Google Docs is one of the best applications out there. It was released for the Google Apps users back in 2007 and since then it has received many improvements. The application comes with all the features that you would want from a word application.

Today we’re going to talk about some best tips and tricks that you can use on Google Docs.

Enabling offline access

Google Docs can also work offline, allowing you to create new documents, continue working on some current documents and even view the documents while you are not connected to the internet. However, keep in mind that once you connect to the internet, all the changes that you’ve done while being offline, will be synchronized.

However, in order to use Google Docs’ offline mode, you will need to have Google Chrome installed on Linux, Windows or Mac OS X. The offline feature is also available on Chromebooks.

To enable the offline mode on Google Docs, go to the Google Drive website (drive.google.com) and click on the Settings button located in the top right corner. After that, click on “General Panel” and make sure that “Sync your work to this computer so that you can edit offline” option is enabled. After enabling it, click “Done” and you’re ready to go. When you are not connected to the internet, just open the Chrome browser and head to the Google Drive website and access your files while being offline.

Inserting an Image by using its URL

Any word processing application usually allows you to insert images from your local hard disk. However, Google Docs is allowing you to add online images via their URL. Just click Insert from the menu bar, select Image->By URL and paste the link of the image in the text box. Keep in mind that Google Docs will automatically save the image in your document and even if the image will be removed later from the website that hosts it, you will still have it on your Google Docs.

You can also add images from the hard drive in the cloud provided by Google Drive.

Going from Next Typo to Previous Typo

In order make quick correction of your mistakes you can use the CTRL+‘ keyboard shortcut to go to the next typo or CTRL+; to go to the previous typo. Doing this, you will be able to quickly correct typos without having to scroll through the current document and looking for the red underlines.

It is good to know that Google Docs has recently received a Spell Check feature, which will allow you to quickly search through problems in a document. To check it out, click on Tools->Spell Check.

Editing an image

Double clicking an image on Google Docs will bring you a few features that will allow you to edit the image by cropping it, changing its brightness, contrast, transparency etc.

Multiple previews

Using Google Docs, you will be able to preview multiple files at once without even having to open them. To do this, you will need to put ticks next to all the files that you want to see in the main Google Drive interface. After that, you will need to press the preview button (it’s an eye symbol).

Configuring Your Text Styles

Instead of manually formatting every bit of text in a document, you can use your text styles instead. So, instead of setting all the headlines with a certain font size or bold text, you can just click on the style box and set them to “Heading 1”.

You have the ability to edit the font settings used for different styles. First of all, you will need to format a text and use the type of formatting you want to use for that specific style. Then, select the text, click the style box from the top of the screen and select the style you want to modify. After that, you can click on “Update -Style Name- to Match” option and that style will use the type of formatting you’ve selected to it. In order to save these customized styles and use them in future documents, click on the Options menu and select “Save as my default styles”.

Image drag

You can also drag images right into your documents. This image can be on your local hard drive or on a website. Just drag and drop the image and that’s it.

Managing Your Personal Dictionary

The “Personal Dictionary” that Google Docs comes with is similar to “Automatic Substitution”. It allows you to “whitelist” the uncommon words in order to let Google Docs know that the word is correct. This way, Google Docs will not show the specific word(s) with a red line.

Have you tested out these tips and tricks on Google Docs yet? Do you prefer to use Google Docs instead of Microsoft Office Word?