Google Documents: The Easy Guide

by Ian Lamont

Google Docs is a free online word processor (part of the Google Drive online office suite) that is taking the world by storm. Docs is great for reports, resumes, invoices, flyers, and other documents. It's also possible to access Documents from phones and tablets, and use sophisticated online features such as live collaboration and publishing documents to the Web.

This short, unofficial manual to the Google Docs word processor will help you get up to speed on the most important features of Google Documents, such as:

- Creating and organizing files.
- Using templates to create résumés, fax cover sheets, letters, and more.
- Converting documents from Microsoft Word, and exporting to .doc or .pdf formats.
- Leveraging advanced features such as online publishing.
- Using Documents on mobile devices.

PLEASE NOTE: This book only covers the Google Docs word processor, not the other programs in the full Google Drive suite. If you are interested in getting a more complete guide to Google Drive, including Docs, Sheets, Slides and other programs in Google Drive, please see the Amazon entry for "Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes."

"Google Documents: The Easy Guide" is authored by Ian Lamont, an award-winning technology journalist. Lamont has also authored "Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes" and "Dropbox In 30 Minutes", both of which are top-selling titles in Amazon's reference categories.

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2012

About the author

I am the author of a half-dozen “In 30 Minutes” guides, including Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes, Dropbox In 30 Minutes, Excel Basics In 30 Minutes, and Twitter In 30 Minutes. I’ve been writing about business, technology, education, and culture for years, starting with newspapers and magazines in the 1990s and later expanding to online media. I was the senior editor, new media for IDG’s Computerworld and served as the managing editor of The Industry Standard. My articles, essays, and blog posts have appeared in numerous locations, from the BBC World Service website to Lifehacker.

My interest in technology is rooted in early exposure to computers, video games, and science fiction. I am old enough to remember the original Battlestar Galactica, and read Gene Wolfe’s Shadow of the Torturer when I was 12. I have been writing science fiction short stories for more than 10 years, but in 2014, I took part in NaNoWriMo and managed to produce the first draft of my first science fiction novel which, unfortunately, requires significant revisions before it can be released!

My latest project is Lean Media (leanmedia.org) which is a framework for creating all kinds of media, from books to videogames. The first draft was completed in September 2016, and I expect the book to come out in 2017.