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About this lesson

How to create a new Google Doc and introduction to ‘file, edit, view’ options.

Exercise files

The exercises below will open in a new tab. When signed in to your Google account, go to File --> Make a copy to get an editable copy of the file.

Google Docs Basic Controls Solution
Link Google Docs Basic Controls
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Quick reference

Creating a new Doc, and basic controls

Google Docs is a simple online text editor. It has a collection of default templates that can be used to create a new document, and there are several options for changing the document layout.

When to use

When you want to create a new document, but you want an example format to follow instead of starting from scratch, and you want to change the way your document looks on the screen.

Instructions

Creating a document with a template

  • Create a new Doc
  • Click the blue lines in the top left corner to open “Docs Home”
  • Click “more” in the dark area at the top of the screen
  • Scroll down to see all the templates and click on the template you want to use

“File” options

  • Share - Share the document
  • New - Create a new file
  • Open - Open a file from Google Drive
  • Rename - Rename the file name
  • Make a copy - Make a copy of the file
  • Move to - Move the file to a different folder
  • Move to trash - Remove the file from Drive
  • See revision history - See all changes made to the document over time
  • Language - Change the language used by the spell check
  • Download as - Download the document as various file types
  • Publish to the web - Make the document available to view publicly online
  • Email collaborators - Email the people the document has been shared with
  • Email as attachment - Send the document as an attachment to an email
  • Document details - See where a document is located in Drive, who created the document, when, and when it was last edited
  • Page setup - Change the orientation of the document, margins, paper size, and background colors
  • Print - Print the document

NOTE: All options in “Page setup” change how the document is printed except for “Background color”. The background color doesn’t print.

“Edit” options

  • Undo - Undo the last action
  • Redo - Undo an undo
  • Cut - Cut text
  • Copy - Copy text
  • Paste - Paste text
  • Paste without formatting - Paste text, but without it’s formatting (bold, size, font, etc.)
  • Web clipboard - Copy multiple things in different formats and paste them in different apps on different computers
  • Select all - Select everything in the document
  • Select none - Stop selecting everything in the document
  • Find and Replace - Find text and replace it with different text

“View” options

  • Print layout - Display page breaks
  • Mode - Options for editing a document with other people
  • Show ruler - Display the ruler at the top of the page
  • Show equation toolbar - Display the toolbar that lets you write mathematical formulas
  • Show spelling suggestions - Display red lines under misspelled words
  • Compact controls - Display fewer options on the toolbar
  • Full screen - Hide all toolbar controls

NOTE: Press “ESC” to turn off full screen

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  • 00:04 Now that we understand the basic functionality of Google Drive,
  • 00:09 let's get to know how to create a new doc within the Drive infrastructure.
  • 00:14 To create a new doc, select the NEW button in the top left hand corner and
  • 00:19 select Google Docs.
  • 00:21 This will open up a brand new document for us to start adding content or
  • 00:26 adding text, but Drive also gives us the ability to start by using a template.
  • 00:33 By selecting the docs home in the top left hand corner,
  • 00:37 you will be taken to a screen where you can view a variety of different templates.
  • 00:43 You'll also be able to see some of your most recent documents down below.
  • 00:47 Let's say, for example, that I would like to create a new newsletter.
  • 00:51 So I'm going to select this particular template.
  • 00:55 By selecting this template, it will open it up with in my doc interface.
  • 01:01 And now, I can start editing the content here.
  • 01:03 You'll see that is provided some information, such as a logo and
  • 01:08 images and some fake tests referred to as lorem ipsum.
  • 01:12 And now I can start replacing these images and adding my own content,
  • 01:17 but let's go back to a previous document that we were working.
  • 01:21 So we can get to understand some of the basic menu items within Google Docs.
  • 01:28 The file menu allows us to share this information.
  • 01:31 And by selecting share,
  • 01:32 we get the same dialogue that we saw in the previous video.
  • 01:36 We can select or create a new document, but
  • 01:39 we can also select other Google Drive options as well.
  • 01:44 We can select to open a document or rename a document.
  • 01:48 We can make a copy of this existing document or
  • 01:50 move it to a different folder, or move it to the trash if we no longer needed.
  • 01:56 From the file menu, we can also access the revision history which we
  • 02:01 took a look at in a previous video.
  • 02:03 The language option here is specific to the spellcheck feature within Google Docs.
  • 02:09 So make sure that you have selected the correct language that you would like
  • 02:14 to use.
  • 02:15 Google Docs also gives us a variety of ways in which we can download this file,
  • 02:20 including Microsoft Word format or a PDF document.
  • 02:24 We can also publish this document directly to the web, such as a web page and
  • 02:28 email our collaborators.
  • 02:30 Those that we've shared this with or email this document as an attachment.
  • 02:35 We can also see further document details and configure the page setup.
  • 02:40 And last but certainly not least,
  • 02:42 we can print this document directly from this file menu.
  • 02:45 Of course, some of these options will also be available from the toolbar.
  • 02:49 Here we see the print icon here.
  • 02:52 Next, let's take a look at the edit menu and many of these may be familiar with
  • 02:56 you if you've worked with a Word processor before.
  • 03:00 We have functions, such as undo and redo.
  • 03:04 We also have standard functions, such as cut, copy and paste and
  • 03:09 pay special attention that the exact same shortcut keys,
  • 03:14 such as control x for cut and Ctrl+C for copy are available here.
  • 03:19 We can select all of the contents.
  • 03:21 We can select none of the contents and we can also find and
  • 03:26 replace certain words or certain phrases by typing in a specific Word here.
  • 03:31 We can choose which word we would like to replace that with and
  • 03:35 find them within this specific document.
  • 03:38 Lastly, let's take a quick look at the the view menu.
  • 03:42 By default, a new document will be displayed in the print layout.
  • 03:48 And this is usually, because it's most comfortable for us as editors or
  • 03:52 authors to see what this will look like on a printed piece of paper.
  • 03:56 But we can uncheck this option and sometimes certain changes will take place.
  • 04:02 We can also change the mode in which we're viewing this document,
  • 04:07 either editing mode or suggesting modes.
  • 04:09 So for example, we can add suggestions and
  • 04:12 comments as we are working on this document or change it to view only mode.
  • 04:17 So we are seeing it or reviewing it as in a printed version.
  • 04:22 Some other options that we can toggle on or off including showing the ruler.
  • 04:27 Here you see the ruler showing the margins up above.
  • 04:31 If I turn that off, that suddenly disappears.
  • 04:35 We can also show the equation toolbar,
  • 04:37 if we have certain functions added within our document.
  • 04:43 We can show spelling suggestions or turn the suggestions off.
  • 04:48 We can also have a compact control view by selecting this option,
  • 04:52 suddenly the name of my document is hidden and I only have access to the toolbar.
  • 04:57 To expand this or reveal it again,
  • 05:00 simply select these two downward arrows in the top right hand corner.
  • 05:05 And lastly,
  • 05:06 we have full screen mode if we would like to view the document in its entirety.
  • 05:12 If we want to remove or get out of full screen mode,
  • 05:16 simply select escape on your keyboard.
  • 05:19 So there are some of the basic functions of Google Docs.
  • 05:23 Many of these features you have seen before,
  • 05:25 now you know exactly where to go to access them.

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