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@TNWlifehacks Hooked on wasting time reading how to get things done faster. Part of The Next Web Network. http://thenextweb.com/lifehacks

#sync #google docs locally

• Google Docs
• New Features
• Help Center
• Terms
• For Work or School

What’s new in Google Docs?

We’re still working to make Google Docs a better place, and we’re listening closely to your suggestions. If you have anything you’d like to tell us, don’t hesitate to let us know, and keep checking back for additions and improvements.

Just launched!

• Connectors in drawings
  Newly created lines can be connected to shapes and will stay connected when you move those shapes. Learn more.
  

• Insert photos from Picasa
  The insert image dialog in documents and drawings now lets you insert photos from your Picasa albums. Learn more.
• WMF upload
  We now support uploading WMF (Windows Metafile) files and converting them into Google drawings. Learn more.
• Hidden controls in documents and drawings
  You can now hide all controls and menu bars in documents, drawings and spreadsheets. Learn more.
• Compact controls in documents
  You can now hide the title bar to save screen space using compact controls. Learn more.
• Drag and drop file upload
  If you use the latest versions of Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari you can now drag files from your desktop and drop them directly onto the upload page. Learn more.
• Mobile editing in Google Docs
  You can now edit text documents and create both text documents and spreadsheets on your mobile device. Learn more.
  
• LaTeX shortcuts in equations
  You can now quickly type equations in documents using LaTeX equation shortcuts. Learn more.
• Text replacements
  You can now substitute text automatically in documents. For example, ‘2/3’ automatically becoming ⅔. Learn more.
• New charts editor
  The chart editor in spreadsheets has been redesigned from the ground up with new chart types and more. Learn more.
  

• Image drag and drop
  If you use Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari you can now drag images from your desktop and drop them directly into a document. Learn more
• Improved revisions in documents
  Seeing the complete history of your document just got easier. You can now navigate between revisions and drill down to get more granular changes. Each editor’s changes are shown in that editor’s color. Learn more
  
• More import options in spreadsheets
  You can now choose where your upload goes, preview the spreadsheet before import and more. Learn more
  
• New fonts in documents
  We’ve added six new web fonts to documents: Droid Serif, Droid Sans, Calibri, Cambria, Consolas and Corsiva. Learn more
  
• Selection and gridless printing in spreadsheets
  Customize your printouts with new printing options. Learn more
• Real-time collaborative highlighting in documents
  You can now see when a collaborator highlights text. Learn more
• In-cell dropdown and cell validation
  Create dropdown lists in individual cells using the data validation tool in Google spreadsheets. Learn more
• Show all formulas
  Reveal all formulas in your spreadsheets with one click. Learn more
• Spell checker in spreadsheets
  You can now check spelling in your spreadsheets using the tools menu. Learn more
• More page sizes
  Executive (7.25” x 10.5”), statement (5.5” x 8.5”) and more are now available in Google documents. Learn more
• Auto-linking in documents
  Now when you type something that documents recognizes as a link, it will become a link automatically. Learn more
• A new curve tool in drawings
  Create smooth curves based on a series of points with this new tool. Learn more
• Convert files in the document list
  You can now convert files in the document list to a Google Docs format at any time. Learn more
• Add words to dictionary
  You can now add words to the documents dictionary. Learn more
• Draggable rows and columns in document tables
  Change row heights and column width in tables using sliders. Learn more
• Document translation
  You can now translate a document into any of the 53 Google Docs supported languages. Learn more
• Improved page navigation in forms
  Use the page navigation feature to direct respondents to relevant pages on your form. Learn more
• Search improvements
  Four new search operators (before:YYYY-MM-DD, type:document, and more) make it easier to find files in your documents list. Learn more
• Google Docs Viewer available in mobile browsers
  View PDFs, .ppt, .doc and .docx files that you’ve uploaded to your documents list on your Android, iPhone and iPad. Learn more
• Format painter in spreadsheets
  You can now apply formatting or conditional formatting rules you’ve used on one set of cells to another separate set of cells using the Paint Format tool. Learn more
  
• Optical character recognition (OCR)
  You can now upload and convert PDF or image files to text. Learn more
• New sharing interface
  We’ve streamlined the interface, added new visibility options, made access viewable at a glance, added resettable doc URLs and enabled bulk changes in the docs list. Learn more
  
• A keyboard shortcut pop-up and more in drawings
  You can now view pop-up keyboard shortcut help, center drawings on the page, view thumbnails of drawings in the docs list, and search through all the text in your drawings. Learn more
• Faster Google spreadsheets graduates
  The new Google spreadsheets is now the default for everyone. Columns can be dragged and dropped, the formula bar is editable, auto-complete speeds up data entry, and you can link directly to sheets. Learn more
• New Google documents graduates
  All new documents are now created with the new version of documents by default. Take advantage of the new chat, character-by-character real time co-editing, sidebar comments and more. Learn more
• Drawings in the template gallery
  Create a drawing from the templates in the gallery or share your favorite drawing with the world. Learn more
• Formula highlighting
  Cell references and the corresponding cells are now highlighted to make it easier to keep track of your formulas. Learn more
  
• Advanced sorting rules
  Sort a range of cells according to rules set for one column or across multiple columns. Learn more
  
• New form themes
  Choose from 24 new themes which take advantage of the new Google Font API. Learn more
  
• Comment scrolling in documents
  Whenever you click on a comment it will scroll so that it’s directly beside the associated text. Learn more
• Copy sheet
  You can now copy sheets from one spreadsheet to another, separate spreadsheet. Learn more
  

What’s been keeping us busy

• Re-size images
  After you insert an image into a document, click on the image to bring up controls that let you scale the image’s size in any direction. Learn more
• Introducing Google drawings
  Google Docs now has a collaborative drawings editor that makes it easy to build organizational charts, flow charts, design diagrams and much more. Learn more about Google drawings
• New version of Google documents
  We’re previewing a totally re-built version of Google documents that adds a lot of new features and makes editing much snappier. The new version has chat, character-by-character real time co-editing, and makes imports and exports much better. Learn more about the new version and how to start using it
• Faster Google spreadsheets
  We’re previewing a slicker interface that adds new features and makes Google spreadsheets faster and easier to use. In the new version, columns can be dragged and dropped, the formula bar is editable, auto-complete speeds up data entry, and you can link directly to sheets. Click New version to get started, or learn more in the Help Center.
• Upload any file
  Over the next couple of weeks, we’re rolling out the ability to upload, store, and share any file in Google Docs. Your files will be stored in their original format and downloadable from anywhere. Uploading files to the cloud allows them to be safely stored and accessible at all times. Learn more
• Shared folders
  Now you can simultaneously share a group of docs with your friends, coworkers, or family, by sharing an entire folder with them. Learn more
• Bulk upload
  Upload multiple files quickly to your Docs list. Learn more
• Drawings improvements
  Choose ‘Insert Drawing’ in any document, spreadsheet, or presentation to check out these new features.

  • Snap to guides
    Snap to guides helps you easily align objects with the drawings canvas and other objects. Learn more

  • Polylines
    Create continuous lines or even enclosed custom filled shapes composed of multiple segments. You can close shapes, fill them, and even move around points on a line by double-clicking the line. Learn more

  • Draw multiple lines
    It’s now easier to quickly draw a sequence of related lines. Now when you finish drawing a line, arrow, or scribble, you stay in line drawing mode so you can start a new line immediately. Learn more

• Translate and detect languages in Google spreadsheets
  =GoogleTranslate(“Hola, ¿cómo estás?”,”es”,”en”) gives “Hi, how are you?” (or leave out “en” and we’ll automatically choose the default language of your spreadsheet) What if you don’t know the language? =DetectLanguage(“Hola, ¿cómo estás?”) gives “es” Learn more
• Forms: Add pages and allow navigation to a specific page within a form
  Whether it’s showing a different set of food questions for vegetarians and meat-etarians or building a Choose Your Own Adventure game, Google forms can take care of it all. Add page breaks to your form and let people fill out only the sections that are relevant to them. Learn more
• Print footnotes as endnotes
  Choose to print your footnotes as endnotes through the ‘print settings’ page. Learn more
• Dictionary translation
  Find the definition of a word in a given language and then translate the word and the corresponding definitions into an alternate language. Learn more
• Equation editor
  Insert and edit mathematical equations and symbols in documents. Learn more
• Forms improvements
  We’ve added a new question type (grid), support for right-to-left languages in forms, and a new color scheme for the forms summary. Also, you can now pre-populate form fields with URL parameters, and if you use Google Apps, you can create forms which require sign-in to access. Learn more
• Translate document
  You can now translate an entire document into over 40 languages. Learn more
• Solve improvements
  Now your target cell can include the =sum() and =sumproduct() functions. Learn more
• Export images into .xls files
  Description: Now you can export images from spreadsheets when exporting in .xls format. Learn more
• Email as an attachment
  From the share button you can now email your Google Spreadsheets workbook out directly as an attachment in .xls, .csv, .ods, .pdf and other popular formats. Learn more
• Snap to grid
  Auto-align text, images, shapes, and tables within your slides. Learn more
• Insert images
  Insert an image into your drawing and add scribbles, shapes, lines, arrows, and text boxes on top of the image. Learn more
• Tables
  You can now add tables to Google Docs presentations. Learn more
• Automatically cycle through slides
  You can automatically cycle through slides in presentation mode and enable time delay, autostart, and loop. Learn more
• Solve
  With Solve, you can easily optimize linear equations by specifying a target cell for the result and adding constraints to help you reach your answer. Learn more
  
• ROMAN function
  Converting numbers into Roman numerals as easy as I, II, III. Learn more
• Forms improvements
  We’re adding section headers to allow you to divide your form in sections and provide more information for your respondents within the form. Learn more
• DOCX Import
  You can now import Word 2007 files (.docx) into Google Docs. Learn more
• New publish dialog for spreadsheets
  We’ve improved the sharing dialog to make it easier for you to publish your spreadsheet into different formats! Using the new publishing dialog, it’s easy to get an html snippet, pdf file, or published link and share it with your friends, family, or colleagues. Learn more
• Themes for forms
  Add a splash of color to your surveys and questionnaires. When you create and edit a form, simply apply one of the 70 themes. Learn more
  
• Sheet Protection
  Spreadsheet owners can use the sheet protection feature to lock sheets so they can only be edited by collaborators the owner chooses. Learn more
  
• List View and Mobile View Improvements
  Now you can see your spreadsheets with all their formatting in List View and on your mobile device, this includes background/foreground colors, borders and text formatting! Learn more
• Drawings and diagrams
  Create your own drawings and diagrams in Google Docs and use them in your text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. As with the rest of Google Docs, your drawings are auto-saved and you can edit them collaboratively. To get started, open a document and select Insert > Drawing. Learn more
  
• Find and replace toolbar for text documents
  The “Find and replace” feature in the text document Edit menu has gotten a makeover and an upgrade. Now it’s a slick toolbar that sports case matching, whole word matching as well as regular expression-style matching. Learn more
  
• XLSX import
  You can now import supporting cell data, formatting, formulas, font style, background color, named ranges, frozen panes, and horizontal merges from Excel ’07. Learn more
• Google Apps automatic identity in Forms
  This feature enables the collection of the user’s email address when filling out a form on a Google Apps domain. Learn more
• Form summary page
  The form summary page can now be printed. Learn more
• List view in the desktop version of Google spreadsheets
  You can now use list view’s simple design and powerful filtering and sorting on your desktop or notebook computer. Learn more
• Google Tournament function
  The GoogleTournament() function allows users to query NCAA data (including team names, records, scores, seedings, game times, etc) in a Google spreadsheet (ideal for creating automatic brackets). Learn more
• Data Validation
  With two levels of validation, strict and lenient, you can now control what you and your collaborators enter into a spreadsheet. Learn more
  
• List View
  This ‘lightweight’ version of Google Spreadsheets will allow you to do quick edits when you are accessing Google Spreadsheets from select mobile devices (Android, iPhone and Nokia S60), when you are on a slow Internet connection or when there are more than 50 people accessing your spreadsheet at the same time. Learn more
  
• Form Summary for your collaborators
  You can now let your collaborators or form respondents see a summary of the form responses. Learn more
• Print preview
  Need to see how many pages your document is or check on how your footnotes look at the bottom of the page? Go to File > Print preview for quick look at how your document will appear when printed. Learn more
  

©2011 Google Docs for Work or School – Terms – Help Center

Take another look at Google docs…pretty much all you need.

@nature_org #picnic11

Austin beats the recession! niiice…

“Sam Gosling is an engaging writer, a brilliant psychologist, and a charming individual—and he must never, ever be allowed inside my office!”

–Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Bonk

Also on kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Snoop-What-Your-Stuff-About/dp/0465027814/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

Lending Kindle Books

Eligible Kindle books can be loaned once for a period of 14 days. The borrower does not need to own a Kindle — Kindle books can also be read using our free Kindle reading applications for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. Not all books are lendable — it is up to the publisher or rights holder to determine which titles are eligible for lending. The lender will not be able to read the book during the loan period.

Finding Lendable Books Loaning a Kindle Book

Receiving a Kindle Book Loan Frequently Asked Questions

Finding Lendable Books

Titles that are eligible for lending, as determined by the publisher or rights holder, will have a message on the product detail page. Scroll down to the “Product Details” section and look for “Lending: Enabled” as shown below:

For titles you already own, you can check the Your Orders section in Manage Your Kindle. Click the “+” symbol next to a title to reveal additional information about the title. If lending is enabled, you’ll see a Loan this book button next to the product image.

Loaning a Kindle Book

You can initiate a loan from Manage Your Kindle or the book’s product detail page on Amazon.com. You’ll enter the borrower’s name and e-mail address and an optional notification message. Your recipient can receive the book loan even if they do not yet have a Kindle or Kindle reading application.

From Manage Your Kindle:

Manage Your Kindle lists all of your Kindle content purchases under the Your Orders section.

1. Click the “+” symbol next to a title to reveal all information and options. If lending is enabled, you’ll see a Loan this book button next to the product image.

Click the Loan this book button.

You’ll be directed to a form where you’ll provide the borrower’s name, their personal e-mail address and an optional message.

Note: Be sure to send your Kindle book loan notification to your borrower’s personal e-mail address, not their Kindle.com e-mail address.

From the product detail page of a book you have already purchased:

When logged in to your Amazon account and looking at the product detail page of a book you have already purchased, a notification at the top of the page will indicate that you already own the title. If lending for the book is enabled, you’ll see a second notice: “Loan this book to anyone you choose.”

1. Click the Loan this book link.

You’ll be directed to a form where you’ll provide the borrower’s name, e-mail address and an optional message (as shown above).

Your loan recipient will be notified of the loan through the e-mail address you provide. The borrower has seven days to accept the loan.

If the loan is not accepted after seven days, the book will become available again through your Archived Items.  You can also attempt to loan the book again at that time.

If the borrower already owns the title, or the title is not available in the borrower’s country due to copyright restrictions, the borrower will not be able to accept the loan.  In these cases the lender will be able to read and loan the book again after the seven day period has ended.

Receiving a Kindle Book Loan

If someone has loaned you a Kindle book, you will receive an e-mail notification allowing you to download the book to your Kindle device or free Kindle reading application. After accepting the loan, you’ll have 14 days to enjoy the book until the download ends.

To download a Kindle book loan:

1. Open the e-mail message you received about your book loan and click the Get your loaned book now button. Your web browser will launch and automatically direct you to Amazon.com to accept the loan.

Log into your Amazon.com account if prompted, or create one if you are not yet an Amazon.com customer. You may also be prompted to enter a billing address to verify your location only (there is no charge associated with accepting a Kindle book loan.)

If you are already a Kindle user, just select the device that you would like the book delivered to from the drop-down menu and click the Accept button.

If you do not yet have a Kindle or Kindle reading application, click the Accept button and you will be taken through the steps to download a free reading application.  After downloading a reading application you will need to return to the e-mail message and accept the loan.

Tip: You have seven days from when you first received your e-mail about the book load to accept the loan. Once you accept, you have 14 days before the loan expires.

Frequently Asked Questions

As the lender, can I read the book while it is out on loan?

Once you initiate a Kindle book loan, you will not be able to read the book until the loan period has ended, after which your access will automatically be restored. 

Once your notification has been sent, a reminder message will appear on the Home screen of your Kindle or Kindle reading app, indicating that the book is on loan and cannot be read until the loan has ended.

During the loan period the book will still remain visible in your Archived Items folder, but you will be unable to redownload the title.

Will I be notified before the book loan expires?

Yes. Three days before the end of the 14-day loan period we will send borrowers a courtesy reminder e-mail about the loan expiration.  Once the loan period has ended, an e-mail notification will be sent to both the book lender and borrower. The lender can then access the book again through their Archived Items and Manage Your Kindle.

The borrower will receive a notice on the Home screen of their device indicating that the loan has ended.  The borrower will still be able to view the title from their Archived Items folder as well, but selecting the title will bring up a reminder that the loan has ended and provide a link to purchase the item.

If the recipient is finished with the loaned book and wishes to return it, they can do so from the Your Orders section of Manage Your Kindle.  Here’s how:

1. Click the “+” symbol next to the loaned title.
2. Click the Delete this Title button.
3. Click Yes in the pop-over window to confirm the return.

After initiating a return the reading rights will be restored to the owner of the book. The owner will also receive an e-mail confirmation of the return.

How do I view the status of my loan?

You can view the status of a Kindle book loan from the Manage Your Kindle page. Click on the “+” symbol next to any title to view more details about any book that you’ve loaned or borrowed.

If you’ve loaned out the book, you’ll see the loan date listed, as well as whether the loan is pending, the expiration date of an accepted loan, or the returned date.

Borrowers will be able to see how much longer a loan is available, or if it has ended.

What happens to my notes and highlights?

The lender’s notes and highlights are not visible to the borrower during a Kindle books loan. When the book is returned, the same notes and highlights will appear in the book as before the loan was initiated.

The borrower of a Kindle book loan is also able to make notes and highlights in loaned books. These will not be visible to the lender at the end of the loan period. If a borrower purchases the same title after the loan has ended, any notes and highlights made in the loaned book will be retained in the purchased version.

Is lending available internationally?

At this time, Kindle book lending can only be initiated by customers residing in the United States.  If a loan is initiated to a customer outside the United States, the borrower may not be able to accept the loan if the title is not available in their country due to publisher geographical rights.

In these cases the borrower will be notified of this during the Loan redemption process, and the book reading and lending rights will return to the lender at the end of seven days from loan initiation.  You can always check the status of a loan by viewing the book on the Manage Your Kindle page.

Kindle Tools

Know Your Kindle

Kindle FAQs | Kindle Discussions | Manage Your Kindle | Troubleshooting Your Kindle

So, why are all we Kindle App users not creating huge lending libraries and sharing our books?