Hey Reader,

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Google Docs is so easy to use. But most of us still don't know its best features.

These 11 Google Docs tips will save you 100s of hours of your life.

Let's go....

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My new Google Mastery course is a 20-day online course starting on 24th October. This course will make you a wizard at using your Google Apps. The early bird discount ends tomorrow.

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1: Create a new document from your browser.

In your Chrome browser but want to start a new Google Doc?
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You don't need to navigate to your Google Drive and create a new doc from scratch.
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Just type into your Chrome search box.
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​doc.new​
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And a new Google Doc will open.
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Simple.

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2: Find your previous changes.

Made some changes a while ago but can't remember what they were?
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See your old versions in one click:
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• Go to File
• Choose 'version history'
• See your previous versions
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You can even rename each of the old versions to keep track.

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3: Create custom styles.

Instead of changing your text styling every single time, you can save the styles you like.
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• Select the text in the style you want
• Open the text options dropdown
• Choose Heading 1 (or whatever you want to save it as)
• Click 'Update Heading 1 to match'
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Now that's saved as your Heading 1 style.

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4. Use text substitutions.

Have a phrase or a sentence you find yourself typing often?
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Create a shortcut for it using text substitutions:
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• Go to Tools
• Click Preferences
• Go to the Substitutions tab
• Put in the original text
• Add your replacement text
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Now when you enter that word on your Doc, it'll paste the whole phrase.

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5. Change capitalization quickly.

HAVE YOU WRITTEN EVERYTHING IN CAPS BY ACCIDENT?

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Correct it easily:
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• Select the text
• Click Format>Text>Capitalization
• Then choose the capitalization you need
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Now there's no need to go through each word and manually retype it.

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6: Send a preview.

Want to share the document without others seeing who it is that viewing it?
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Just change the last part of the url from /edit to /preview
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Now they can't copy, share, or make changes.
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And nobody will see who was looking at it.

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7: Use shortcuts to share with specific access.

In your document url, just change the /edit at the end of the url to:
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• /copy - and they will be able to make a copy of the doc
• /export?format=pdf - and they'll automatically download a pdf
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A simple way to share documents without it affecting your original file.

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8: Embed your document in an email.

Prefer to send your doc in an email rather than attaching or sharing?
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You can now
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• Go to File>Email
• Email collaborators or specific people
• Check the box 'Don't attach, include content'
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It'll embed the doc in the email itself.

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9: Integrate tags with Smart chips.

You can tag people, files, dates and events within your document.
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Just type @ in your document and you'll see the dropdown:
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• Other documents
• Calendar events
• Checklists
• Media
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These automatically update as you update the item elsewhere.

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10: Add footnotes + images.

Want to add images or reference articles or websites in your document?
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Use the mysterious Explore button:
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• Click Explore
• Search + insert images or sites
• Click on the 3 dots + choose the citation format
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Now you can add footnotes, links, + images without leaving the doc.

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11: Insert video in Google Doc.

Want to embed a video into your Google Docs?
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Do this:
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• Open a Google Slide
• Paste the url into a slide
• Copy the slide
• In the Doc, choose Insert>Drawing>New
• Paste the video
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Now it can be clicked and viewed.

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And that's it. 11 simple tips to help optimize your Google Docs

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See you next week.

P.S. Just a reminder that the early bird discount for my brand new Google Mastery course ends tomorrow. Join other like-minded people to learn how to use your Google Apps to save yourself time (and money).