Google Master Series 2 –
Working with Google Docs and Google groups
Google Master Series 2 – Participants lecture handouts v1_2012
Last updated 23-Jan-12
Page 1
Table of content:
Check knowledge understanding .................................................................................................. 3
Getting started .............................................................................................................................. 5
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5
Attribute 1: Sharing and Collaborating ...................................................................................... 5
Attribute 2: Collections and sub-collections / Labeling .............................................................. 6
Attribute 3: Uploading and Exporting Docs (7 min) ................................................................... 7
Additional Attributes ...................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction to the 6 Google Docs formats ................................................................................... 9
Google Documents .................................................................................................................... 9
Google Spreadsheets .............................................................................................................. 10
Google Presentations .............................................................................................................. 11
Google Form ........................................................................................................................... 11
Google Drawings ..................................................................................................................... 14
Google Videos ......................................................................................................................... 14
Google Groups ........................................................................................................................ 14
Reference ................................................................................................................................... 16
Google Master Series 2 – Participants lecture handouts v1_2012
Last updated 23-Jan-12
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Situation
We all create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms and drawings. Working with
others in completing a project or assignment is a very common working arrangement. Managing
multiple copies of attachments sent via emails by different people can become overwhelming. If
we utilise tools available to us for processing/managing documents, it may not become so
burdensome.
Google Docs / Google Groups are tools which provide a number of attributes that can be used
to assist in collaboration activities. From this session you will gain an appreciation that Google
Docs’ strengths lies in its ability to provide real time collaboration, ability to track changes over
time and that documents can be updated anywhere anytime. Google Groups makes it easier to
manage document sharing.
You will however discover that it does not have the same functionality that you maybe
accustomed to from using the Microsoft suite. Therefore it is important that you understand
what it can or cannot do. For teaching academics this is important if you are designing team
activities for students.
For the final finessing of documents, it is recommended or even a necessary requirement to
download the documents and update using an alternative application. Eg MS Word, Excel ,
PowerPoint etc.
Caveat
The information contained in this session is accurate at the time it was written and reviewed.
Google is continually updating and enhancing the functionality of its products, so it is possible
that some things may have changed/improved since the last review (conducted in Jan 2012).
____________________________________________________________________________
Check knowledge understanding
You may have been using Google Docs for some time or just a short while. Lets check your
understanding of the following:
1. What is the storage space?
Each Google account has 1024MB (1GB)
Files in Google Docs format or those uploaded and converted to the Docs format do not
use up storage space
Only stored/unconverted uploaded files (.PDF, .JPG, .DOC, etc.) count towards storage
limit.
o Go to Upload to check storage limit.
More info about Google storage: This link is only applicable to public Google
Google Master Series 2 – Participants lecture handouts v1_2012
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Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=39567
2. Do you know that Google Doc saves your Docs automatically?
New Doc saved automatically will be named as “Untitled document” until it is renamed.
Titles can be up to 255 characters long including symbols.
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=49114
3. What is an unconverted document? Look for :
A document that you have selected to upload but have elected not to convert to a
Google document format.
4. Can documents be converted if they have already been uploaded?
Yes they can - http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/08/convert-files-in-documents-listto.html
5. How do you share?
By changing the share attributes on the document/folder.
6. What are the advantages of sharing a document?
You can have more than one person working on the same document.
You can chat and add comments on the documents that distinguishes your work with
others by colors.
You can see revision history of changes made and revert to the copy that you want.
You do not have to send multiple edited versions of documents as attachments to
others.
If you have created the document, then you can choose between three sharing
permissions: Can edit, Can view and Can comment (Note: This feature only applies to
documents, not presentations, spreadsheets, drawings or forms)
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=86152
7. What is a Collection?
● You can add a document in more than one collection (Labeling)
● No limit to the number of collections that can be applied to a document
● If you delete the collection you do not delete the document associated with it.
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=68487
____________________________________________________________________________
Google Master Series 2 – Participants lecture handouts v1_2012
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Getting started
Verify Documents settings.
●
Open the Docs app. Select the gear icon from the top-right corner of the page.
Documents Settings
●
Language should be ‘English UK’
●
Time Zone should be ‘(GMT + 10:00) Eastern Time – Melbourne, Sydney’
●
Ensure that items open in a new window
●
Its good practice to continue updating your interface as Google releases new features or
changes. As such, turn on the new look for Google Docs
>
These settings have not inherited your Email settings so need to be checked, changed and
saved if necessary.
____________________________________________________________________________
Introduction to Attributes
This next section will introduce you to the following attributes of Google Docs:
● Sharing and collaborating
● Folder and sub-folder / Label
● Uploading and downloading
The attributes provide you with smart tools to consider when managing your documents.
____________________________________________________________________________
Attribute 1: Sharing and Collaborating
1. The person who creates the doc and shares it with other collaborators is the default owner
of the doc.
1.1. There can only be one owner of a doc.
1.2. Only the owner of the doc can transfer ownership to another user.
1.3. In all, Docs have four levels of access available: Owner, Edit, View and Comment
1.4. Spreadsheets, presentations, drawings and forms do not have ‘Comment’ access at this
stage
1.5. By default the Shared attribute’s for Docs is set to Private. Only the owner can access
the document.
2. Collections can also be shared
2.1. The owner of the doc has the ability to control exactly who has access to their docs and
how much access each user has.
2.2. Documents and collections can also be shared to the public.
2.3. Note: We’re currently aware of a limitation where ownership transfer is not available for
unconverted documents.
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3. When you share a document, you are setting the visibility option. This can be changed
through the Share menu. This enables you to set individual settings or enterprise wide, via
the change link.
3.1. When a document has been shared, a notification will show on the top right hand corner
of the document page with the names of the collaborators viewing the document.
3.2. A chat box will appear by clicking on the notification. The In-doc chat is available for all
types of Google docs
3.3. All In-doc chat / comments’ messages will automatically be sent to all active viewers of
the document.
3.4. In-doc chat may not be suitable for all situations. You will need to try it. Consider using
comments
3.5. In-doc chat session cannot be saved. No access to previous in-doc chats for the
document is available.
3.6. No audio notification when in-doc or comment messages are received.
3.7. If a collaborator only has viewing rights; this will only permits them to view and
participate in-doc chat.
4. The ‘Comments’ function is only available for Google Documents.
4.1. Comments are saved with the document.
4.2. Additional collaborators can view the Comments that have already been saved.
4.3. All collaborators can control how they wish to be notified about the comments that occur
for the document via Comments > Notification settings
5. All collaborators can participate in editing the document simultaneously. Number of editors,
viewers and collaborators is restricted depending on which Doc is being edited.
6. Displays alerts if the same portion of a document was changed in different ways by more
than one user, offering them the option of favoring one edit over the other
7. Revision History
7.1. Only applies to documents created on Google Doc or documents uploaded and
converted to Google Docs.
7.2. Able to view changes and restore past copies.
____________________________________________________________________________
Attribute 2: Collections and sub-collections / Labeling
1. Creating collections and sub-collections are similar to the Label feature in Google Mail.
a. However, steps for creating sub-collections are different from Google Mail.
2. Collections are nested by default
3. You can drag and drop Docs into collections/sub-collections. The Doc will still appear in
All items, as you only have one copy of your document, which exist in All items.
a. Documents added to the collection will inherit the shared permission of the
collection
b. A document can be in multiple collections (labeling)
c. A document in multiple collections will inherit the permission of the collection with
the highest access level
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d. When a sub-collection is created under the shared collection, the new subcollection will automatically be shared with parent collection collaborators
4. Docs can also be starred
5. Binning a collection will delete the contents of the collection, unless the contents are also
tagged with another collection name. The documents will still be available in All items.
____________________________________________________________________________
Attribute 3: Uploading and Exporting Docs (7 min)
Document type
Action
Document
On upload elect to
convert the document to
Google docs format
On upload and
converted to Google
spreadsheets format
Spreadsheets
Presentations
On upload and
converted to Google
Presentations
Individual file per
upload
2 MB
Multiple files per
upload
1 GB
<= 20 MB
Cannot exceed
400,000 cells and
256 columns per
sheet
<= 10 MB
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=37603
Non-Google editor file types can now be restricted from downloading from Docs; eg, .ppt, .pdf,
video and image files. This feature is only available for individual files – not collections. To do
this, right-click on a non-converted, uploaded document and select Prevent viewers from
downloading. Once the file has been set to ‘Prevent viewers from downloading’, and you rightclick on the file again, the attribute changes to ‘Allow viewers to download’.
http://googleappsupdates.blogspot.com/2011/11/dont-want-that-file-downloaded-ability.html
Observations
Format, fonts, page layout will change after uploading and downloading
Ref: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Docs/thread?tid=22ffbd86fbf8ab89&hl=en
____________________________________________________________________________
Additional Attributes
1. Keyboard shortcuts
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Allows you to sharpen your document list skills by using the new keyboard shortcuts
For example:
o
Create new options:
Shortcut keys
Shift + t
Shift + p
Shift + s
Shift + d
Shift + c
o
Menus:
Shortcut keys
c
u
a
r
v
Action
Create a new text document
Create a new presentation
Create a new spreadsheet
Create a new drawing
Create a new collection
Action
Show the create new menu, use arrow keys to
select an item to create
Show upload menu
Show actions menu
Show sort menu
Show view menu
For more shortcuts, refer: https://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=1295935
2. Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
● Allows you to extract text from images. Supported image formats are .jpg , .png and .gif
files
● Other files suitable for OCR are
○ PDF files
○ Images captured using digital cameras or mobile phones
○ Video:
Ref: http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleDocsCommunity#p/c/2E47E5629C035819/2/uItso6AIPo
1. For best results the image or pdf files need to meet certain requirements.
○ Resolution – high resolution works best
○ Orientation – only documents with horizontal left-to-right text are recognized
○ Languages, fonts and character sets – currently only Latin character sets are
supported
○ Image quality – sharp images with even lighting and clear contracts
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=176692
3. Translation
Translate a Doc into another language
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●
To do this open your doc and select Tools > Translate document > Choose a
language
4. Templates
A Monash template gallery is available to create a variety of docs
○ To do this go to your Docs home page and select Create > From template
○ Monash University (Staff) Templates are shown in default
○ Go to the Monash University (staff) Templates link > Letters & Faxes
○ Select the Mail Merge template
○ Click on Use this template
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=148833
____________________________________________________________________________
Introduction to the 6 Google Docs formats
●
●
●
●
●
●
Google Documents
Google Spreadsheets
Google Presentations
Google Forms
Google Drawings
Google Videos
Important note about file sharing
Do not store critical classified data on Google Apps or free file sharing sites such as DropBox.
This is to meet regulatory requirements.
Critical classified data includes:
Credit card information
Medical records
Tax file numbers.
____________________________________________________________________________
Google Documents
Key points
● 1,024,000 characters - which is usually about two hundred pages, regardless of things
like font size. Uploaded document files that are converted to Google documents format
can’t be larger than 2MB
Link: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=37603
● Inserting embedded images no more than 2MB each.
○ Wrapped text around image not available.
○ To move image around, show inline and fixed options
● Some features are compatible with MS Words
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●
●
○ Word count
○ Spell check
○ Page break
○ Equations
○ Foot notes
○ Headers/Footers
Table of content does not have page numbers
○ MS Word does not recognize the Table of Content generated in Google docs
when exported out, instead it will be generated as links as bookmarks and
hyperlinks
No page number shown in Google documents unless for printing.
Observations
● Layout and formatting might change after exporting out to MS Word.
○ Bulletin and paragraph spacing will be slightly different
● Hyphen ‘-‘ does not automatically turn to dash ‘– ‘
● Most of the Ctrl+Alt keyboard shortcuts not working.
Ref:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Docs/thread?tid=7ecce38d18e52c88&hl=en
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=15114
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Google Spreadsheets
Key points
● 400,000 cells, with a maximum of 256 columns per sheet. Uploaded spreadsheet files
that are converted to Google spreadsheets format can’t be larger than 20MB, and need
to be under 400,000 cells and 256 columns per sheet.
○ Rows depending on how many cells and columns per sheet
● Revision history in spreadsheets allows you to view revisions by timestamp.
● Unable to select noncontiguous cells, rows and columns in Google Spreadsheets (e.g.
rows 1 and 3, cells B4 and C7, column D and G)
○ e.g. MS Excel allows you to select multiple items at the same time.
● Images can be uploaded from computer directly to spreadsheets
● Google formulas
○ Google Spreadsheets has formulas that search for up-to-date information from all
over the Web, including stock quotes, news, etc.
○ Most excel formulas work in Google, except for formulas that use ‘#’ or ‘*’
symbols
○ Video: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=54198
Observations
Google Spreadsheet can only copy and paste 1,000 cells at a time
If using Google functions be mindful of the accuracy of the information
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Google spreadsheets containing formulas that are compatible with Excel will export to
Excel, but not as CSV. Formatting will be retained.
Google spreadsheets that contain Gadgets or Google specific functions will not export to
Excel.
Diagrams and charts created in Google spreadsheets show when downloaded to MS
Excel, however, diagrams and charts created in MS Excel, do not import into Google.
MS Excel spreadsheets containing formulas can be imported into Google Docs
o Formulas will be retained in the cells
o Exception is a formula using ‘#’ or ‘*’ symbol.
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=63728
____________________________________________________________________________
Google Presentations
Key points
● Up to 10MB - which is about 200 slides. Uploaded presentation files that are converted
into Google presentations format can also be up to 10MB.
Ref - http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=153930
● Do not have to save
● Speaker notes cannot be shared.
● Google Presentation does not have In-doc Chat Box.
● Google Presentation exported to MS PowerPoint can still be edited.
● MS Office-pptx files can be converted to Google presentations by either uploading the
file from the desktop or converting the file from your documents list
● Cannot create charts on Google Presentation
Observations
● Inserted videos in a Google Presentation convert to an image with a URL when exported
to MS PowerPoint.
○ Users can select the image, which allows the video to be played in another
window
● Highlighting text with color in Google Presentation does not appear when exported to
MS PowerPoint.
● Animation included in MS PowerPoint does not work when the presentation is uploaded
to Google Presentation.
● .pptx file cannot be converted to Google Presentation format. It will automatically be
converted to .pdf file when uploaded onto Google Doc.
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=15115
____________________________________________________________________________
Google Form
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Note: When considering using Google Forms, be mindful of the purpose for which you are using
it. SurveyMonkey ® is another popular survey tool used widely at Monash.
Google Forms could be used for micro-organisational tasks, such as capturing posttraining/workshop feedback, setting up invitations for team events, requesting dietary
preferences and so on. Please note though, it is not meant for collecting student feedback as
Monash has formal mechanisms in place for such tasks.
There are a number of activities when working with Google Forms. These can be broken into
Creation
Setup
Notification
Responses
Important to know
Creating Forms
Prepare the type of questions you wish on your form first. This will make it easier when
you create the Google form.
As you compile your list of questions decide the type of responses to be given. This will
determine the format of the question. The format options to choose from are:
o Checkbox
o List
o Multiple choice
o Scale
o paragragh text
o text
Responses can be formatted
o If you are collecting phone numbers you must pre-format the column in the
results sheet to avoid it automatically removing the leading 0 in mobile numbers
o Do not use data validation in the results spreadsheet as this can lead to errors
when information entered into a form is not valid for the resultant cell
o Validation of form contents cannot be done when completing the form with the
use of scripts
Multiple responses submitted by the same respondent will be generated in the
spreadsheet.
o These responses cannot be detected automatically.
o Consider the force capture of user’s login. This will enable you to sort the results
and then you can use the last submitted from each user.
Avoid editing the form after it is being sent out (i.e., rearranging, deleting, adding
questions...). If you change the questions or answers you may invalidate the results.
Forms cannot be sent outside of Monash. If you send a form to somebody outside of
Monash it will send successfully but the recipient will never receive it. Sharing of forms
outside of Monash is not supported.
Response spreadsheet automatically generates the same name when form is created.
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Form setup
● Checkbox – ‘Require Monash University (Domain;either student or staff) sign-in to view
this form”.
○ If checked, only members of the same domain can complete the form. For
example. If a staff member sends the form, only staff can answer it.
○ If an Academic wishes to create a form to use with students then the ‘Require
Monash University sign in’ must be unchecked.
●
Checkbox – “Allow users to edit responses”
○ If checked, users can modify their responses after submission
● Option to collect usernames ‘Automatically collect respondent’s username’
○ Only available in the same domain (staff to staff, student to student)
○ You must checkbox ‘Require Monash University (staff) sign-in to view this form to
allow collection
○ The user completing the form will be warned that their username is being
collected
Notifications
● You can select to be notified when recipients have completed your form
○ Notification can be immediate or in a daily digest
○ Notification is set under the ‘Set Notification Rules’ under Share menu for the
Response spreadsheet
Working with the Form response sheet
Contacting Recipients
You can contact people who have been sent the survey by selecting
o Form > Email(x) recipients
Stop Taking Responses
To stop taking responses at any time select
o Form > Accepting Responses
Show summary of results
Select Form > Show summary of responses
Changing Results Spreadsheet
There are some things you cannot change once you have started taking results. For
example – Moving columns.
o This is to ensure that results can correctly go from the form to the spreadsheet
Initiate an edit on a Form
You can initiate an Edit on the form by selecting
Form > Edit Form
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Note: Any changes to the form may invalidate responses already received.
Working with the Form
Change Completion message
On completion of a form the user receives a message
o To change the text of the completion message
 From the Form edit view, More actions > Edit confirmation
Embedding a form
It may be useful to embed a form into a web-page. For example – A ‘contact us’ form
Select More Actions > Embed, then copy and paste the URL into your web-page
____________________________________________________________________________
Google Drawings
●
●
●
Create drawings such as diagrams, and convert it to .JPG. Similar to Paint
Drawings can also be created in other Google Docs.
Editing Google Drawings is not possible in Internet Explorer without installing Google
Chrome frame.
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=37560
Observations
● Drawings created in a Google Document, when exported out, will only be able to have
special effects (e.g., shadows, contrast) added. The text content within the drawing
cannot be edited.
Ref: http://docs.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=28131
___________________________________________________________________________
Google Videos
Videos will be available upon request for usage in the Monash staff domain only. To request
access, please submit a Remedy job, via the Service Desk.
___________________________________________________________________________
Google Groups
Google Groups
Access control can be made easier by using a Google group. A Google Group collates a list of
people and attaches an email address to the list. Members of the groups must have a Monash
Google account.
Differences between Google Groups, MDS Team, Google Contacts
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Personal
use only
Used for
Calendar
invites
Used for
sending
emails
Access
control
level within
Google
Apps
Discussion
forums
Available to
be used by
other
Monash
systems
Google
Contacts
MDS Teams
**
MDS team
Sync’d with
Google
*
Google
Groups
*
If the MDS team has an email address
Individual member names will be listed
Event is auto-added to calendar
**
Individual member names will not be listed
Event will not be auto-added
Users will need to manually ‘add to calendar’ or ‘accept/decline’ from calendar event
Event organiser will not receive individual acceptances/declines from members (as it is
the MDS team that has been invited – not individual users)
Converting MDS teams to Google Groups.
1. Owners of MDS teams designated as public, private or self subscribed have been invited
to synchronise their MDS team to a Google Group.
2. Good practice to see if an MDS team exists prior to creating a Google Group. If it does,
its best to synchronise the MDS team with Google instead, provided the MDS team has
a mailing list attached to it.
3. Upon sync’ing, users will be able to see the MDS team for access control within Google,
sending emails and calendar invites.
4. The only additional feature that Google Groups offers is the ‘Discussion’ functionality. If
this is something you want your group to have, then best to create a Google Group, as
opposed to sync’ing an MDS team
5. At this stage, auto generated MDS groups cannot be sync’d with Google.
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Note: When you click on the Groups link from the top-left of your email page, you will find a list
of Google Groups that you are either a manager or member of. You will not find any MDS teams
that have been sync’d across to Google listed here, as they are different from Google Groups in
all respects.
Guidelines for engagement
1. Google Groups can be used for online discussion forums but must be done so within the
ITS Acceptable Use policy.
2. If as a staff member you create a group and allow Monash students to use the group,
you as the owner will be held responsible for the correct use of the group
3. When providing ‘Access’ to the group do not select the ‘Anyone can join’ option.
Monitoring will be in place to prevent the ‘Anyone can join’ option to be selected by
accident.
4. Group members must
a. Be part of the Monash domain
Reference
How to work with Google Groups
http://www.its.monash.edu.au/google-apps/google-groups.html
To view FAQs on Google groups see
http://www.its.monash.edu.au/google-apps/faq-groups.html
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