A Tutorial on Google Docs for Beginners

 

We all know about the classic MS Word. But have you heard about Google Docs? It is similar to MS Word but has more features and accessibility. On Google Docs, you can collaborate, create, and edit. With this blog, I’ll be guiding you on how to use Google Docs as a beginner.

How to Open Docs

There are many ways you can head onto the Google Docs website. Firstly, starting off with its simple URL link. You can enter 'docs.google.com' onto the URL bar of your browser, or click on a link if provided. 

Another way would be opening your Gmail, (gmail.com) and clicking on the waffle (the nine dots present in the top right corner). The image is given below.

After clicking on the waffle, you will see many Google apps, click on Google Docs, and the Icon looks like this- 

Collaboration-

One of my favorite features of Google Docs is the collaboration. You can add people to your document by simply clicking on ‘share’ and entering the person’s Gmail address. 

The 'Share' button can be accessed from the top right corner of your screen. It has a 'lock' symbol on it.

Privacy is our top priority when we create confidential information. With this feature, you can choose who can view your document. With 'restricted', only people who you invite to your document can view/edit it. Whereas if you select 'Anyone with the link', The person who has the link can edit/view the document. So, choose what you do wisely! 

Text features-

The main component of any document is its text, Google Docs has many features to edit and shape your text, let's learn the basics. 

The basic text formats, such as Text size, Font, Bold, Italics, Underline, Text Color, Text Highlight, etc, are all there. And of course, listing down our important points can only be done with bullets! Not only bullet points, but you can also type your list with checkboxes and numbering. You can decide the spacing you want between your letters and lines. When you paste a link onto your page, it won't be clickable. Just select the text, and click on the 'hyperlink' button. Now you will see that your text is blue in color and underlined. now clicking on the link will direct you to the page.

The most interesting part of this is its 'help me write' feature. This is a tool that uses AI to help you draft the perfect document. It can help you draft emails, notes, and even resumes. It's also a great tool to enhance your grammar.

Inserting Graphics

We all know the importance of graphics in a document. Graphs, Tables, Charts, Images, and so on. Google Docs allows you to insert multiple different graphics onto your page. 

 Images, Tables, Charts, Emojis, Figures, and some special figures can be inserted using their respective buttons. Many of these features can be used to create official documents as you can add watermarks, as well as headers and footers.

Tools

These tools help you with some basic and advanced features. With these, you can check your grammar, spelling, and word count (number of words in your document) You can translate your document to another language and voice type (simply speaking and the system types in your words). The other features are of great use as well, but I don't think as a beginner, such features would be of use. You can definitely explore them yourself if you would like!

Those are all the basics you need to know before starting your great journey of typing into Google Docs. I hope this blog was able to guide you into learning about Google Docs as a beginner! Thank you!