Google Docs is really a very user-friendly tool. It will definitely come in handy for both work and study. Its main advantage is that you can forget about the constant fear of losing something if you don’t save some part of the document, as happens in Microsoft Word. Google Docs automatically saves your documents in seconds after each change.

Google Docs also has many other useful features, one of which is the ability to create new templates for sending emails. This feature is definitely collaborative work on files. After all, to clarify any nuance now isn’t necessary to go to Gmail or messenger. Also, you can instantly preview an email you’ve written in Google Docs in Gmail. Well, let’s look more closely at how to draft an email to Gmail in Google Docs.

What are the advantages of using Google Docs?

Google Docs has replaced the usual programs like Word or Notepad for many users. It’s an online service that works from any device and requires no installation or activation – just your Google account. If you create a Google Doc, you’ll see that it’s very similar to a document created in Microsoft Word. Here, among other things, you can select font type and size, highlight text in color, align it, and insert various elements. If you know how to work in Word, using Google Docs won’t be difficult for you.

Google Docs also has a number of advantages. It’s free for all users. You don’t have to worry about data security because it’s all stored in the cloud. By the way, you can track changes in your Google Docs documents. You can open a document on any device, for example, you can write a report at home on your PC and then open it at work on your smartphone.

In addition, Google Docs offers some interesting features that can be used extensively in learning:

• Collaborative access.
  • You can give other users access to your document. In this case, the document can be read, commented on, or edited.
  • You can customize access levels and share your document on social networks.
  • Students can share when they are working together on a project, such as collecting materials for a report. You can ask a student to grant editable access to you if you want to do an ongoing assessment, that is, check the work before it’s completed to make recommendations for improvement.
• Commenting option.
  • When you work on a document, you can add comments to it. For example, indicate what you would like to add to the document in the future.
  • Commenting is also available for collaborative work, which means that you can comment on a document together with other users, as well as respond to their comments. When you reply to a comment, the user is notified by email.
  • Such commenting is very convenient for students working on a document together, and for the teacher, it’s a good way to provide feedback.
• Option to add various elements.
  • You can add items such as images, pictures, formulas, tables, links, and special characters to Google Docs.
  • You can upload an image from your PC, take a photo from a webcam, provide a link to an image, or find an image in your albums, or in your Google Drive. You can also search for images directly in Google, and the search will only show you images that you can use and modify commercially.

And of course, drafting an email to Gmail in Google Docs is an advantage.

Read Also:

• How to change margins on Google Docs
• How to do a hanging indent on Google Docs
• How to insert a checkbox in Google Docs

How to create an email draft in Google Docs

If you want to create an email draft in Google Docs, you have to follow these steps:

• First of all, open the Google Docs website and sign in to your Google account, if needed.
• Then, create a new document by clicking on the “Blank” page.

• After that, click on the “Insert” tab, open the “Building blocks” list and select the “Email draft” option.

• You can also type “@email” at the top of the document and select “Email draft” from the drop-down menu.

• Anyway, then you can add recipients in the “To” section.
• Next, enter your subject and email content.

• You can use different types of text features, for example, you can use strikethrough in Google Docs.
• Once you’ve done with the email, click on the blue Gmail logo in the upper left corner of the draft.

• Finally, the draft will open in Gmail, in a new pop-up. Now, you can click on the “Send” button and that’s it.

Once you have completed these steps, you will be able to create an email draft in Google Docs. It’s also important to keep in mind that the email will be sent from the account you’re connected to. For example, if you use Google Docs from a work account, the email will be sent from your work email account.

What are the most using hotkeys in Google Docs?

You use keyboard shortcuts to format and edit text faster and to make it easier to navigate a document. Most likely, you know the combinations “Copy” (“Ctrl + C”) and “Paste” (“Ctrl + V”). However, there are more than 140 of them in Google Docs. Here are the most popular ones:

• “Ctrl + A” – select all text.
• “Ctrl + F” – search through the document.
• “Ctrl + H” – find and replace.
• “Ctrl + B” – select the text in bold.
• “Ctrl + U”– underline the text.
• “Ctrl + I” – select the text in italics.
• “Ctrl + C” – insert or change the link.
• “Ctrl + Alt + number 1-6” – create a header style.
• “Ctrl + Shift + 7” – create a numbered list.
• “Ctrl + Shift + 8” – create a bulleted list.
• “Ctrl + /” – call the menu with hotkeys.

Moreover, you can also add hyperlinks to your Google Docs document.

What is a template gallery in Google Docs?

Google Docs has document templates for different tasks: prescription, report, and meeting plan. In the gallery, they’re divided into categories: resume, letters, personal, work, and education. There aren’t many templates, but if you need to quickly sketch a formal document and don’t want to reinvent the wheel, it’s convenient to take a template with styles and structure. Moreover, you can replace colors, fonts, and illustrations with your own.

If you regularly need to create documents with the same design and structure, you can create your own folder of templates and put copies of content plans, technical tasks, and checklists there.

Read Also:

• How to make two columns in Google Docs
• How to delete blank page in Google Docs – here’s what you should know
• How to add superscript and subscript in Google Docs

How does offline access work in Google Docs?

You can work offline in Google Docs. You can edit existing files and create new ones. And when you connect to the Internet, your changes will be synchronized.

• To activate the function, in Google Drive go to the settings – they’re hidden behind the gear icon.
• Under “General settings” you will see the column “Offline access”.
• Check the box and click the “Done” button.

In addition to all of the above, Google Docs, as well as all modern services have the ability to enable dark mode.

After all, Google Docs saves you from having to constantly send a bunch of files to colleagues and clients. You send a link or an invoice, and that’s it. If someone absolutely needs a Docx or PDF document, they can download it themselves.