Word’s “track changes” feature color-codes any edits, additions or deletions made by a collaborator, giving the original writer the chance to review, accept or reject those changes—and, more importantly, keep track of who changed what.

Up until now, “track changes” didn’t exist in Google Docs, meaning the only way to edit someone else’s work without simply editing their original copy was to add a comment in the right margin—a clunky solution, to say the least.

Just select “Suggesting” from the pull-down menu to make your changes appear as “suggested edits.”

Well, good news: the new “Suggested Edits” feature in Google Docs mimics Word’s “track changes” feature in all the important ways, making for much easier—and less confusing—collaboration within a Google document.

Want to give it a try? Here’s how…

• Open an existing word file in Google Docs, click the pencil icon (it’ll be labeled “Editing” if your browser tab is large enough) in the top-right corner of the page , then select “Suggesting.”
• Now, go ahead and type in some edits—and when you do, the edits will appear with color-coded highlighting, with a bubble in the right margin detailing exactly what you’ve added, edited, or deleted.
• Once you’re done with your “suggested edits,” go back to the pencil icon in the top-right corner of the page and select Editing again. Note that your color-coded suggested edits and their respective bubbles will remain visible in the document.
• When you (or another collaborator) are ready, go back to the document and click on a suggested edit to activate its bubble in the right column. Happy with the edit? Then click the checkmark in the bubble to accept it. Want to reject the change? Click the button with the “X”. Got a question for the editor? Just reply within the edit bubble itself.
• To view the “final” document without any suggested edits, return to the pencil icon and select the read-only “Viewing” mode.

All in all, not bad, although eagle-eyed Word users may note that there’s no “Accept all suggested edits” option—meaning that all suggested edits much be accepted or rejected one at a time.

Got more Google Docs questions? Post ’em below!

The post Google Docs tip: Track changes with new “Suggested Edits” feature appeared first on here's the thing.

Not only can large attachments take forever to upload and send, they may also get blocked by the recipient’s finicky mail provider.

If you’re using Gmail, though, there’s an easy, relatively no-fuss way to send attachments both big and small in a flash, with a little help from Google Drive.

What’s Google Drive, you ask? Think of it as a digital locker for photos, Office documents, videos, and just about any other type of file, all stored in the vaunted “cloud.”

If you’ve got a Gmail account, you’ve already got Google Drive; just click here to log in. And don’t worry: Google Drive is free for those storing 5GB or less of data.

OK, but what does Google Drive have to do with Gmail?

Well, Google just added a button to Gmail that lets you access Google Drive files directly from Gmail’s “Compose” window.

Not only can you access and attach existing Google Drive documents, you can also upload new files to Google Drive straight from Gmail, using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

Click “Send,” and your attachment (up to a whopping 10GB in size) will arrive as a link in your message.

You can also let your recipients comment on and even edit your attachments within Google Drive—perfect for, say, giving your editor a chance to mark up your long-awaited novel.

You can access your Google Drive account from Gmail in just a few clicks.

Ready to give it a try? Let’s get started…

• Open your Gmail account and click the “Compose” button in the left-hand column.
• Next, you’ll need to make sure you’ve enabled Gmail’s new, spruced-up “Compose” window. If a blank email window appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen when you click “Compose,” you’re good to go; otherwise, click the “Try out the new compose experience” link near the top of the page.
• At the bottom of the “New Message” window, you’ll see a paperclip icon to the right of the blue “Send” button—and next to that, you should see a “+” sign. Hover over the “+” with your mouse, and a series of new buttons will appear, including the triangular Google Drive icon. Click that icon, and an “Insert files using Google Drive” window will open.
• From here, you can either click the “My Drive” link to access files you’ve already uploaded to Google Drive, or drag new files into the (aptly named) “Drag files here” area. When you’re finished adding files, click the “Upload” button.
• Once you’re finished composing your email, click “Send”—and when you do, you’ll see a warning that reads “These Drive files aren’t shared with the recipient.” Don’t worry, you can still send the attachment; you can, however, choose whether the recipient can edit the file, comment on it, or merely view and/or download it. After you’ve made your choice from the pull-down menu, go ahead and click the “Share & send” button.
• Want to access—or even edit—your sent attachments after the fact? If you uploaded the files directly from Gmail, you’ll find them sitting in your Google Drive, in the top “My Drive” directory.

Bonus tip

Large email attachments can still take a long time to upload, even using Gmail and Google Drive.

If you’re planning on sending a particularly big attachment, consider uploading it in advance (and in the background) using the downloadable Google Drive utility, which synchronizes all your Google Drive files and folders to your desktop.

Simply drag the file you want to send into your Google Drive desktop folder, then go about your business as Google Drive syncs the file with your Drive account in the cloud.

Looking for more Gmail tips? Click here!

The post Gmail tip: How to send large email attachments via Google Drive appeared first on here's the thing.

Also this week: Facebook’s iPhone app gets a slew of new privacy controls, how to view your Google Docs without an Internet connection (or when something’s wrong at Google HQ), why the “Menu” key on your Android phone is your best friend, and how to keep iTunes from cramming your iPhone with apps you neither need nor want.

In-flight smartphone use: “Airplane” mode or completely off during takeoff and landing?
Don’t just assume that your smartphone won’t interfere with an airplane’s navigation systems just because it’s in “airplane” mode. Read more…

Updated Facebook app for iPhone gets new sharing controls
If you want to watch more than two instant Netflix videos simultaneously, you might start getting an error message depending on your subscription plan. Read more…

How to view your Google Docs when you’re offline—or when Google Docs is on the fritz
You won’t be able to edit your documents in Google Docs’ offline mode, but at least you’ll be able to view them—handy in case something goes awry at Google HQ. Read more…

Is iWeb going away—and if so, what should I do about my iWeb site? (reader mail)
Apple won’t host your iWeb site after next June, but don’t worry—plenty of options are available. Read more…

How to block all apps and web sites from your Facebook account
Want to slam the door on all those nosy apps and sites tapping into your Facebook profile? You sure can, although it’ll mean no more FarmVille or Texas HoldEm. Read more…

Quick Android tip: When in doubt, hit the “Menu” key
Don’t just assume that your smartphone won’t interfere with an airplane’s navigation systems just because it’s in “airplane” mode. Read more…

How to stop iTunes from syncing each and every new app to your iPhone
Don’t want copies of all those new apps downloaded by your loved ones installed onto your own iPhone? Luckily, there’s an easy fix. Read more…

The post Week in review: Smartphones on a plane, iPhone Facebook app gets big update, Google Docs goes offline appeared first on here's the thing.

The good news, though, is that Google just re-enabled the ability to access Google Docs when you’re offline—perfect for opening your cloud-based documents even when you don’t have an Internet connection, or when something goes screwy at Google HQ.

You can't edit files in Google Docs' offline mode, but at least you can view them.

The Google Docs offline mode isn’t perfect. For example: the current version of Google Docs only lets you view your document—no editing allowed.

That said, you could always copy and paste your documents into a text editor for offline editing, then upload the edited version as a new document once you’re back online. (For what it’s worth, Google says it’s “working hard” to make offline editing of Google Docs files “a reality.”)

Also, Google Docs’ offline mode only works in Google’s Chrome browser, which you can download here. Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox users are out of luck, although there’s no rule against having multiple browsers installed on your system. (Indeed, I usually have both Safari and Chrome running on my Mac at the same time.)

Once you enable "offline" mode, Google Docs will continually sync your stored files onto your desktop browser.

Last but not least, only word documents and spreadsheets are available in offline mode; presentations and other types of files stored in your Google Docs account are not (or not yet, anyway).

So yes, the Google Docs offline mode definitely has its limitations, but being able to at least view your Google Docs files offline is better then nothing—especially when something goes wrong with your home router, or if Google’s servers get hit by a bolt of lightning.

Ready to give offline Google Docs a try? Let’s get started.

1. Launch the Chrome web browser, visit the Chrome Web store and install the free Google Docs plugin.
2. Go to the Chrome home page and click the new Google Docs icon in the Apps section, or simply type “docs.google.com” in the Chrome browser address bar.
3. You should now see the standard Google Docs start page, complete with a column of folders on the left and a list of all your documents on the right. Just above the main document list, you’ll see a tab with a gear icon; go ahead and click it.
4. Select the option at the very bottom of the pull-down menu, labeled “Set up Docs offline.”
5. Next, a pop-up window will appear, asking you if you want to allow Google Docs to store your documents offline, along with a warning: namely, that enabling offline documents isn’t the best idea if you’re using a PC or Mac that’s shared by others. Ready to proceed? Then click the blue “Allow offline docs” button.
6. Now, you’ll return to the main Google Docs page, where you’ll see a notification window explaining that your recently opened documents and spreadsheets are currently being synced for offline use. Go ahead and click the “X” in the corner of the bubble to close it.
7. Want to see which documents are being synced? Click the Settings menu (the button with the gear icon) and select “View offline docs.” Stored documents will also have a little gray “Offline” label next to their names on the main Google Docs page.

That’s it! Now your recently opened Google Docs files will be automatically synced for offline viewing. The next time you want to view (although again, not edit) your Google Docs files in offline mode, just type “docs.google.com” into Chrome’s address bar, then click on the file you’d like to view.

The post How to view your Google Docs when you’re offline—or when Google Docs is on the fritz appeared first on here's the thing.

Never fear, I’ll dive into the basic about Google Docs in a future post. (If you’re feeling the itch to give it a try, just click here to get started—and remember, if you have a Gmail account, you already have a Google Docs account.)

For now, though, I thought I’d let you in on five clever tricks that Google Docs has up its sleeves.

1. Edit documents in full-screen mode
Yes, composing a Word document in your web browser can be an odd feeling at first, particularly with the standard Google site navigation peeking out at the top of the browser page. An easy way to make the whole experience a little more natural is to turn on full-screen mode, which removes all the navigation and document rulers, leaving you with nothing but a roomy canvas for your words.

Select "Full screen" from the "View" menu, and look—nothing but you and your words.

To activate full-screen mode, click the View menu (in your browser, not your desktop) and select “Full screen”—simple enough, right? To return the standard view, hit the “Esc” key.

Want to simplify your document view without losing the Google Docs menu, controls, and document rulers? Instead of selecting “Full screen” from the View menu, try “Compact controls,” a mode that may make desktop Office users feel ever more at home in Google Docs.

(By the way, if you’re worried about losing all your work if your browser crashes, don’t; Google Docs saves your changes almost instantly after you’ve added them.)

Just drag photos from your desktop and drop them straight into your web browser. Nice.

2. Drag photos directly into a document
Want to add some images or snapshots to your Google word document? Don’t worry—you won’t have to deal with a tedious Upload page. Instead, just drag an image file directly into your Google doc and drop it wherever you’d like it to go. Once the image is in your document, just grab one of the “handles” along the edges and drag to resize. Neat.

3. Drag a document into a folder
The main Google Docs interface boasts three columns: one that lists your folders (or “collections,” as Google calls them), a second with all your individual Google Doc files, and a third that shows details for any document you select.

Organizing your many Google documents into folders used to be a painful process (well, relatively painful, anyway) of selecting a file and choosing a folder from a pop-up window—and hence, I never bothered with Google Docs folders until recently.

What changed? Well, you can now simply click a document and drag it straight into a collection in the left-hand column. Done (and yes, all my Google documents are now filed neatly away).

4. Share a folder with a friend
One of the beauties of Google Docs is that you can share any given document—or an entire folder—with a friend, colleague, or a group. While sharing a single document is handy, sharing an entire folder is an even more powerful feature. Why? Because once you share a folder, any documents you create or drag into that folder will also be shared automatically. By the same token, any documents you drag out of a folder are instantly un-shared.

To share a folder (or, again, a “collection”), just click on one in the left-hand column in the main Google Docs page, click the little down arrow to the right, and select Share. In the pop-up window that appears, type in the Google IDs or email address of those with which you’d like to share your documents. You’ll also be able to designate whether your collaborators will be able to edit your shared documents or simply view them. (By the way, if you and someone else are editing a Google doc at the same time, you’ll see their real-time edits right there in the browser, and you can even text chat in a pane on the right side of the page. Neat!)

Uploading entire folders of documents into your Google Docs account is pretty much a snap.

5. Upload an entire folder
Not only can you upload individual Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files into Google Docs for online editing, you can also upload entire folders at once, which are instantly organized into a “collection” in your Google Docs account.

To give it a try, click the Upload button in the upper-left corner of the main Google Docs screen, then select “Folder” and select the desktop folder you want to upload from the pop-up window that appears. A second pop-up will ask your permission to convert your Office documents to the necessary Google Docs format (don’t worry, you won’t hurt your original files).

Nice, but there’s one catch: You’ll need to be using Google’s free Chrome web browser to upload an entire folder at once. You can download Chrome right here.

All done? Then check out the Collections column on the left side of the main Google Docs page: all your uploaded documents should be sitting right there.

Stay tuned for a full-on Google Docs beginner’s guide in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, have any random Google Docs questions? Let me know.

The post 5 nifty Google Docs tricks appeared first on here's the thing.