Docs Chapter 8: Docs List

(1)

Docs > Chapter 8: Docs List

Docs

Chapter 8: Docs List

Overview

Navigation panel

These links will help you find your documents easily:

Home: Will show you all your files and docs, except those in the Trash. If you'd like to hide an item from this list, right-click the item and select the option Don't show in home.

Starred: Shows you only items that you’ve marked with a star.

All Items: This view displays all your items, including those you've hidden from the home view, but excluding those in the Trash.

Trash: Includes all the items in the trash. Note: you can move only items that you own to the trash. For items you don't own, you can select Remove from my Documents List from the Actions menu.

(2)

a collection, click Create new, select Collection, and then drag any item from your Documents List into the new collection. (Learn more about collections)

Collections shared with me: Displays collections that have been shared with you. (Collections that are shared through a mailing list will not show up here.)

Looking through your Documents List

You can use search box at the top of your Documents List to browse or search for your items by document type.

For example, click Images or Videos to see only these types of files, preview images, or play your videos.

Under More options you’ll find additional filters:

Visibility - Choose the sharing state of the document you’re looking for. Was it private or shared more broadly?

Ownership - Are you the owner of the document or was it shared with you? Not in any collection - Is it a document that you haven’t included in a collection? Opened by me - Did you open it at some point?

Organize your results with the Sort by option in the top right. Sort your results by Last modified, Last opened by me, Title, Storage used, and Priority.

Next to each document title, you can see whether or not the document is shared and which collection it's in.

(3)

When you select a file by clicking anywhere in a row, you have the option to obtain more information in the details

pane by clicking the View icon.

Here, you can see a preview of your document and its title, the date when you last viewed it, and when and by whom it was last modified. If it is a document you have uploaded and not converted to a Google Docs format, then you can also view the versions of the file.

From this pane, you can also change certain settings for the document, such as collections it's associated with, sharing settings, and a description of the file.

(4)

You can open a document by clicking its title, and select it by clicking anywhere else in the row. Select multiple items by pressing the Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) key and clicking the items. Selecting an individual item will display the details pane where you can view and modify important file information.

For more information, visit the interactive docs list.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts help you easily navigate your documents list without a mouse. For example, when selecting a document, use the _⇓ (down arrow) to move down the list and the _⇑(up arrow) to move back up. Once you find the item you're looking for, type a to open the Actions menu. Then, use the ⇑ and ⇓ arrow keys to navigate the Actions menu, and hit to select an action.

The Create new shortcuts are also convenient for creating new docs while you’re working. Simply hit Shift + T to create a new text document, Shift + S to create a spreadsheet, or Shift + C to create a new collection.

(5)

You can also find a full list of all the keyboard shortcuts for your Documents list here.

Finding and using your files and documents

Finding your items in the doc list

There are different ways to find your files and documents in your Documents List:

The search box: Type your search terms

Enter your terms in the search box at the top of your Documents List, and click the Search button to search across all your items. The drop-down arrow also lets you search through multiple Google Docs templates or across your domain if you use Google Apps.

Using filters

Click a selection under Type, Visibility or Ownership to further filter your items with options like PDF files, spreadsheets, and images. Once you’ve selected a document type, a corresponding blue box appears in the search box. Type in a word or use search operators to find your item in the selected document category.

Sort your search results: Reorder your items

Your list of documents is sorted automatically by priority based on several factors including how often you open and modify a document. You can reorder your documents by using the Sort by option at the top right.

The details view: Viewing additional information about your items

(6)

In the Details view, you can find this information in each row: Owner of the document along with any collaborators When the document was last modified

Who modified it last

Which collection the document is stored in, if at all.

If you select the Images or Videos filter, you'll also see a thumbnail preview in the Details pane.

Don’t forget that you can close the details pane on the right if you want to have more space. Just click the arrows in the top right of the pane to open or close it.

Search operators: Search by specific characteristics

Search operators also work to refine your query when searching your Google Docs list. The following is a list of the operators along with examples.

Left-hand navigation pane

The links in the navigation pane can help you find your documents easily.

Home: Includes all your files and docs, except those in the Trash. If you'd like to hide items from this list, right-click the item and deselect the option Show in home.

Starred: Shows you only items that you’ve marked with a star.

All Items: This view displays all your items, including those you've hidden from the home, but excluding those in the Trash.

Trash: Shows all the items in the Trash. Note, you can only trash items you own. For items you don't own, you can select Unsubscribe from the More menu.

My collections: Use collections to keep related items together. Just click Create to make a collection and drag any item from your Documents List into the collection. You can include the same item in multiple collections (such as filing your home budget under “Personal” and “Finances”). Learn more about

collections.

(7)

Searching PDFs

To search for a term in a PDF:

1. Open the PDF from your Docs list.

2. Select File -> Search the Document (or Command+F on Mac or Ctrl + F on PC). Type the words you're looking for in the search box that appears in the upper right corner of the PDF viewer.

3. Click Go.

The words you're looking for should appear highlighted in yellow throughout the PDF.

Viewed vs. unviewed

(8)

New items

Items that someone has shared with you, but you haven't opened yet, are marked with bold text.

More menu

When you point your mouse to an item, the More drop-down menu appears. From this menu, you can change the sharing settings of an item, rename it, export it, add it to a collection (organize), and more.

(9)

When you click the Images or Videos in the filter menu, you'll see thumbnails of your files; the small images can help you see all of your content without having to click each file.

Viewing

Point your mouse to a photo to see a magnifying glass in the bottom right.

Click it to open the photo in an image viewer. From here you can easily view all the photos you’ve uploaded. If you'd like to view photos located in a collection only, select a collection from the left navigation. Organize your results with the Sort option in the top right. Sort your results by Last modified, Last opened by me, Title, Storage used, and Priority.

Searching

After you select Images, you can type a search operator and keyword in the search box at the top to search within your images only. For example, to find an image that your student, Micah, uploaded and shared with you, type "owner:Micah." Read more on searching for your files.

Sharing and downloading

Select the Details icon to open the photo's details page where you can share, download, and manage versions of the photo. You can also share photos directly from the Actions menu or the details pane.

File types

You can upload and view these image file types: .jpeg, png, .gif, .tiff, .bmp

Play your video files in Google Docs

(10)

How to play a video and find information about the file

Once you've uploaded your video to Google Docs, you can watch it with the Google Docs video player. Simply click the file from your Documents List, and the video opens in a new page that includes a video player.

(11)

Files that you can play

Uploaded video files can be up to 1 GB. These are the most common video formats that you can upload and play: WebM files (Vp8 video codec and Vorbis Audio codec)

.MPEG4, 3GPP and MOV files - (h264 and mpeg4 video codecs and AAC audio codec) .AVI (many cameras use this format - typically the video codec is MJPEG and audio is PCM) .MPEGPS (MPEG2 video codec and MP2 audio)

.WMV

.FLV (Adobe - FLV1 video codec, MP3 audio)

Tips and notes

Upload your video in the original format and in the highest quality possible. The maximum resolution for playback is 1920x1080.

Audio and video lengths should be the same, audio and video should start and end at the same time.

Finding your hidden documents, files, and collections

If you've hidden an item from your Documents List using the Don't show in home option, the item won't appear in Home, even when you search for it while the Home view is selected.

To find your item, you need to first select All items from the left navigation menu (below Home), and then either look for the item in the list or search for it. Learn how to search for your items in your Documents List.

If you'd like to restore your file or document to the Home view, follow these steps: 1. Select the item by clicking anywhere in the row, except the title.

2. Click the More drop-down menu. 3. Select Show in home.

(12)

Creating and editing collections

Collections are a combination of the best features of labels and folders. A file can have multiple collections, much like the labels in Gmail. Collections can also be stored hierarchically, like folders on your desktop. In addition, collections can be shared.

Creating a collection

To create a collection, follow these steps:

1. Click the Create button at the top left of your Documents List. 2. Select Collection from the drop-down menu.

3. In the screen that appears, place your cursor over the field labeled New Collections and enter a name.

(13)

Additional options

Brighten up your Documents List by adding some color to your collections. Select the collection and choose Change color.

Adding items to a collection

To add items to a collection you have several options:

Drag and drop one or more items from the central pane in the Documents List to the appropriate collection.

Select one or more items and use the Menu dropdown and select Organize. Check off the collections where you want to store your items and click Apply.

(14)

Once either of these steps is taken, your items will show up in the collection you selected. Note, also, that it's possible to assign a single file to multiple collections. You can see all your docs, regardless of the collection you put them in, by clicking on All items.

Sharing Collections

Sharing collections is a great way to quickly share a variety of files with the same person or group. In the

classroom, you can share collections with students, other teachers, administrators, and even parents. To create a collection, first select collection from the Create drop-down menu.

Enter a name for your collection and click Ok.

To add items to your shared collections, you can drag each doc from your Documents List to the collection. You can also use Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) to select multiple items and use Organize in the More menu.

Sharing a collection with someone is an easy way to give someone access to the items within your collection. Just click My collections in the navigation pane on the left of your docs, select the collection you'd like to share, click Share from the drop-down menu, and select Sharing settings.

At the bottom of the 'Sharing settings' window, under 'Add people,' type the email addresses of anyone you'd like to share the collection with. (For more information about the various sharing settings please visit our section about sharing.)

Note: When you share a collection, the new permissions are pushed to all collections and docs within the main collection. Normally this happens quickly, but occasionally, it could take a couple of minutes.

Here's an example of how access permissions work with shared collections:

(15)

share collection1 with Jennifer, the document will be shared with both Julian and Camille. (Read more

FAQs about shared collections)

Collections others share with you will appear in the main pane of your Documents List. Only collections shared directly to your email will appear here. If a collection was shared with you through a mailing list, you will need to click the link in the email first.

Deleting a Collection

Use the drop-down arrow next to a collection’s name and select Move to trash from the options. When you place a collection in the Trash, all items in that collection will also be moved to Trash. Items that are in multiple collections will not be moved to Trash.

If you want to recover the collection, visit Trash in the navigation pane on the left. From there, select the collection in question, and select Restore from the menu options. The collection will be restored to your My collections list, and will contain any items that had been stored in the collection.

Click Empty Trash to delete all of the items in it forever.

You can also select individual items and click Delete forever to purge them from your Trash.

Uploading and exporting

Uploading multiple versions of files that aren't in Google Docs format

(16)

selecting the Add or manage versions... option (or View versions... if you have viewing permission only).

This feature lets you upload new versions of a file, as well as download previous versions of it, and delete older versions. It makes it easier overall to collaborate on a file with other people.

Important: This feature is available for uploaded files that are not in Google Docs format. For Google Docs documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, you can use the revision history, which lets you see all the different versions of a doc.

To upload a new version of your file, right-click it and select Add or manage versions.... You can also select the file and go to the More drop-down menu to find this option. You'll see this dialog box:

Here's what you can do once you've clicked Add or manage versions...:

See at a glance the different uploaded versions, when they were uploaded, their file size, and which one is the most current version.

Point your mouse to a version to see its file name. Click any file to download it.

Upload additional versions of this file (owners and editors only). Click the “x” to delete one of the versions (owners and editors only).

File details page

You can also view and download previous versions of a file by accessing the file’s details page. To get there, select the file in your Documents List and then select the Details icon.

On the right hand side of the page, you’ll see all the previous versions of the file under Versions.

Sharing settings

Only the owner or editors can upload a new version of a file or delete prior versions. Those with view access can download all versions of a file, but cannot upload new versions or delete older ones. If you want to contact the owner of a file to request edit rights, you can see who the owner is by looking at the details pane for the item.

(17)

Optical Character Recognition

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) lets you convert images with text into text documents using automated computer algorithms. Images can be processed individually (.jpg, .png, and .gif files) or in multi-page PDF documents (.pdf). These are some of the types of files suitable for OCR:

Image or PDF files obtained using flatbed scanners Photos taken with digital cameras or mobile phones

Using OCR in Google Docs

For best results, the uploaded image or PDF files need to meet certain requirements:

Resolution: High-resolution files work best. As a rule of thumb, it is recommend each line of text in the documents to be of at least 10 pixels height.

Orientation: Only documents with horizontal left-to-right text are recognized. If you've accidentally scanned or captured a document in a different orientation, please use a program to retouch and edit images to rotate them before uploading to Google Docs.

Languages, fonts and character sets: The OCR engine supports a number of character sets, but support for non-Latin character sets is still experimental. You can select the language of your document from a drop-down menu. Support is currently available for 34 langauges. You'll get better results if your file includes common fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman.

Image quality: Sharp images with even lighting and clear contrasts will work best. Motion blur or bad camera focus will decrease the quality of the detected text.

File size limitations

The maximum size for images (.jpg, .gif, .png) and PDF files (.pdf) is 2 MB. For PDF files, only first 10 pages are scanned when searching for text to extract.

Preservation of text formatting

When processing your document, an attempt is made to preserve basic text formatting such as bold and italic text, font size and type, and line breaks. However, detecting these elements is difficult and may not always succeed. Other text formatting and structuring elements such as bulleted and numbered lists, tables, text columns, and footnotes or endnotes are likely to get lost.

Saving to your computer

From the Documents List

You can select either individual files or multiple files at once to download:

For individual files, select the file by clicking anywhere in its row, click theActions menu, and select Download....

For multiple files, pressing the Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) key to select several files, click the Actions menu, and select Download....

Then, choose a format for downloading the item. When multiple items are selected, they'll be compressed into a .zip file.

Sometimes it takes us a few minutes to export large number of files, so instead of making you wait, we can email you when the file is ready. Simply click the Email when ready button after selecting the file types.

If you try to export more than 2 GB, you'll see a message with a list of files that aren't included in the zip file. If you request to get an email when the file is ready, the email you receive will include a list of any files that aren't

included in the zip file.

While viewing a Google Doc

(18)

File menu, and select a format.

The available formats are:

For documents: HTML, RTF, Word, Open Office, PDF, Text file.

For spreadsheets: CSV, HTML, ODS, PDF, XLS, TXT (only for a single sheet) For presentations: PDF, PPT, TXT

For drawings: PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF

Note: When you export a file, some of your original formatting may not be preserved.

Restrict access to downloading files

It is now possible to restrict the download of non-Google editor file types in Google Docs. This restriction can be applied to .ppt, .pdf, video, and image files for example.

To restrict a file from being downloaded by viewers:

1. Select the file that you want to restrict, select the More menu and choose Prevent viewers from downloading.

2. Alternatively, right-click a document in the docslist and select Prevent viewers from downloading from the menu options.

Converting uploaded files to Google Doc format

You can decide to convert a file to Google Docs while you upload it or after uploading it:

While uploading: When you select a file for upload, the option to convert it directly to Google Docs is automatically selected (if you don’t wish to convert the file simply deselect this option.) Your newly converted file retains the name of the original file you uploaded.

After uploading: If you decide to convert your file after it’s already been uploaded, you can right-click the item and select Make a Google Docs copy from the menu. This option is only available for uploaded files, you will not see it for any Google Docs documents. When you select this option, you keep your original file intact, and your Google Docs copy appears in your list of documents.

(19)

For drawings: .wmf

For OCR: .jpg, .gif, .png, .pdf

Uploading Folders

Uploading a folder can save you the time and hassle of uploading individual files from your computer to Google Docs. When you upload a folder, you'll also save the time it takes you to organize your files and documents into collections. You can upload one or more folders to the Documents List at a time. Individual files within that folder will be uploaded, and subfolder structure will be maintained.

For example, let's say you have a folder on your desktop called "Lesson Plans." Within this folder, you have sub-folders named "Language Arts," "Mathematics," “Social Studies”, and "Science," each containing ten documents. When you upload the "Lesson Plans" folder to Google Docs, each of the sub-folders and the documents within them will also be uploaded in the same structure.

Your upload settings will also apply to folders that you upload. If you've opted to convert your files to Google Docs format, all files in a supported format and file size will be converted.

Upload a folder using Google Chrome

1. Click the Upload button and select Folder...

If you see Enable folder upload and you're in Chrome, then you will need to update Chrome to the latest version.

2. Select one or more folders to upload. All files and sub-folders within that folder will also be uploaded. 3. A box that indicates the progress of your folder upload, as well as a list of the files being uploaded,

appears in the bottom right of your Documents List.

4. When you're done with your upload you can click the link to open the uploaded folder in your Documents List or close the box by clicking the x in the upper right of the box.

Upload a folder using a browser other than Chrome

If you're working in a browser other than Chrome, you'll need to enable Java in your browser and install an applet in order to upload folders to Google Docs.

1. Enable Java in your browser.

2. Confirm that Java is enabled by visiting the Java test page. 3. Install the Java applet.

Click the Upload button in the Documents List and install the Java Applet when prompted.

A security dialog will open asking if you want to allow an applet to run. Install this applet. Note: The applet will be signed by Google Inc.

You'll need to enable folder upload in these browsers each time you visit your Documents List.

Google Docs storage

Free Google Docs storage

When users upload files or folders to Google Docs, they take up storage space in your account. Google Docs gives every user 1GB of free storage for their Google Account, and users can purchase additional storage for $0.25 per GB.

If you hit the maximum storage limit, you won't be able to upload any additional files. You'll still have access to all of the files you uploaded up until that point.

Here's more information about what file types count toward the maximum storage limit:

(20)

each, even if you’ve purchased extra storage.

Only files you've uploaded and haven't converted to Google Docs format will count toward the maximum storage limit.

If you delete a file and empty your trash, you'll get that storage space back.

Files or documents that have been shared with you won't count toward the maximum storage limit.

Purchasing additional storage

Google offers a way to purchase more storage space when you run out of free storage space in Google Docs. You can purchase additional storage at any time, and this additional storage is shared among Google Docs, Picasa, Gmail, and Blogger.

Google Apps storage

Individual Google Apps users are able to purchase storage if their domain administrator enables the User Managed Storage setting in the Apps Control Panel. However, an individual Google Apps user's purchased storage will not apply to Gmail storage. Learn more about Google Apps storage.