TO DOC, OR, NOT TO DOC

 Docs has been one of the most innovative as far as software goes.  It is as if someone polled audiences of computer users, and inquired about the things they face that frustrate them the most and the lab department went to work on solutions for the problems.  I was especially impressed with the incorporation of the scanner and the computer to translate hand written documents into typed documents.  This feature alone is impressive, but they didn't stop there.  There is a language converter, which could be excellent for taking any business global.  The incorporation of coping, editing and pasting from one computer to another is impressive; u don't have to email it to them and wait on a response.  With docs being in real time once you copy and paste you and all other users can then begin to edit your document.  Think of the time that can be save, and the increase in productivity that comes along with a free application.  Genius

Navigating Changes

Editing, copying and pasting have taken on a whole new meaning.  With other documents and spreadsheets you can only edit, copy and paste in one location, and with one computer.  This is not the case with Google Docs.  Docs is innovative enough to allow coping, editing and pasting not only between online documents, but from one computer to another, as well as one document to another; i.e. from docs word to a docs spreadsheet. 

Tutorials and How To:

·    "Copy a set of cells in a spreadsheet, and paste it into a document as a properly formatted table.

·     Copy something in your work computer and paste it into another when you access your Google Account from your home computer.

·     Access items you previously copied, as long as you were signed in.

There are two ways to copy and paste: keyboard shortcuts and the server clipboard menu.

Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V

For most copying and pasting, you can use the familiar keyboard shortcuts, Ctrl-C (Copy) and Ctrl-V (Paste). This even works when going from one doc type to another. But there are a couple of exceptions in which keyboard shortcuts don't work as well (yet). In these cases, you should use the server clipboard menu:

·     If you're copying between presentations and another doc type

·     If you want to copy on one computer and paste on another

·     If you want to copy something you aren't going to paste right away

The server clipboard menu

There are a few specific cases in which the best way to copy and paste is using the server clipboard menu. When you copy a selection using this menu, the content you copy is stored and associated with your Google Account. That means you can copy more than one selection and then choose which one to paste later; it also means you can copy something on one computer and then paste it on another. To copy a selection using the server clipboard menu, follow these steps:

1.  Select what you'd like to copy.

2.  Click the Server clipboard menu that appears in the toolbar of your doc.

3.  Click Copy selection to server clipboard.

4.  In the destination document, click the server clipboard menu; you'll see the selection that you previously copied. If you copied multiple things, you'll see a list of the items you've recently copied.

5.  Place the cursor where you want to paste the content.

6.  Click the Server clipboard menu.

7.  Select what you want to paste. Depending on your selection, you'll see different formats that you can choose from to paste what you've copied (for example, HTML or plain text).

8.  Select a format."

  

Uploading & Exporting in Docs

Docs let you extract the text from images with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and computer algorithms automatically.  Images can be processed in multiple groups using the PDF format.  Images can be scanned using a flatbed scanner or captured using a digital camera or cell phones.   

For the best extraction of images or PDF the following are needed:

Resolution: needs to be at least ten pixels high for each line of text; “high-resolution files work best.”

Orientation: only recognizes horizontal (left to right) text.  If you mistakenly use the wrong image you can manipulation the programs to rotate before uploading.

Languages, fonts, and character sets: in OCR engine supports only Latin character right now.  The fonts we commonly use such as Arial and Times New Roman can produce, but they do not produce very good results.

Image quality: will work better with even lighting, sharp images and clear contrast.  The maximum image size is 2 MB.  “For PDF files, we only look at the first ten pages when searching for text to extract.”

Retrieving docs

Searching for documents can be done a number of ways.  You can do a word search by typing in any word from the title or the body of your document in the search box. 

There is a search operator, which is supposed to help you find what you are looking for quickly.  The search operator can use quotes from exact phrases to do matches.  The operator can also search several words, "docs without certain word, shared, starred or hidden docs, type of docs, edited, owned by foo and with foo documents.  You can also search for documents by the date edited if it was edited within the last forty-eight hours; and of course we can search owned by me or opened by me.  

The advanced search option gives instructions for retrieving even documents that have been deleted.  "If a document has been deleted and the trash has not been emptied, click the trash icon under the all items section in the left pane of the docs list to retrieve the document. 

Special Features of Docs

  

 
Docs-Word provides some very special features for its document, spreadsheet and presentation:

Sharing Setting can email the file you wish to share with co-authors, etc by their names and or email addresses.  This can be anyone that you routinely collaborate with, but it does not have to be a single individual it can be a group.   Docs will "e-mail them a link to your shared file.

Language Translation is another special feature.  The translation service uses a unique method that is "based on statistical analysis of phrases rather than word-by-word substitution."  "Click on tools in the upper left of Google Docs' toolbar and choose Translate Document".

Edit Scanned Documents is almost too good to be true; I have never heard of anything like this, but I am thankful that it exists.  This feature can identify hand written documents that have been scanned or faxed on an all in one, and create a PDF of the text that you can edit as if it were typed.  "It is not 100 percent accurate, but it saves most of the time you would take to hand-type it.  For use "go to Google's OCR upload page and upload a JPG, GIF or PNG File" which created a scanned page.      

Self-updating Spreadsheets is a special feature for the stock market, which keeps you from having to post specific number on your spreadsheet that would be wrong before anymore gets to see it.
MONEY SAVING FEATURES

Doc "LinkedIn" Franchises:

Integrated documents, forms and spreadsheets can be extremely helpful for mangers located at different sites, but are governed by the same conglomerate. The corporation can call a mangers meeting without requiring anyone to leave their location. The docs’ software will allow all managers to work on and or share input concerning their anticipated revenues and or expenditures, which would ultimately facilitate the corporation with budget preparation for their fiscal year, since it is in real time. Twitter could be used to keep mangers informed about everything that comes up. These features are also helpful because in the run of a busy day you may not take the time to place a call for fear of being caught on the phone, but you may take a few minutes to twit or post valuable information, changes, etc with your colleagues. Facebook can be a useful tool for boosting the moral of employees, and motivating the others of them to strive for excellence with the hope of one day being acknowledged for their hard work and dedication.

Docs on Facebook, Twitter, etc:

The integrating of documents, forms and spreadsheets on a social media network could really increase productivity. It would allow employees to edit from where ever they might be; at home, on vacation, etc. This feature would significantly increase productivity because you would not have to wait for anyone to return to work to complete documents. Documents can be shared, opened and edited by multiple users at the same time. As soon as the changes are made you can move forward to the next order of business, because any and all editing is in real time. Presentations can only be viewed not revised, but they can be delivered to remote audiences; documents and spreadsheets can be published internally for employees to view. There is also file versioning available which makes it easy for people to make updates and get the latest version of the software. Versioning is done automatically so we don’t have to be a computer wizard to figure out how to toggle from 2003 to 2010.