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5 fantastic Google Docs tips

In word processing, there are three beasts: Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, and Google Docs. Most users are likely tied to Word, but its offline, collaboration-free nature makes it look a little boring next to Google Docs.

Whether you use Docs as your primary word processor, as a place to keep your files in the cloud, or just as a notepad for your online finds, these tips will help you get the most out of Google Docs.

1. Easy uploading. To quickly upload files of almost any format to Google Docs, drag and drop files from your hard drive to the Docs home page. To upload an entire folder (like My Documents), go to Upload > Folder. Subfolders will also be added.

2. Better photo inserting. Easily insert a photo into your doc by dragging and dropping files from your hard drive into the doc. To wrap text around the photo (pictures are put in-line with text by default), click it and select "Fixed." If you plan to grab a photo from the Web, go to Insert > Image > Google Image Search. This tool is far better than searching, saving a photo to the desktop, and reuploading it to Google. … Read more

Edit Word and Excel files on your iPad for free

You have one more great reason to chuck your laptop in favor of an iPad when embarking on your next road trip. With only a few extra clicks you can edit Word and Excel files in the Safari browser on your iPad. The trick is to convert the files to the native Google Docs formats to make them available for editing on the iPad.

The easiest way to ensure the current version of your Word and Excel files are editable on your iPad is to use the free Google Cloud Connect toolbar for Microsoft Office, which I described in a … Read more

PDF program pops

Businesses need affordable PDF solutions that don't require budgeted training time to learn. Soda PDF Professional 2011 with OCR offers itself as the "Smart & Simple" enterprise PDF solution. It proved to be capable, flexible, easy to use, and affordable enough for individuals and organizations that need more than what free tools offer yet can't afford the big-box bundles.

During the installation process, Soda PDF gave us the option to designate it as the default application for PDF files. The program opened with a Getting Started page inside a well-executed interface with attractive, businesslike graphics and … Read more

This Day in Tech: Obama appoints Twitter CEO, plus Google foes

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Friday, May 27.

Obama appointing Twitter CEO to advisory group Twitter chief Dick Costolo will join the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Microsoft's Scott Charney and McAfee's David DeWalt will be appointed too. More

Microsoft to showcase new tablet OS next week? Software giant reportedly plans to take the wraps off a new operating system next week, perhaps running on hardware using Nvidia's ARM-based Tegra processor. More

Zuckerberg: Privacy anxiety is fleeting New features may initially give … Read more

Adios, offline Gmail on Chrome--for now

Google has shut down the ability to use Gmail with Chrome while not connected to the network, the last vestige of an older approach to offline Google Apps and Google Docs that the company is replacing.

To enable the offline feature, Google had been using a browser plug-in called Gears that could store data on a person's computer then sync with the Gmail server once a connection was re-established. Google phased out Gears, though, and yesterday was the last day offline Gmail worked with Chrome, which had Gears built in.

"As we move the Gmail Offline capability to … Read more

Google Docs offline: Coming this summer

SAN FRANCISCO--Somewhat later than had been planned last year, Google is addressing a significant weaknesses of Google Docs and Google Apps: the inability to use the services while not connected to the Net.

"We will make them [Google Docs offline apps] available this summer," said Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, in an interview here last week at at the Google I/O conference. "We've all been using it internally. It's imminent. We want to make sure they're good."

It's not clear just how high the demand for the feature is. … Read more

How to use OCR with Google Docs for Android

The Google Docs Android app includes a cool new feature--OCR support. OCR stands for optical character recognition and is a feature that's normally tied to full-sized scanners. You can now take photos of documents with your Android phone and convert them into text than can be searched and edited. Here's how:

Step 1: Launch the Google Docs app and tap on the "Create new" icon.

Step 2: Select "Document from photo" to start up the OCR camera function.

Step 3: Line up the document using the camera on your Android phone and take the … Read more

How to use Google Docs on the iPad

Odds are, you didn't buy the iPad as a productivity tool. Aside from sending brief e-mails and making the occasional Facebook or Twitter contribution, you likely aren't doing much writing on the iPad. Should the need arise to put your thoughts down in writing, however, there are a number of ways to do so. You could spend $9.99 on a word-processing app such as Documents to Go or Apple's Pages, or you could skip the App Store, open the Safari browser, and use Google Docs. In this brief tutorial, I will show you how to use Google Docs on the iPad.… Read more

How to print from an iPad using Google Docs

There are a number of ways to print from the iPad. The easiest method is to own or purchase an ePrint cloud-connected printer from HP that works with Apple's AirPrint technology to enable wireless printing. If you have an older printer with some miles left on it, however, there's no need to rush out and buy an HP ePrint printer. There's an easy, if limited, way to print documents from an iPad using Google Docs. … Read more

Collaborate on the go with Google Docs for Android

The long-awaited Google Docs Android application lets you create, edit, and share documents right from your Android mobile device. It's minimal and intuitive, and shuffling through your documents and collections is as easy as on the full-blown site. Also, the app comes with some nice touches like an optional home screen widget and integrated Google Cloud Print, which enables you to send files to connected printers from your handheld.

When it comes to creating on the go, the Google Docs app is limited to Document and Spreadsheet types. However, this doesn't seem like much of a letdown since … Read more