Easily Send Email to Everyone Working on a Google Apps Document

There are many times while working on a document that I want to send an email out to everyone who's working on it (example: upcoming deadline). The Comments function (http://goo.gl/AljfqM) is great when want to ask a question about a piece of text, but it's really not the right tool for general messages.

I used to spend time trying to remember who I shared the document with or actually went looking under the Shared settings, but there's a better way. From within the document, select Email Collaborators from under the File menu. Google will display an email window with all the collaborators of the document listed. Now it's just a matter of updating the subject line, the message, and select who I want receive the email.

Automatically Create Certificates and Collect Feedback Through Google Forms

At the end of my sessions, the last thing I have participants do is fill out a Google Form to demonstrate the power of Add-ons. Recently, I wanted to start collecting feedback on my sessions, but I knew that I would more than likely forget to send the email out. So, using 2 Google Forms and some add-ons (Autocrat, CopyDown and formMule) I created a process that is totally automated.

For this tutorial, I assume you're already familiar with these tools.

Here are steps:

1. Provide a link to a pre-filled Google Form. While they'll submit to me their names and email addresses, I'll make sure the form includes the name of the session and the date already filled out (ensures consistency).
    
2. Upon submission, Autocrat will create a certificate of attendance with each individuals' name, along with the session and date. Autocrat will send out an email with a link to that individual's customized certificate along with instructions on how to download it as a PDF.
    
3. Later in the day, formMule will be triggered to send a message to participants asking them to provide feedback through a different Google Form. Using the already supplied session name and date, a link to an existing Google Form will be generated. The link will automatically pre-fill out the form with the session name and date.
    
4. Participants will then be able to submit anonymous feedback through the form with the session name and date already filled out.

For more detailed information on the process, check out the video below:

Many thanks to +Andre Stillman and the New Visions Cloud Lab for these amazing tools!

Storing Videos on Google Drive

For many schools and organizations, uploading videos to Youtube is not an option. However, Google Drive not only provides a storage location, it will also process videos and create streamed versions — just like the videos on Youtube. Although they do not include many of the functionalities associated with Youtube (comments, indexing, time stamps, etc) you can link to and embed the video streams.

Viewing

When you load a video to Drive, Google automatically creates a preview. Once the video has been processed, clicking on the video will take you to the streamed view. Click on the Share button and you can send the link for others to see.

Embedding

From the Shared view (not the preview), the More Actions provides an Embed option. Just copy and paste the code onto your site.

Formats and Captioning

Google Drive supports a number of common formats, including .mov, .mp4 and .avi (http://goo.gl/9Ce7hW). You can also add captions to your Google video (http://goo.gl/MNY4YD).


Update: Files stored in Google Drive are subject to bandwidth limitations (http://goo.gl/mRhp0j). A great solution for sharing videos to your class or school, if you expect high traffic you may want to look at another option.


Note: the video stream below is stored on Google Drive. Because of bandwidth limitations of Drive, if this video is not available, please use: http://youtu.be/QpSkPq_Kx-M.

Sharing Your Agenda/Minutes with Google Docs

Sending out agendas, updating them before the meeting and then sending out follow-up minutes can be time consuming, especially if there's an error that needs to be corrected and you have to send it out again. However, by creating your agenda with Google Docs and sharing it with your group, they will have a link to the most up-to-date information that can quickly be updated. Best part - no downloading or emailing necessary!

Setup

1. Create a folder where all your agenda/minutes documents will be stored. Be sure to include your committee/department's name (eg: Web Services Meeting Agendas/Minutes).
    
2. Share the folder with your committee members. As only you will be responsible for updating the content, the others only need the ability to provide comments. Information on how to setup sharing can be found at http://goo.gl/sk03rp.
    
3. Create a document that will act as your template, including sharing (you can see an example at: http://goo.gl/7M6OkQ). As you create a new meeting's agenda, you can either create a copy of your template or duplicate/edit your previous meeting's agenda.

The Process

As long as you agenda documents are stored in the proper folder,  the committee members will have access at any time to see the agenda.

Here is the process for each meeting:

1. Create your document for the meeting and update the agenda.
    
2. Send out the agenda for feedback (you can use the Email collaborators command under the File menu).
    
3. Committee members can leave comments (http://goo.gl/AljfqM) or suggest edit changes (http://goo.gl/2yOEy7).
    
4. Before the meeting, go through and add/approve any changes to the agenda.
    
5. During the meeting, make notes in the same document.
    
6. After the meeting, clean up the notes and make any changes.
    
7. Send our a message (see Step 2) letting everyone know the minutes are complete.

Screen Captures with Skitch

I create a lot of documentation and tutorials with Google Docs (it's the best way to replace PDFs). Of course, adding screenshots is always an important part of any good documentation. For that, my application of choice is Skitch.

Skitch (http://evernote.com/skitch/) is a free service/application provided by Evernote. It's easy to use, allows you to store your files within your Evernote account, provides easy sharing and has some great mark-up tools. What makes Skitch a winner for me is the ease with which I can drag my marked up screen shot to a Google Doc. I just click on the icon at the bottom and drag it onto my document. Quick and easy!

Here it is in action:

Get New Spreadsheet Functionality from Your Old Google Sheet Data

In the old version of Google Sheets, if you filtered your data, it would change the view for everyone who was accessing the document. Confusing and frustrating, as your content kept switching on you!

One of the advantages of using the new version of Google Sheets is Filter Views. This tool allows you to

• filter your information by field content
• create pre-set views that you can share with others.

Best part of all, it would not affect the view of others!

Video credit: +Google Gooru (http://googlegooru.com)

Using new sheets with your old data

If you have already existing data in the old version of Google Sheets, you don't have to re-create your spreadsheets in the new version (I'm running some Google Apps Scripts that only work in the old version). If all I want to do is manipulate the date for different reports, I can use the ImportRange function to bring the existing data from the old sheets into the new sheets:

=IMPORTRANGE("spreadsheet_key", "range_string")

I just enter the spreadsheet ID number from the old sheet's URL, as well as the sheet name and range of data I want to bring in.

=IMPORTRANGE("1R0nUpLMVmOkygrdo0Hdz", "StudentQueries!A1:J10000")

The content from the old sheet now appears in my new sheet. As this is a form that is constantly being added to, I made sure the row number is quite large. With the document open the data may take some time to refresh if the original sheet is being used for a form. Just refresh to get the most up to date information.

How do you use ImportRange?

Video credit to +Google Gooru

Import Data from a Web Site Into Your Spreadsheet and Filter the Results

Quite often people will paste data from a site into their spreadsheet (think of game standings, lottery numbers, etc). The importHTML function in Google Sheets can automatically get the latest data from a page and insert it into your spreadsheet, where you can treat it as if it was text you pasted in

Once your content is in your spreadsheet, you can treat it as if it was text you pasted in. You can use it in formulas, sort it, and filter it.