Quick Tips for Google Docs

The other day I was teaching a lesson and telling students to make a new Google Slides set by clicking the red button in Google Drive, but all of their buttons were blue. It can be frustrating how much and how many updates there are to online programs, especially Google. Google updates more than 600 times a year, so almost twice a day. These are usually small changes that we don’t even notice or when we do, they are easy to just say, “Oh, ok, got it.”

Here are some additions or changes that you may have missed but which could be useful to you.

What it is - Expiration dates

How it works - You can share a document to a student, coworker, or outside collaborator but share it for a limited amount of time. To do this, follow these steps:



How you could use it - If you don’t want students to have access to an assessment the following year, you can set the expiration date to the end of the year. If you want input from coworkers or other collaborators, but want to close out opportunities for input to a certain deadline, you could set the expiration date to that deadline. If you want students to work on an assignment, but don’t plan to grade it right away, you can make the expiration date the deadline for the assignment so they can’t make further changes.

If you have other ideas for how to use this, please let me know!

What it is - Share a link that automatically makes a copy

How it works - When a user clicks on the link you provide them, instead of taking them to your original document, it prompts them to make a copy in their own drive.

To use this, follow these steps:



So the address might look like this to begin with:


And then you will replace where it says edit to copy:



And then hit enter and the screen will look like this:


When you share this link, the person who receives it will see the same option. This allows them to edit a new version for themselves instead of editing your original, or making them go through the steps to make their own copy.

How you could use it - Have students make a copy, then share it back to you to fill out a worksheet. Share a template that you would like coworkers or collaborators to complete.

Do you have more ideas for how it could be used? Send them my way?

These tips could be something that saves you a few steps in the future, so try them out! As always, if you have questions, you can email me or stop by!