Here is one more useful tip for Google Apps usersGoogle Docs can be used to create PDF files. So if you want to convert your word doucyment to PDF you can use Google Apps (this is similar to Open Office functionality). Google Docs however doesn’t open up a PDF file for editing directly but a PDF file can be generated using a different approach.To create a PDF file from a document use the following steps:1. Create your document in MS Word OR using Google Docs2. Upload the file to Google Docs (this step not required if created in Google Docs).3. In the Google Docs Main screen, select the file (click on checkbox) and click ’Save as PDF' under th...
Most of our users are using Google Talk. Before they started using Google Apps they had a Google account and were using Google Talk. Now after starting on Google Apps they have two Google Talk accounts and switching between two is making life difficult.By following this hack you can have two simultaneous logins in Google Talk from one machine / PC. Or may be you have more than two if you want to operate Google Talk with multiple Gmail identities. If you have many Google Gmail accounts you also may want to run as many multiple instances of Google Talk. So there is no need to sign out and sign in. Use the following steps: You can use a Google switch /nomutex, to run Google Talk in multiple mode. Using this switch Goo...
One of the fastest and easy way to create a document using Google docs is to use templates/ Google has over 300 templates - business documents, spreadsheets, and presentations - ready for use. You want an invoice, want to write a resume or a business letter - you have all templates available here and that too freeThe templates are a very good new resource by Google Apps. This is going to make life simple for those using Google Apps and sure increase tha adaptability of Google Apps among user community. Release for English language only at present but soon coming in other languages too.So now you have one more reason for dictching MS Office.Read more:https://documents.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=99064...
Now Google Apps domain administrators can map public sites hosted on Google Sites to their own domains. Sites can be mapped individually to a specific URL, like http://www.example.com, and as a group under a specific URL, like http://sites.example.com/[name of site].So in your company if you have a site each for HR, Marketing, etc you can now have URLs like:http://hr.example.comhttp://marketing.example.comand these URL will be diverted to site created using Google Sites. However to do this you will need admin access. So only your domains admin can set these URLs from admin control panel.Read more on Google blogGoogle Sites Blog: Google Sites on your d...
Google Apps' Gmail, which lets users filter emails based on certain criteria (all email from a certain address, or featuring given keywords, can be automatically archived, labeled, or deleted, for example), have now added a new option to its filtering system called Never Send it to Spam. Ticking this will ensure that an email with matching filter criteria will not b accidentally sorted into the spam folder....
SuccessFactors, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFSF), the global leader in on-demand performance and talent management solutions, today announced the delivery of five new capabilities integrated with the Google Apps(TM) suite of communication and collaboration products and other tools. The integration of SuccessFactors Performance and Talent Management suite with the products from Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) enables companies of any and all sizes to reap the benefits of cloud computing (no hardware or software to download, install or maintain), and extends SuccessFactors' mission to help companies better manage, motivate and engage their people to drive better business results.Google Integrations for Succes...
Update from Official Google Docs Blog:What do wedding planners, gas mileage calculators and photo albums have in common? They're all examples of templates available in the Google Docs Template Gallery that Sarah Beth Eisinger (Docs Templates engineer), Grant Dasher (intern), and I built and (happily!) released today. Read more...
In my earlier post I have written about how Google has recently release some new security features in Gmail. Here is one of the advantage of such feature:One of the greatest benefits of cloud based applications (like Google e-mail) is the advantage of being able to sign in from anywhere -- your PC at home, from laptop while traveling, PC at work, or a mobile device, and may be some times you even log in from a public area such as an internet kiosk or cybercafe.But what if you forget to log off from the gmail? In such scenario someone may see your active session - can not only can read your email, but they also can use your account to retrieve your passwords of not only gmail but all other services signed up using this account.Google's new feature release ha...
Here is what Google says about this:We are no longer accepting new sign-ups for Page Creator because we have shifted our focus to developing Google Sites, which offers many of the capabilities of Page Creator along with new features like site-level navigation, site-level headers, control over who can see and edit your site, and rich embeddings like calendars, videos, and Google docs. If you are currently a Page Creator user, you can continue to use Page Creator and your pages will automatically be transitioned to Google Sites later this year. We are committed to making this transition as smooth and easy as possible, and we will post more details as we get closer to the transition time. You can also manually move you...
Some of the addons seems to be having a conflict with Googleservices. I came across following during last few weeks:Skype addons was aborting the Google Start Page - "cannot connect with the server -- operation will be aborted."We have found that some addons installed along with IE. like one of the addon called - "Skype (Mastermind)" is the culprit and is known to create issues with IE (see following link in skype forum): http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=113145To avoid the issue disable this addon from you IE (Manage Addons option)....
Here is the latest word around:There are rumors of high treason at the court of King Microsoft as the New South Wales Department of Education has turned to Google for its email needs. Said to be the biggest single customer around, with over 1.3 million users under its 'control' the department has ended its 5 year contract with Microsoft and signed a three year deal which will see it use Google's Gmail. According to the agreement, before the end of the year Google will have set up email accounts for 1.3 million students and teaches and provide them with "a world-class package of services." Snatching the NSW Department of Education from Microsoft's was probably a tough job but represent...
How do I verify my site created using GoogleSites to Google WebmasterTools?You can verify your site via the meta tag verification in Google Webmaster tools. Follow the instructions (in webmaster tools) and paste the meta tag into the field labeled "Google Webmaster Tools verification" on Site settings -> Other stuff. Please note: your site must be marked as a public site in order for it to be verified.How do I submit my site created using Google Sites to Google Webmaster Tools?Once you have verified your site with Google Webmaster tools, Google Sites will auto-generate a sitemap x...
Yesterday Google has released some new features that will give you some more control over your site as well as enabling you to take advantage of our Webmaster Tools. Here are key improvements"(1) The first notable release is the ability to change the width of your sidebar and header, or turn them off entirely. You now have complete control over your site's width, including the width of the text boxes.(2) The second part of this release I would like to point out is the integration with Webmaster Tools. With Google Webmaster tools, it is easier to see how Google indexes your content and if you enable the integration, you can also auto-generate a sitemap to submit to Google.(3) Google has also made it easier to embed a doc and spreadsheet into
Cuil (pronounced [kuːl], "cool") is a search engine that organizes web pages by content and displays relatively long entries along with thumbnail pictures for many results. It claims to have a larger index than any other search engine, with about 120 billion web pages. It went live on July 28, 2008.Unlike other search engines Cuil's privacy policy states that it does not store records of users’ search activity or IP addresses.Cuil is managed and developed largely by former employees of Google: Anna Patterson, Russell Power and Louis Monier. The CEO and co-founder, Tom Costello, has worked for IBM and others. The company raised $33 million from venture capital firms.I tried searching few pages and liked few things...
Official GmailBlog: Making security easierGoogle has closed one of the big security risks associated with using its free hosted Gmail mail service. You can now select an option in your account preferences to make every session require an encrypted Web connection. Although this may make your Gmail slower as each time your mail connects to server and back it has encrypt and decrypt.https for loginGmail requires a secure connection for your login details, regardless of whether or not you start with the secure Gmail site address. However, when you start using the service, Google was taking you back to an unencrypted Web connection. The same was true when someone click on link form a different ...
Here a question from one of users"I no longer use Outlook and use only my gmail (Google Apps Mail). Is there an add-in or other means that I can open my gMail account when I want to send an eMail to someone on the web? In other words, the web page says: "click here to send a message to ...xxx" and when I click Outlook opens. I can see that MS would try to force me to use Outlook, or Outlook Express, but how can I change that to my gMail account?"Here is how to do this using Google TalkPost your comments about this post....
Jason Slator writes about using Google Apps in his technology blog. Here are few excerpts from posting:"To gain a level of integration we have to rely on the gadgets/widgets on the start page and, whilst usable, this is where this sort of technology shows its infancy as some widgets are better integrated than others and business widgets are mixed in and available together with the leisure and social widgets.""We still have to explore Google Web Pages, Sites and Chat but at the moment I can’t see much value in migrating to Google Mail as Exchange Server and Outlook are working well and OWA is our current preferred solution for offsite email access""The applications have the benefit of feeling familiar, if a little cluttered at times, but a little more int...
Creating a DashboardWhether you have a complex involving many members or simple project having handful of team members - a dashboard enhances the visibility and helps in tracking. In an addition to your project management tools small communication is the key to project success, particularly around sharing status and progress updates to keep everyone moving in sync through each milestone.Since Google spreadsheets are shared on the web and have rich formatting capabilities, they're the perfect tool to help coordinate fast-paced, ad-hoc projects. Here is how to create your own - simple but powerful project dashboard: * Start with creating a new Google spreadsheet and invite your project team to the document * Create four columns: Milestone, Owner, Statu...
GoogleSites now provides a simple way to track site usage, by integrating with Google Analytics. This is available to Standard, Premier, Education and Team Editions using Language US English (New features are first released to US English)Here is how to access this new feature:Sign in to Google SitesOpen the site which you want to trackClick 'Site Settings'Navigate to the settings page for 'Other stuff'Check the box for 'Statistics' and paste your Google Analytics account ID in the box, and click 'Save changes'.To get a Google Analytics account ID you'll need to sign in to your Google Analytics account with the site details....
Keeping up with its continuous development approach Google Apps mail has now added 8 new languages. This is available to Standard, Premier, Education and Partner EditionsNew LanguagesBengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil and TeluguGmail now supports following languagesArabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Oriya, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Th...
When reviewing your co-workers online documents, you can insert color-coded comments to differentiate from the rest of the text.How to insert color coded comments in a Google Document?Place your cursor where you'd like your comment to appear, and click the 'Insert' tab along the top of the page. Select the 'Comment' icon from the displayed toolbar and let the ideas flow.Using menu takes a lot of time. Is there are shortcut for inserting color-coded comments in a Google Document?You can also use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl-M, to insert a comment....
Boshak is a a unique tourist destination one and a half hours drive from Perth, Western Australia. Boshack has been featured on Getaway, and is a popular destination for travellers wanting to experience the Australian outback, see a working wheat/sheep farm, eat bush tucker, see native Australian wildlife and learn about the Aboriginal dreamtime.Boshak has recently switched to Google Apps for their email, documents, calendering needs and are very happy with the experience. Following are excerpts from their experience published in http://om4.com.au a leading online marketing portal for business.Link: http://om4.com.au/moving-email-google-apps/ChallengeMultiple email ids - difficult to manageWanted to collrobate while work...
Looks like adding new features is a way of life at Google. Just seen a flashing message on one of help pages now again they have released some new features. It is really amazing the ease by which they are able to add new features. Just compare this to a PC based application like outlook - you will keep installing packs and not everyone will do. With Google apps everyone is upgraded and they (users) need not make a single click.Here are new features: Help menu in document toolbarHelp is really closer now. Google has added a Help menu just to the right of the document Tools menu. Check out especially the "Learn from other Google users" option, which takes you straight to the Google Docs Help Group. Choosing the s...
Yesterday we have introduced you to the book Google Apps Hacks! Here is summary again for those who missed and also at the end web address of a site offering download link.Can Google applications really become an alternative to the venerable Microsoft Office suite? Conventional wisdom may say no, but practical wisdom says otherwise. Right now, 100,000 small businesses are currently running trials of Google office applications. So are large corporations such as General Electric and Proctor & Gamble. Google Apps Hacks gets you in on the action with several ingenious ways to push Google's web, mobile, and desktop apps to the limit. The scores of clever hacks and workarounds in this book help you get more than the obvious out of a whole host of Google's we...
Gmail – The fastest way to use Gmail on your BlackBerry is with the installable Gmail application. To download and install Gmail for free, visit m.google.com/a from your BlackBerry web browser. Then, launch the application with the blue "M" icon () from your BlackBerry home screen or from the applications folder. If you also have a personal @gmail.com account, there's a separate free application (with a red "M" icon) so you can be signed in to both accounts at the same time. Google Talk – There's a handy Google Talk application that lets you see who's online and instant message with contacts from your BlackBerry. To download and install Google Talk for free, visit www.blackberry.com/GoogleTalk from you...
TITLE : Google Apps HacksAUTHOR : Philipp LenssenPUBLISHER : Make BooksISBN : 059651588XPUB DATE : 2008-04-16Can Google applications really become an alternative to the venerable Microsoft Office suite? Conventional wisdom may say no, but practical wisdom says otherwise. Right now, 100,000 small businesses are currently running trials of Google office applications. So are large corporations such as General Electric and Proctor & Gamble. Google Apps Hacks gets you in on the action with several ingenious ways to push Google's web, mobile, and desktop apps to the limit.The scores of clever hacks and workarounds in this book help you get more than the obvious out of a whole host of Google’s web-based applications for word ...
Most of the critics of Google Apps argue about the off line access. Google has recently added off line access to a variety of its services — Google Reader and some of Google Apps (e.g. docs) are available offline using Google Gears. Many ask - "But what about Help files?"Google’s documentation is one of the best documentation available. Most of the company’s services have help centers with feature overviews, tutorials and problem solving guides. But of course you need to be online to access that wealth of information. You can now download the help files and read them offline. As it turns out it's pretty easy to grab Google's documentation and keep a local copy. It is easy to append...
Sometime back while surfing net I came across this posting giving step by step instructions to Add two-factor authentication to Google Apps for your Domain using Source">open source software. The two factor authentication is important as most of us travel these days and increasingly use public Wifi networks - exposing ourselves to middle of work attack. Google has provided paid options for two factor authentication. To ead my earlier post on this topic - click hereNow you can use open source software Gheimdall and two-factor authentication from WiKID. The step by step instructions are provided at howtoforge website - click ...
Now you can keep your BlackBerry up to date with Google's ever increasing mobile product suite. It is very easy and simple! Just go to mobile.google.com in your BlackBerry browser, click "Download all" to get Google Mobile Updater and then select the products you want on the menu of your BlackBerry...You can also get the applications stack (the bunch of applications - as Google wants to call it) through your PC by surfing to the mobile site:http://www.google.com/mobile/updater/stp-js.htmlnow enter your phone number. An SMS text with download instructions will then be sent to your device.Once you've downloaded the Mobile Updater, you will have the option to install all or some of Google's available mobile services. These includeFaster Web Search: In under a...
Google is fast - shortly after the offline version of Google Docs (through Google Gears) they have continued with their fast development cycle and have launched some of the really good new features:More sharing options in Docs listNow you can both add and remove people's access and set advanced permissions from the Docs list (not implemented for spreadsheets). Check at Share tab in any documentPresentation speaker notesYou can now add speaker notes to your slides. These notes will be visible to you and your viewers in presentation mode or when you print your slides. To include speaker notes, click the View Speaker Notes button at the bottom-right of a presentation while editing. This will bring the Speaker notes, wh...
Learning from the trend now Microsoft is seriously considering offering its MS Office application online like Google Apps a Cloud Computing application. Industry sources point out that Microsoft conducting tests for technology which will enable Web hosting service providers to offer the Office suite via an emerging technology called application streaming. Such a development means that Microsoft, with the huge data centers, will also start to stream Office directly to its customers as well. Microsoft is already beta-testing a low-end Office bundle, code-named Albany, that it will offer on a subscription basis. Microsoft's cloud computing concept Live Mesh platform - is whereby all of our data and applications are stor...
Now you can work on your documents off line when you do not have an internet connections. So you can work on your document while you are waiting at reception or traveling to California.For offline access - Google Docs is using Google Gears, another open source technology (technically a browser extension) that enables web applications to run offline. So even when you aren't connected to the Internet, Google Docs will use information stored on your computer's hard drive rather than relying on information sent across the network. When you're offline, your edits are stored on your own computer and when you re-connect, your changes are going to be synchronized Google Docs' servers and made available to collaborators.How to...
Esna Technologies is now offering Unified communications for google Applications - Mobility, Presence, Messaging and Google applications all integrated to your mobile device and office phone system.The Telephony Office-LinX UC gateway for GOOGLE ties the Gmail hosted services to the enterprise telephony infrastructure. Users can link their office desk phone and mobile phone into GOOGLE applications.When a user receives an urgent email or voice mail, the UC gateway for GOOGLE will turn on their telephone message waiting light. Users can use any telephone to login to their GOOGLE applications with speech and access, manage and respond to all their email, voice mail and fax messages. Office w...
Salesforce.com, the market and technology leader in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Google on April, 14th announced their global strategic alliance to make it easy for companies of all sizes to run their business in the cloud with Salesforce for Google Apps. Salesforce for Google Apps is a simple, yet powerful combination of essential applications for business productivity (email, calendaring, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, instant messaging) and CRM (sales, marketing, service and support, partners) that enables an entirely new way for business professionals to communicate, collaborate, and work together in real time over the Web. Salesforce for Google Apps offers a complete way for businesses to harness the power...
Panorama Pivot Table for Google Spreadsheets in Google Apps (a Gadget provided by Panorama) is an interactive table that automatically extracts, organizes, and summarizes your data.You can use this report to analyze the data, make comparisons, detect patterns and relationships, and discover trends. In just a few steps any users can find answers such as the best selling region, and best selling product or analyze results of an academic research. Interact with the data and look at it in various ways in a simple drag and drop environment.Check an online tutorial on how to use Panorama Pivot in your Google Apps Spreadsheethttp://www.panorama.com/google/pivot-table/tutorial/Let us know how useful this feature is for you? Leav...
Official Gmail Blog: Newest Gmail features now available for Google Apps usersThe latest features are first launched in Gmail followed by in Google Apps mail. Some of latest Gmail features available now to the Google Apps users. Now you can:(1) Chat in a group from within mail in Google Apps: To start a group chat, click "Group chat" from the "Options" menu when chatting. Enter the names of the people you want to add, and, bingo, you're in your very own chat room. All the familiar features such as chat archiving and taking the chat off the record still work as well.(2) Improvements in contact Manager: I am not yet happy with the improvements - we need more in this contact manager.(3) colored...
Notifications:When working in collaboration with others now you can set notifications if others users who have access to same spreadsheet (of Google Apps), made any revisions. Cool! No need to look at document again and again – just set the notification.To set notification just click on a new link enables by Google at the top bar called Set Notification RulesGadgets:Now the power feature (of Google Apps spreadsheet) for doing stuff like - map your spreadsheet data? Pivot around it? Plot it on a fancy chart? Now you can create any visualization you want by choosing from Googles library of gadgets. At present some 20 Gadgets are available and Google has give API for developers to create more Gadgets - so in no time you will see loads og Gadgets there (like...
Was going though a Study">case study published in Computerworld (http://computerworld.co.nz) detailing the experience of a company De Bertoli Wines of using Google Apps in a corporate setup. Here is my take away: Company: De Bertoli WinesLocation: AustraliaSize: 570 employeesPilot Started: in mid of year 2007 with 10 usersRamp up: in September 2007 when entire quality department started using apps to collaborate internally and with staff at offshore packaging plantsPresent Status: Trial expanded to 130 core users Positive Pleased with Google Apps’s collaboration features and version controlImpressed with its integrated calendaring capabilitiesNegativeInsufficient back-up on-site (off-si...
I keep getting many inquiries from prospective clients who are evaluating Google Apps to migrate from their existing mail systems. Here are some more common questions clients ask when evaluating Google Apps and my answers to them.What about managed public folders that have an email address? We have a number of folders with email addresses like "info@" and "support@" that only specified staff can access. We also like to set up rules on those public folders so some emails are forwarded to staff.There are email lists where in mail are forwarded to one or many users. No such option as Public folders.For public folders there can be a workaround. Create separate ids for each public folders. Also create an email list adding users who have to access this public fo...
According to a post by MG Siegler Google Apps is soon launching an off line version of calendar. To read his article click here.Already launched the synchronization facility with MS Outlook recently - the off line feature may completely eliminate the need of an Outlook Calendar. Lets wait for this feature to be released and see what is in store there....
