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Feb 26
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How to type other languages in Google Docs

By Blog

I received an email from India asking about support for other languages in Google Docs. He was a reader of my book Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes, and he had two questions: 1. How characters from Hindi, Chinese, or other languages can be typed into Google Docs, and 2) whether foreign text can be saved in Google Docs.

How to type other languages in Google Docs

There are several ways to save text from non-Latin character sets in Google Docs. The method I usually use is through the operating system. Windows and Mac PCs let users change the input language so people can use their keyboards (or trackpad) to enter Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, etc., into any program on their screen. However, if you don’t have this feature set up or are unable to activate it (for instance, because you are using someone else’s computer) you can use language support that’s built into Google Docs. Here’s how:

  1. Open Google Docs and create a new document (or open up an existing one)
  2. Go to File > Language and select the language you want to start typing in. For instance, to choose the traditional Chinese characters used in Taiwan, I would select 中文（台灣）(literally: “Chinese, Taiwan”)
  3. The input tool will appear on the right side of your toolbar (it may be hard to see, but on my browser, it was to the right of the “clear formatting” button, as in the screenshot below).
  4. Click on the tiny triangle next to the language symbol to choose your input method, which might be phonetic, romanization, or some other keyboard method.
  5. As you enter characters, Google Docs automatically saves them.
  6. Once you are finished, close out of the document or use File > Language to switch back to English.

Example of how to type other languages in Google Docs

In the example below, I used the Google Docs input tool to select pinyin, a romanization method for Chinese characters. As I type pinyin on the English keyboard, choices for the possible characters show up below the cursor with numbers to make a choice (Mandarin has many homonyms, so the numbers are used to pick the right characters). I can type the number or use my mouse to make my choice, and they are entered into the document. In the example below, I have typed “Hello I am American” above some English text. The input tool drop-down is also visible:

Google Docs Language input - Chinese example - How to type other languages in Google Docs

How to type other languages in Google Docs

Note that this method works for me because I am familiar with pinyin. However, some languages require special keyboards or keyboard labels. If you are working with a standard Western-style keyboard, or don’t know the Romanization system supported by Google Docs, you may have a tough time expressing yourself in the other language.

Jan 27
Love0

A new user guide for the new Google Drive and Google Docs

By News

Google Docs for dummies

This week, our top-selling guide received a facelift and a major content update. Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes (2nd Edition) is now available for the Kindle, iPad, Nook, and Android devices, along with PDF and paperback versions (ISBN: 9781939924315). We hired a professional book designer to handle the layout for the new edition, but even more importantly, I made some critical updates to the contents of the book, which had become out of sync with new features and improvements to Google’s software interfaces. The post below describes the history of my Google Drive book, and the project to create a second edition.

The first edition of Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes was released in 2012 and sold thousands of copies. Readers loved the quick learning concept, and the fact that it covered not just Google Drive and Google Docs, but the other programs in the suite — Google Sheets (the spreadsheet program, akin to Microsoft Excel), Google Slides (a presentation tool like PowerPoint), Google Forms, and Google Drawings, as well as collaboration and other features. I have been a heavy user of Docs and Sheets for more than five years, and was happy to share my expertise with readers.

Google Drive New Button Last summer I noticed that some of the features of Drive and Docs had changed. For instance, the Create button in Drive was replaced with a New button, the search interface within Drive changed, and the home icons in Docs, Sheets, and Slides started taking me to new index pages for each of the programs (before they had taken users back to the Drive home screen). Some of my readers also began to notice the shift. Google announced it was transitioning to a New Drive and Docs experience, and clearly the guide needed to be updated.

I immediately started rewriting the book, going through every single example and exercise to see what had changed. For the browser/Chromebook versions, the biggest changes were in Drive as well as the new Docs, Sheets, and Slides home screens. However, when I gave the mobile apps a workout, I saw that the changes had been even more pronounced. It is now possible to download and operate the apps independently. This means if users only use one app (say, the Google Docs app for iOS) that’s all they need to download. Before, the Drive app was required, even if you only used the Docs functionality.

Rewriting lasted through the fall, and then the editing and design process began. It was a tough slog, maybe tougher than any title I’ve ever done, but the result looks great. The interior features much sharper, high-resolution images (up to 300ppi) and a much improved layout. There is a new cover, as well as a slew of how-to videos I released through YouTube and will shortly be adding to the official Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes website. The Google Drive guide is now available through Amazon, iBooks, B&N/Nook, Google Play, and Gumroad, and will soon be available via Ingram’s extensive book catalog. I am also distributing it through some speciality marketplaces, including O’Reilly.

Finally, I have set up some special offers for educators who are interested in providing Google Docs for students, teachers, and staff. Since the first edition of the book was launched in 2012, I have sold hundreds of books and ebooks to individual teachers, schools, and school districts. Last year, I created an educational license for Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes which provides an unlimited number of digital copies of the guide to staff, faculty, and students for each participating school (in PDF, .epub, and .mobi formats). The license has enjoyed sales as far afield as Singapore. I also have created an educational license subscription as well as bulk orders of paperbacks with a heavy educational discount.

If you’re interested in learning more, I’ve created an About page for Google Drive and Docs in 30 Minutes (2nd Edition). It includes a summary, as well as an excerpt from the introduction.

Jan 06
Love0

Is it possible to learn Excel in just 30 minutes? What readers say about our newest guide

By Blog, Featured, News

Today I am pleased to announce the second edition of Excel Basics In 30 Minutes. Yes, it’s possible to quickly pick up the basics, and to that end the new guide concentrates on the features and skills which I believe will most benefit new users. It is not intended to be a comprehensive guide, and I am not making any guarantees that readers will be able to take over their companies’ accounting departments, but 30 minutes after starting, readers will hopefully have learned some core spreadsheet skills … and even a trick or two!

Don’t believe me? Then listen to what real readers have to say. There is already one review of the second edition from a Goodreads member. She said:

Nice guide to learning how to use Excel for most basic functions. As someone who only uses Excel occasionally, I found the tutorials to be easy to follow. Additionally the visual aids (images of what your screen should look like) were beneficial. It is an easy book to reference if you are having an issue with a particular Excel task.

This is a major update, not only because it covers the most recent versions of Excel (e.g., Excel 2013, Excel for Office 365, Excel Online, and Excel for Mac) but also because In 30 Minutes guides has commissioned a new interior design template. I think you’ll agree Rick Soldin has done a fantastic job. Starting with this guide, all In 30 Minutes books and ebooks will feature sharper images and a high-quality layout that’s easier to read, for the print version as well as the ebook:

Excel Basics in 30 Minutes iPad sample

In addition, for those users who don’t want to invest in an Office 365 subscription or a $100+ Office 2013 software package to learn how to use Excel, Excel Basics In 30 Minutes (2nd Edition) includes instructions for Google Sheets, Google’s free online spreadsheet program. Readers of the first edition who only wanted to dip their fingers into spreadsheets appreciated these extra sections, which make it possible to learn the basics of Excel without having to own a copy of Excel.

What else did readers like about the first edition? Here are some review excerpts gathered from Amazon and Goodreads:

Thomas:

It’s like a “Cliffnotes” book for Excel 101. It actually did take me 30 minutes to get through this – I may have had an edge because I use Excel at work so a complete newbie may need more time. But still, after 30 minutes you’ll know a good amount. To be efficient like that is a big plus to the author.

Robin:

I have been out of the office environment for several years and now starting to use Excel again. This has been a great refresher course.

Another Thomas:

An excellent little guide. For those that already know their way around Excel, it’ll be a good refresher course. For those that don’t, it’s a clear, easy-to-follow handbook of time-saving and stress-avoiding skills in Excel. Definitely plan on passing it around the office. Best of all, it covers both Excel and Google Drive’s spreadsheet system. Given how many workplaces, groups, and individuals are migrating to Google’s cloud-based system, it was a welcome addition.

Chad:

One thing I particularly liked about “Excel Basics in 30 minutes” is that it covers BOTH the MS Excel basics and the Google version basics. Explaining anything this intricate in 30 minutes is a challenge. (Can it be read in 30 minutes? Yes, I could do it, but I am not a typical user, I did not need to stop and practice the examples.) I was impressed that the book does go into some of the “meat” of Excel while still being a book that someone with NO previous exposure to a spreadsheet can grasp.

The chapters cover the following topics:

  • The basics: cells, functions, and formulas
  • Excel Ninja Skill #1: AutoFill
  • More basic Excel skills: percentages, pasting, and rows
  • Excel Ninja Skill #2: Charts
  • Sorting and filtering
  • Printing, PDFs, and import/export features

Excel Basics In 30 Minutes, 2nd EditionThe ebook version of Excel Basics In 30 Minutes (2nd edition) is available for the Kindle, iPad, Android devices, and the Nook. The black-and-white paperback edition can be ordered via Amazon or requested at libraries and bookstores — the ISBN is 978–1–939924–30–8. There is also a full-color PDF, which can be printed out or read on a screen.

Aug 29
Love1

How to remove a book from Google Play Books Partner Center

By Blog

If you publish ebooks for sale on Android, and decide to withdraw the title, here are instructions how to remove a book from Google Play Books Partner Center.

  1. Log into the Google Play Books Partner Center.
  2. Click on the link on the left side of the page that says Book Catalog
  3. You will be presented with a list of titles in your catalog. Click the title, or the cover of the book which you want to remove from sale.
  4. Choose the Summary tab
  5. Click the button at the bottom of the page that says Remove From Sale (see screenshot)
  6. You’ll see a message that says Book Processing, but the book will be removed from sale … unless you reactivate it (see below)
Remove a book from Google Play Books Partner Center

Google Play Books Partner Center interface

On the Summary tab, There is another button that says Deactivate Completely, which I believe that removes the record entirely — the book can’t be re-listed in the future unless you want to create a new record from scratch. If you think the book may be returning to sale in the future, stick with Remove From Sale. If you want to reactivate the title in the future, click the button on this page that says Enable for Google Play

Country preferences for Google Play Books Partner Center

In addition, if you only want to remove the title from sale in certain countries, but keep it “Live” in other countries, go to the Pricing tab and remove the countries in question.

If you want to see how to remove a title from iTunes, please read How to remove a book from sale in iTunes Connect

Jun 26
Love2

How to renew a Blogger custom domain through Google Apps

By Blog

Blogger, the blogging service offered by Google, used to have a really neat feature: The ability to reserve and pay for a custom domain through the Blogger interface to replace the default blogspot.com domain that Google provides. For reasons that are not clear, Google removed this feature in 2013. It’s still possible to get a custom domain, but users have to do it on their own through registrars such as GoDaddy or eNom and then point the domain to Google’s Blogger servers (if anyone is interested in setting up a simple business website using this method, consider Google Blogger For Small Businesses In 30 Minutes).

When Google turned off custom domains registration in Blogger, however, they didn’t think through an important process: How existing customers could renew their custom domains. Because customers never dealt directly with the registrars when they set up the domains, the renewal process is supposed to take place through Google Apps. This is a big problem, because many users never registered their Google Apps account or were never assigned an email address associated with their accounts. So, when the renewal email is sent to the backup email address, it’s not clear how to get into the Google Apps account to update billing information or perform other important functions. Fortunately, I found a partial solution for some users, which I will share below.

First, here’s what the renewal email looks like:

How to renew a Blogger custom domain through Google Apps

While my Dropbox guide is currently associated with a new URL, the old Blogger-based book website still gets a fair amount of traffic so I definitely wanted to renew the domain to prevent it from expiring. I clicked the button in the email, but was brought through a hellish runaround. I knew the default email address for the Blogger domains is bloggeradmin@domain.com, but no password combination worked to access it, and the only account recovery method the help screens said I could use involved changing the c name record at the registrar (eNom) so Google could verify that I owned the domain. But this was impossible, because I never dealt directly with eNom — all of the administration took place through the Blogger interface, and Google Wallet/Google Checkout.

Eventually, by following another set of help links, I was able to fill out a Google Apps help form that let me tell Google Apps what the problem was. Here’s what I wrote:

Subject: Unable to get into my Google Apps account which I registered as a Blogger custom domain

I received a warning via email (via my backup email address) that my domain will not be renewed. It is impossible using normal methods for me to get into the Google Apps domain management panel for the Dropbox In 30 Minutes domain. I used my backup email address, the bloggeradmin@ email address, and every password I could remember but nothing works. I am also unable to use the c name method because Google/Blogger custom domains do not allow me to log into the registrar’s management panel (enom).

Please help.

The help form said I would need to wait for up to 7 days, but I received a reply in about 1 hour. Here’s what it said:

Thank you for your message. I understand you have no access to your account Admin interface to renew your domain registration. I will be more than happy to help you with that.

Please note that at this time, all Google customers for any product are being moved to a new Billing system. In order to comply with its requirements, they need to manage their account through a Google Apps Admin console. You must have received an email message with this information. However, if you haven’t or didn’t go through the information to get access to it, you can use the following link to reset the password and gain access https://admin.google.com/xxxxxx/ForgotAdminAccountInfo (where xxxxxx is the name of the domain in question).

The reset link should be coming to this Gmail. Once you login, it will take you through setting up Billing to enable the auto renew option for your domain registration.

Sure enough, I was able to send a new password to my backup gmail account (thank goodness I had set that up) and get into the domain control panel to update the billing information. Mission accomplished!

Now, I know there are lots of other people with similar problems, but I don’t want to guarantee this method. For instance, if you never set up a backup email recovery account or waited too long to take care of the problem, you may be out of luck. But if any other readers try this method and it works, please share your story (and tips) below!