Week 5: Increase your productivity

Want to get more out of Google apps at work or school? Sign up for a free Google Workspace trial

Now that you're a Google Workspace expert, explore these ways to...

• Improve productivity in your inbox
• Work faster in Docs editors
• Use advanced features with Google Workspace

These instructions are for desktop only.

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Improve productivity in your inbox

Create a separate inbox for another account 

If you own several email accounts that you'd like to manage separately, you can create an inbox for each address. Follow steps at the Gmail Help Center to:

1. Send mail from a different address or alias.
2. Create another inbox for that address or alias. For the search criteria, enter to:[e-mail].

Mail sent to that address will go to your custom inbox.

Use Priority Inbox

Let Gmail sort and prioritize your email into categories, such as Important and unread.

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
2. To configure your inbox, go to the top right, then click Settings .
3. In the "Inbox type" section, select Priority Inbox.
4. To customize priority inbox setting, click Customize. 
5. Choose the inbox sections you want to show  Save Changes.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

 

Learn more ways to organize and optimize your Gmail inbox. 

Work faster in Docs editors

Use dictation in Docs

1. Check that your microphone works.
2. Open a document in Google Docs with a Chrome browser.
3. Click Tools Voice typing. A microphone box appears.
4. When you're ready to speak, click the microphone.
5. Speak clearly, at a normal volume and pace (see below for more information on using punctuation).
6. When you're done, click the microphone again.

For a list of all voice commands, supported languages, and troubleshooting, see Type with your voice.

Learn more

Research and add content with the Explore tool

Use the Explore tool to find and add suggested content to documents in Google Docs. The suggested content is related to what’s in your document. Specifically, you can:

• Search for content or images relevant to your doc
• Search the web from within your document to find additional content
• Copy text or images into your document
• Add a link or citation, such as for a book, author, or article title

Add images or info from other documents or the web

1. On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
2. At the bottom right, click Explore .
3. At the top, search for a document, presentation, image, chart, or webpage. Search results will show in categories:
   • Web: Info from the web related to your document.
   • Images: Images from the web related to your document.
   • Drive: Documents saved in your Google Drive.
4. Add an item from your search:
   • Add an image or chart: Click the item you want to add. At the top, click Insert.
   • Add a footnote: Point to your search result. Click Cite as footnote .
   • Add a link: Point to your search result. Click Insert Link .

Learn more at the Google Docs Editors Help Center

Transfer ownership of Drive files and Calendar events

Transfer ownership of files and folders in Drive

1. If you haven’t already, share the file or folder with the person you want to make the owner. See Get started with Drive.
2. In Drive, right-click the file or folder you want to transfer and select Share .
3. Click Advanced.
4. Next to the person’s name that you want to make the owner, click Edit  or View  and select Is owner.
5. Click Save changes.
6. If prompted, verify the transfer of ownership.
7. Click Done.

Transfer ownership of events in Calendar

If you create an event, you can make someone else its owner. After someone else becomes the owner, they can change any event details.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. Click an event Options Change owner.
3. Enter a new owner and a message to send them.
4. Click Change owner.
5. The new owner receives an email with a link. The link is valid for 60 days.
   Important: Until the new owner accepts ownership, you're the event owner.

Learn more

Translate your documents

1. On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
2. In the top menu, click Tools Translate document.
3. Enter a name for the translated document and select a language.
4. Click Translate.
5. A translated copy of your document will open in a new window. You can also see this copy in your Google Drive.

Tip: If "Translate document" isn't visible, you're likely in Microsoft Office editing. To translate, convert your file to Google Docs. Learn about Microsoft Office editing and how to convert Microsoft Office files.

Learn more

Compare document versions

1. In Drive, open your file.
2. Click FileVersion historySee version history.
3. Click a timestamp to see a previous version of the file. Below the timestamp, you’ll see:
   • Names of people who edited the document.
   • A color next to each person’s name. The edits they made appear in that color.
4. (Optional) To revert to this version, click Restore this version.

Learn more

Use advanced features with Google Workspace

Get add-ons for Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms

1. On your computer, open a document, spreadsheet, or presentation.
2. Click Extensions  Add-ons  Get add-ons.
3. Point to an add-on to see a short description. To find a full description, click the add-on.
4. To install the add-on, click Install  Continue.
5. For most add-ons, a message will appear requesting access to data that the add-on needs to work. Read the message, then click Allow.
6. After the add-on installs, click Done.

Create a custom search engine in Chrome Browser

1. In Chrome Browser, open the website you want to create a search engine for.
2. In the website's search bar, enter a search.
    
   Example: Go to YouTube and search the word "test." Your browser will be redirected to a link: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=test.
3. At the top of your browser, copy the link.
4. Click More Settings Search engineManage search engines.
5. Scroll to Other search engines and click Add.
6. In the URL with %s in place of query field, paste your link and replace your search query with "%s."
    
   Example: For the Youtube search link, replace "test" with %s in the URL: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%s.
7. Name the search engine and create a keyword (a short string to indicate to Chrome Browser you're using this search engine from the browser).
8. Click Add.
9. (Optional) To make the new search engine your default search engine, click MoreMake default.

Learn more

Group, pin, or move tabs in Chrome Browser

Group your tabs

1. On your computer, open Chrome .
2. Click New tab .
3. Right-click a tab and then select Add to new group.
   • To edit your tab group: Right-click the colored circle or name to the left. You can:
     • Name your group.
     • Add more tabs to the group.
     • Remove the group.
   • To add a tab to an existing group: Drag the tab into the group.
   • To remove a tab from a group: Right-click the tab, then select Remove from group.

Pin or move tabs

Pin a tab: Right-click the tab and select Pin. Pinned tabs are smaller and only show the site's icon.

Unpin a tab: Right-click the tab and select Unpin.

Move a tab to a different window:

1. Make sure both windows are signed in to the same profile.
2. Right-click the tab you want to move.
3. Scroll to "Move tab to another window."
4. Select the window you want to move the tab to.

Learn more at the Google Chrome Help Center

Search across all your products

Search your emails, chats, or spaces

1. Open Gmail.
2. At the top, in the search box, enter your search criteria.
3. Press Enter.
4. (Chat in Gmail enabled only) Choose where to search by clicking Mail, Messages, or Spaces:
   • Mail searches your email.
   • Messages searches existing messages in chats and spaces.
   • Spaces searches the names of spaces that you have joined and spaces that you can join. 

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Search in Calendar

1. Open Google Calendar and at the top, click Search and enter your search term.

   You'll see results as you type, including ones from other Google products you use, such as Gmail and Google Drive. Click on a result to see the details for that event.

2. To filter your results, to the right of the search box, click the Down arrow and choose an option:
   • Which calendars to search
   • What (information from the event, including its name)
   • Who (names of invitees, or event owners)
   • Where (location for your event)
   • Doesn't have (words not included in the event)
   • Date (choose a date range)
3. Click Search.

Search in Drive

1. On the right of the search box, click the Down arrow .
   Choose any option or combination of options to filter your results further.
   • Type—Search by file type.

     Note: For Sites, only draft (not published) sites that you have view or edit access to appear.

   • Owner—Search by file owner.
   • Location—Search by location (including items in the Trash or Starred). You can only search for folders that are in My Drive or in shared drives.
   • Date modified—See items that were recently modified by anyone (not just you).
   • Item name—Search for a term in the file name.
   • Has the words—Search for files that contain certain words.
   • Shared with—Search for someone that has access to the file.
   • Follow up—Search for files you own with suggestions, or files with action items assigned to you.
2. Click Search.