VirtualGiff's Back to School Top 7 Google Tips - Day 5 - The Starred Folder!

Earlier this week, I decided to share one of my favourite tips every day for the seven days leading up to the new school year.  (See the full blog post here)  Here we go for day 5….

VirtualGiff’s Top 7 Google Tips

Note for Mac Users: When you see CTRL in this pot, use COMMAND instead - it will do the same thing.

I want to be able to find items quickly in My Google Drive.

TIP #5 -The Starred Folder in Google Drive

In your drive you might notice a little outline of a star beside file names.  When you click the star (or right click the file name and select “Add Star”) it adds that file to the Starred folder.

VirtualGiff's Back to School Top 7 Google Tips - Day 4 - Images With No Background

Earlier this week, I decided to share one of my favourite tips every day for the seven days leading up to the new school year.  (See the full blog post here)  Here we go for day 4….

VirtualGiff’s Top 7 Google Tips

Note for Mac Users: When you see CTRL in this pot, use COMMAND instead - it will do the same thing.

I want an image without a background!

TIP #4 -

1. Simply go to Google images and search for a photo.  
2. Click Tools and a new set of options will appear below the search bar.  
3. One of the options is Color.  
4. Choose Transparent.  

The search results will now filter to images with transparent backgrounds (they look like they have a checkerboard behind them).

With this photo type you will have a picture of a meerkat (for example) that looks like the one on the left, not on the right.

VirtualGiff's Back to School Top 7 Google Tips - Day 3 - Forcing People to Make a Copy of a File

Earlier this week, I decided to share one of my favourite tips every day for the seven days leading up to the new school year.  (See the full blog post here)  Here we go for day 3….

VirtualGiff’s Top 7 Google Tips

Note for Mac Users: When you see CTRL in this pot, use COMMAND instead - it will do the same thing.

I want to have someone to make a copy of a document into their Google Drive!

TIP #3- Force Cppy & Making Templates

Method 1: Force Copy

Change the end of your URL from /edit to /copy. For example:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sduCwQ-o95wcRKsClg2PkDJek1CgZr6B4Fz8HMAHutc/edit# becomes https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sduCwQ-o95wcRKsClg2PkDJek1CgZr6B4Fz8HMAHutc/copy.

You will get this:

Method 2: Making Templates

The more polite way (IMHO) is to change /edit to /template/preview (just like above).  I like this way better because instead of the blank screen just asking users to make a copy (of something they cannot see) it allows them to see the file they are making AND keep them name (no more “Copy of…”). To make the copy to their drive they just need to click the blue Use Template button at the top right.

You will get this:

Both of these work for Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, basically any of the Google Core Suite tools.

VirtualGiff's Back to School Top 7 Google Tips - Day 2 - Pinning Tabs in Chrome

Earlier this week, I decided to share one of my favourite tips every day for the seven days leading up to the new school year.

(See the full blog post here)  Here we go for day 2….

VirtualGiff’s Top 7 Google Tips

Note for Mac Users: When you see CTRL in this pot, use COMMAND instead - it will do the same thing.

Can I stop accidentally closing tabs?

TIP #2 -Pinning Tabs in Chrome

Simply right click a tab in chrome and select Pin Tab.  This will make your big tab shrink and move it to the far left.  Now the red x you press to close the tab is gone and in order ot close it you need to right click the small tab and select Close Tab.

VirtualGiff's Back to School Top 7 Google Tips - Day 1 - Opening An Accidentally Closed Tab

I am on my way to Thunder Bay (literally, I am writing this post on the airplane) to the EdTechTeam summit for the KOBE.  I am excited to be delivering one of my favourite session “Google Tips and Tricks”. I built it almost 2 years ago when I was asked to do some work with new teachers who had experience with Google but were looking to “level up” a little.  I love this session. The slide deck shares over 50 tips and tricks with all sorts of Google tools (Docs, Drive, Slide, Classroom, etc.)  I update it whenever I learn something new. I realised that some of these tips would make a great blog post and so - with the goal of blogging more (ideally once a week) this school year - I figure this would be a good start.  So in the 7 days leading up to back to school...I am going to share one of my favourite tips every day! Here we go….

VirtualGiff’s Top 7 Google Tips

Note for Mac Users: When you see CTRL in this pot, use COMMAND instead - it will do the same thing.

Help! I closed a tab in Chrome by accident!

TIP #1 - Opening closed tabes in Chrome

Simply press CTRL+ SHIFT+ T and it will open the last tabe you closed.  Continue to press CTRL+ SHIFT+ T and you will open the second last tab that was closed...and so on and so forth.

Photo courtesy of Alice Keeler