Google Apps. What are Google Apps?

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1 What are Google Apps? Google Apps Google provides free, online (i.e. Cloud computing) programs called Apps for creating various kinds of documents, as well as providing a way to share these documents with others. Because these Apps and the documents you create with them are online, they are always available to you (and those you share them with) whenever internet access is available. The purpose of this class is to provide instruction for creating a new Google account, as well as give general instructions on the use of some these resources. If you would like further, in-depth training in these online tools, check out Google s own online tutorials: Apps (all): Docs: Gmail: Calendar: This class will address three of Google s Apps: 1. Google Docs (now called Google Drive ): Google Docs/Drive, has several online programs. The most common three are Document, Spreadsheet and Presentation. Document: Google Document is a Word Processing program (compare to OpenOffice Writer, Microsoft Word/Works, Word Perfect, etc.) Spreadsheet: Google Spreadsheet is a column, row, cell grid program used commonly for tabular data, such as accounting or inventorying, with sorting and calculating functions (compare to OpenOffice Calc, Microsoft Excel/Works, etc.) Presentation: Google Presentation is a slideshow type of program. Presentations may include text, graphics, background music, slide transitions, or any combination of such (compare to OpenOffice Impress, Microsoft Powerpoint, etc.) 2. Gmail: This is Google s free service. Besides being an easy to use program for sending and receiving , Gmail also provides some of the best, free Spam filtering available. 3. Google Calendar: An online, full-featured calendar program with event alarms, notifications, invitation abilities and multiple-calendars to name a few. Calendars can also be embedded in a custom webpage if desired. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 1

2 Requirements for using Google Apps 1. Internet access: You must have access to an internet-connected computer or compatible device (public or personal). 2. Google account: You must have at least a free Google account in order to use Google Apps. 3. address: You must have a valid address in order to have a Google account. You can easily get a free Google address. Please note: there are many free services available. If you do not want a Google account, you will need to get one at some other service (i.e. Yahoo, MSN, etc.), but note also that when you create a Google account, you automatically receive a free account as well, whether you choose to ever use it or not. * Always be aware that an online account (especially a free one) carries at least a slight risk of personal information becoming public, no matter the integrity of the providing company (i.e. Google). Always use caution when posting personal information to an online source, such as web-based- accounts, Cloud resources (i.e. Google Apps/Docs), forums, etc. How to access Google Apps (and account creation, if you do not already have one) Step 1: Option A: If you do not have a Google account, but do have a non-google address: 1. Go to: and click on either Documents or Calendar in the top, black toolbar. 2. In the top-right corner, click SIGN UP 3. Enter the required information and click the Create my account button at the bottom of the page. 4. After successfully creating your Google account, enter your username and password at any Google App Sign in screen to access your account. Option B: If you do not have a Google account, nor an address of any kind, you may get a free address from Google (Please note: there are many free services available - see above in Requirements. If you do not want a Google account, you will need to get one at some other service prior to creating your Google account): 1. Go to: 2. In the top-right corner, click CREATE AN ACCOUNT 3. Enter the required information in the online form. 4. If you cannot decipher the Prove you re not a robot security characters, click the wheelchair icon to hear the characters read to you (requires a speaker or headphones), or the refresh icon to be presented with a new version that might be easier to read. Option C: If you already have a Google account, log into your Google account the way you normally do. You already have full access to Google Apps. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 2

3 Step 2: After logging into your account, all Google Apps are available on the black toolbar at the top of the website screen: For Google Docs/Drive: If this is your very first visit to Docs/Drive, you will be presented with an informational screen about Google Drive. Click on the Get started with 5 GB free button at the top-right of the screen (or, if you want to view Google s introduction to Drive, click on the video play button in the middle of the screen). Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 3

4 Google Docs/Drive Drive library Your Google Drive library lists all the documents you have made, uploaded, or had shared with you by another Google account owner. Your list of documents can be sorted according to any of the column headings by clicking on any column heading itself. The TITLE column shows each document name, with an icon according to the App that was used to make it, as well as listing whether the document is being shared with another Google account owner or not. Folders appear with a folder icon. The OWNER column shows which Google account owner made the document (if shared with you by another person, their name will be shown instead of yours). The LAST MODIFIED column shows the date the document was last opened and changed in some way. The Drive menu on the left side of the screen shows the various folders that your documents can be organized in. Documents shared with you from another Google account owner will appear in the Shared with me folder. Documents that you have clicked the star next to will appear in the Starred folder. Documents you have recently opened will be in the Recent folder. To create new folders, click on the folder icon with plus sign ( ) above the TITLE column heading and enter a name for the folder. The new folder(s) will appear as a subset of My Drive (click the small triangle to the left of My Drive to reveal customized folders). To move a document(s) to a different folder, place a checkmark in the box next to the document(s) to be moved, then click the Organize folder icon ( ). In the Organize window that opens, select the folder where the document should be moved and click the Apply changes button. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 4

5 Creating 1. In the upper-left corner of the Google Drive screen is a large, red CREATE button, followed by the red Upload button. To create a new document, click on the CREATE button and select from the menu which type of document you want to create. 2. You can also upload a document from your local computer that you have created with another program to your Google Drive library. a. Click on the Upload button and select either an individual file or an entire folder of documents. Keep in mind that documents created with other programs and uploaded to your Google Drive may take up more space than documents you create directly in Google Drive, thus counting more greatly against your initial storage space (5GB). b. A window will open showing the progress and status of the upload. 3. Documents you create/edit in Google Drive will automatically save themselves continuously. You can always view the save history (and revert to a previous versions) by clicking on the File menu and selecting See revision history. Sharing 1. Create or Open a document 2. Click on the File menu and select Share In the Sharing settings window, there are several options for sharing documents. Documents are initially created as Private - Only the people listed below can access, as well as your own account being the owner of the document. If you want to make the document Public, click Change Select which level of security you want for this document: a. Public on the web : Anyone on the internet can find, access and view (not edit) this document. No Google sign-in is required b. Anyone with the link : Anyone who has the web address link can access and view (not edit) the document, though the document cannot be searched and found using a search engine (i.e. Google, Yahoo, etc.) c. Private : Leaves the document s security settings unchanged. Only people explicitly granted permission can access and view. Google sign-in is required. 5. If you want to share the document with specific people, at the bottom of the screen under Add people:, click in the box and enter the address of those you want to share with. People you add in this way will by default be able to edit your document. If you want to change what kind of permissions they have, click on Can edit and select the type of access they can have (either Can comment, or Can view ). 6. Leaving a checkmark in the box next to Notify people via will send this person(s) an notice regarding their access to this document, as well as a hyperlink to the document. 7. An alternate method of sharing a document, or several documents at once, is from the Document library screen. Put a checkmark in the document(s) you want to share and click on the Share icon ( ) and follow the same steps as in #5 above. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 5

6 Downloading You may download a Google document to your local computer. Once downloaded, you can open and edit the document with an appropriate program installed on your local computer (i.e. OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.). 1. In your My Drive library, place a checkmark in the document(s) you want to download. 2. In the Google Drive menu, click on More and select Download In the Convert and Download window, change the file format you want for the document(s) (i.e. determines which program the file will open with on your local computer) and click the Download button. Your documents will be automatically zipped (compressed and combined into one.zip file) and downloaded to your web browser s default download folder (if you do not know where your web browser downloads files to, you may need to check your web browser s settings) 4. Extract the document(s) from the zip file if you want to edit them on your local computer. 5. Alternatively, you can share a single document while you have the document open. Click on the File menu and select Download as, then select the file format you prefer, corresponding to the type of program you have on your local computer that the file will open with. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 6

7 Gmail Your Gmail account has three sections: Gmail, Contacts and Tasks, all accessible from the large red menu at the top-left of your Gmail screen (just below the Google logo). Clicking on this menu reveals all three sections, and selecting any of the three items in the menu will change the entire screen to reflect that section. This class will cover the basics of Gmail and Contacts only. When you have selected the Gmail section, your screen will show a large COMPOSE button with a list of your folders underneath. The main part of the screen shows your list of s according to the folder selected on the left. The Basics: Sending mail: Compose: 1. Click on the red COMPOSE button in the top-left of the Gmail screen. 2. In the To box, enter the address of your recipient. 3. Click the blue underlined Add CC or Add Bcc to enter Carbon copy or Blind carbon copy recipients. 4. Enter a subject of this message in the Subject box (optional) 5. Enter text in the body of your message (also optional) and click the red SEND button above the message. In addition, use any of the Word Processing tools in the toolbar (located between the Subject box and the message body box) to enhance your message. Selecting the Plain Text link will make the message more compatible and receivable by recipients with higher security accounts ( Plain Text messages cannot contain any enhancements, so the Word Processing toolbar will disappear, but just for this message. It will be available in the next you compose). Also, see the section below on adding attachments. 6. When you are ready to send your message, click the large red SEND button near the top of the screen. Your message will be send immediately. If you want to save the message to be sent at a later time, click the Save Now button. If you want to cancel the message and move it to the Trash folder, click the Discard button. Reading mail: When you are logged into your Gmail account you will see a list of your folders on the left edge of the Gmail screen. Your Inbox contains all your received mail, unless you have created new folders ( labels ) and directed mail into those respective folders. If you have unread mail in your Inbox (or in any of your mail folders, for that matter), the folder title will be bold and a number will appear in parentheses indicating the number of unread messages in that folder. Click on any folder title to view the content of that folder. 1. Click on Inbox on the left side of the screen. messages are listed in six columns, with all messages sorted by date/time (column 6), with the most recently received at Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 7

8 the top. The first column contains a checkbox. Placing a checkmark in this box selects the message(s) for further action (notice the additional tools that become available when selecting a message or messages). The second and third columns show icons that, if selected, will help you mark those particular messages with different levels of importance. Column 4 shows who wrote you the message (if viewing the Sent Mail folder, this column shows who you addressed a message to). Column 5 shows the subject of each message, and column 6 shows the date the message was received (and in the Sent Mail folder, the date the message was sent by you). 2. Click on any message to view its content. Reply: While viewing the content of a message, there are two ways to reply to the sender(s): a. Immediately below the message is a large box with the text Click here to Reply or Forward. Click in this box to type your reply to the sender. b. Toward the top-right of the sent body is a gray box with a curved arrow and a black triangle. Click on the curved arrow to open a reply message to the sender. Reply to all: If the original message was sent to more than one person, and you want to reply to everyone the message was sent to, click the black triangle next to the curved Reply arrow and select Reply to all. Your reply message will open already addressed to each original recipient. Please note: many embarrassing s have been sent out to unintended recipients this way! Always review your message and its recipients before clicking Send! Forward: If you want to forward any message to another recipient, select the same black triangle and click on Forward. Your message will open with the cursor blinking in the To box, ready to be addressed by you. (Note: the original message will be below your new message body. This original message is now editable by you you may delete any content from the original message before sending. For example, this is a great time to delete all other recipient s addresses so you are not publicizing someone else s address to the rest of your recipients. Bcc: The Bcc box is used to add recipients that you want hidden from all other recipients of a message. Anyone s address listed in the Bcc box will not be visible to any other recipient of that message. It is completely acceptable to put all recipients in the Bcc box and none in the To box. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 8

9 Attachments: To attach a file to an message, click the COMPOSE button, then click the Attach a file link just below the Subject box. A window will open asking you to navigate on your computer to find the file you want to attach. When you find the file you want to attach, click on it and click the Open button. The file will immediately upload from your computer (you may see a progress bar showing the status of the attachment if it is large). Receiving mail: Your Gmail account will automatically and constantly check for new mail, and will display it in your Inbox (or another folder if you have configured your incoming mail to automatically divert to this folder). New, unread mail will always show bold-faced in your list. Labels: Google refers to folders as labels. Regardless of what you call them, Gmail labels act just like what most people know as folders, and this document will refer to both terms interchangeably. Labels are a convenient way to organize your . Just like is naturally placed into your Sent folder when you send a message and into your Inbox when mail is received, you can click and drag any message from the list of s on the right to one of your labels on the left. The message will immediately be moved to that folder. You can also create new labels and provide unique names for them. 1. At the bottom of your label list, click on Create new label. 2. Enter a name for this label 3. Select the checkbox next to Next label under: and select the existing label that you want this new label to be a subset of (the new folder will show up under this existing label, and offset slightly to the right, indicating it is a subset of the label above it. 4. You can also click Manage labels in step 1, which opens a window with all your labels with many controls for how these labels behave and appear. Spam label (folder) The Gmail Spam folder/label is available in the label list on the left. If you do not see it right away, click the More button at the bottom of the label list. Like any other folder, any new messages that Gmail marks as Spam will automatically be diverted to this folder. The folder will be bold-faced with a number in parentheses when there are unread messages in that folder. Gmail does an exceptional job filtering Spam, but once in a while it is a good idea to click on the Spam folder to view its contents to ensure it hasn t accidentally moved a non-spam here (it does happen once in a great while). If a message has been erroneously marked as Spam, simply click on the Spam label, place a checkmark in the message marked incorrectly as Spam, and click the Not spam button near the top of the screen. The message will automatically be moved to your Inbox, and messages from that sender will no longer be accidentally marked as Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 9

10 Spam. Note: Be very careful when marking messages as Not spam. Criminals have become very clever at Phishing (creating messages that appear in many ways to be legitimate, thus tricking the receiver into opening attachments, clicking on hyperlinks, etc.). messages left in the Spam folder will automatically and permanently be deleted from your Gmail account after 30 days of receipt. Contacts When you select Contacts from the main Gmail pull down menu (just under the Google logo at the top-left of the screen), you will see a list of several folders/labels, much like the Gmail screen shows. Your main Contact folder is called My Contacts. There are a few ways to add recipients to your My Contacts folder. When reading an message from someone not in your My Contacts, click the black triangle just to the right of the curved arrow in the top-right of the message and select Add xxxxxx to Contacts list After sending an message to someone not in your My Contacts list, the recipient will now be listed in the Other Contacts label. Click on this label, click on the message, then click the Add to My Contacts button. Import a list of contacts from another program or text file: Select Contacts from the main Gmail menu, click the More button and select Import. This procedure can be slightly complicated, and details can vary depending on where your original list of contacts is. It is recommended you read Google s help file on how to do this. To find Google s help file, follow the instructions in this same paragraph above, and in the Import contacts window that opens, click the Learn more link. When you start typing an recipient in the To, Cc or Bcc boxes of a new message, Gmail will automatically try to guess which of your Contacts you are typing and allow you to click on any of the possible guesses to enter that recipient s address. Also, you may open your Contacts, place a checkmark to the left of each recipients name, then click on the envelop icon ( ) to open a new message with your selection(s) automatically entered in the To box. Groups: You may create groups in your Contact lists to make it easier to send messages to groups of people you regularly write to. When viewing your Contact lists, click New Group, enter a name for this group, then click and drag any recipients to this new group. recipients in groups will still show up in your main My Contacts list as well. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 10

11 Settings To access your Gmail settings, click the Gear icon in the top-right of the Gmail screen and select Settings. There are many aspects of your Gmail account you can customize. A few of the more commonly customized settings will be discussed here. Forwarding and POP/IMAP You can automatically forward all incoming to a completely different account. After filling out the Add a forwarding address window, a confirmation code will be sent to the entered address with instructions on how to complete the forwarding request. You must have access to the forwarding account, and respond to the instructions in that in order for the forwarding request to take effect. When the forwarding request has been confirmed and approved, you will have the option in this same settings area to either keep a copy of received in Gmail after it has been forwarded, or to have it deleted. Security and Privacy: Click on the General tab to access the options listed below. 1. External content : External content refers to graphics, videos, etc. that may be embedded in messages sent to you. Not only will these elements take more time to be displayed on your screen, but they can also potentially carry computer infections that could damage your operating system, programs and files. This setting allows you to view the text content of a message as well as its sender s information before viewing potentially harmful content. Once you have deemed the to be safe, click on the link in the received Display images below. As a general safety precaution, any received from someone that is NOT in your My Contacts list will automatically have external content blocked initially. 2. Browser connection : Selecting Always use https will force any web browser you use to connect to your Gmail account using a secure connection (the s in https stands for secure and guarantees that level of protection) so all your activity (including logging into your account) will be unreadable by network spying (Note: if you have not changed this setting already, you can force any browser to connect to Gmail in this secured way simply by typing the address in manually: Searching Internet Searching is what Google does best! Gmail s search bar at the top of the Gmail screen works within your just as well as it does searching for general web content on the Google web site. Enter whatever search criteria you want in this bar and click the magnifying glass icon to search your entire for content, senders, recipients, subjects, etc. This same searching procedure works while in your Contacts screen too. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 11

12 Calendar Views: At the top-right of the screen select the view option you want: Day, Week, Month, 4 Days or Agenda. Create: 2 methods 1. Click once in any date and/or time box (time will only be visible if you are in Week or Day view) and a new entry is automatically created and opened for you to enter details in a quick-entry format. Click the Edit event link to open the full detailed screen for this event. 2. Click the large, red CREATE button at the top-left of the screen to open a new screen with the full detailed screen for the new event. Edit event: Click on any existing event on your calendar to open a screen with full details of the event. Make any desired changes, then click the large, red SAVE button at the top of the screen. Settings: Your current time zone: so your events have the proper time Sharing: Sharing a calendar: 1. Go to your calendar settings screen, click on the calendar tab and click Share this calendar for which ever of your calendars you want to share. 2. Enter the person s address, select the permission settings for this person s access to your calendar and click the Add Person button. 3. The person you shared your calendar will receive an announcing their access to your calendar. Note: the person you shared your calendar will need to have at least a free Google account in order to see your calendar. After sharing your calendar with a non-google member, you will be additionally prompted to send the person an invitation to join Google. If you choose to not send an invitation, the person will not receive notice of the shared calendar, and will see the calendar only after creating their Google account. 4. To stop sharing a calendar, go to your Calendar settings screen, across from the calendar you want to stop sharing, under Sharing, click Shared: Edit settings. 5. Across from the person whom you want to remove access to a calendar, under Remove click the trash can icon, then click the Save button. Accepting a shared calendar: 1. If someone shares their calendar with you, you do not need to do anything extra in order to see their calendar. Their shared calendar will simply show up in your list of Other calendars (either the next time you log into your Google calendar, or if you are currently logged in, after you refresh your screen). You will also receive a notification announcing the shared calendar, if you have a valid Google account. Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 12

13 2. To remove someone s shared calendar from your account, go to your Calendar settings screen, and across from the calendar you want to remove from your account click Unsubscribe, and confirm this step in the window that opens. Print: 1. Click on the More button toward the top-right of your calendar and select Print 2. Select the print options you want and click the Print button at the bottom-right of the screen. Note: selecting the Save As button allows you to make a PDF of the calendar rather than a paper copy. A couple points of interest Google s own introduction to Apps: (Please be aware, Google offers a cost-based version of its Apps to businesses and educational organizations, as well as their free service to the general public). Get started with Google Apps for free : Feature comparison of Google Apps versions (Google Apps, Google Apps for Business, and Google Apps for Education): Google Apps; rev.7/11/12 Page 13