made? Even better, have you ever wished you could go back in time and edit your paper differently? You can because of the Revision History function. And it's fantastic. To view the revision history, simply open the document and select File > View Revision History. On the right side of your screen, a panel will offer a summary of the modifications that were made and when. Click the "detailed revisions" button to the right of the overview list to see a more thorough breakdown of the modifications that were made.

12. Voice Typing Use Chrome as your web browser? Has your gadget a functional microphone that can be attached externally or built-in? After that, you may "type" using only your voice in a Google Doc. Say the name of the punctuation mark aloud to indicate it, such as "period," "comma," "exclamation point," or "question mark," and say "new line" or "new paragraph" to start a new line or paragraph. Open a document, then select Tools from the menu at the top of the screen to access voice typing. From the drop-down option, select Voice typing… Click the microphone to start speaking your text, or press Cmd + Shift + S (on a Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + S (on a PC) to start recording.

Source: https://www.blog.accommodationguru.com/15-google-doc-features-you-didnt-know-existed-but-totally-should/

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