OReilly google apps hacks apr 2008 ISBN 059651588x

GoogleAppsHacks
byPhilippLenssen
Publisher:O'Reilly
PubDate:April16,2008
PrintISBN-13:978-0-596-51588-1
Pages:374
TableofContents|Index

Overview
CanGoogleapplicationsreallybecomeanalternativetothe
venerableMicrosoftOfficesuite?Conventionalwisdommaysay
no,butpracticalwisdomsaysotherwise.Rightnow,100,000
smallbusinessesarecurrentlyrunningtrialsofGoogleoffice
applications.SoarelargecorporationssuchasGeneralElectric
andProctor&Gamble.GoogleAppsHacksgetsyouinonthe
actionwithseveralingeniouswaystopushGoogle'sweb,
mobile,anddesktopappstothelimit.Thescoresofclever
hacksandworkaroundsinthisbookhelpyougetmorethanthe
obviousoutofawholehostofGoogle'sweb-basedapplications
forwordprocessing,spreadsheets,PowerPoint-style
presentations,email,calendar,andmorebygivingyouwaysto
exploitthesuite'suniquenetworkfunctionality.Yougetplenty
ofwaystotinkerwith:
GoogleDocuments--Shareandeditdocumentswithothers
inrealtime,viewthemontherunwithGoogleDocsmobile
service,anduseGoogleNotebookforwebresearch

GoogleSpreadsheets--Addreal-timedatatospreadsheets,
andgeneratechartsandtablesyoucanembedinweb
pages

GooglePresentations--Viewthemonamobilephoneand
savethemasvideo

Gmail--Sendemailtoandfromamobilephone,adjust
Gmail'slayoutwithastylesheet,andalotmore

iGoogle--Createyourowngadgets,programa
screenscraper,addFlashgames,andmore

GoogleCalendar--Addwebcontentevents,public
calendars,andyourOutlookCalendartothisapplication

GoogleReader,GoogleMaps,GoogleEarth,andGoogle
SketchUp:thenew3Dmodelingsoftwaretool

Picasa,YouTube,andGoogleVideo--discovernewwaysto
customizeandusethesemediamanagementapps
Inaddition,GoogleAppsHacksoutlineswaysyoucancreatea
simplewebsitewithnothingbutGoogletools,includingPage
Creator,Blogger,GoogleAnalytics,andcontentfromother
Googleapps.Thisamazingcollectionjustmightconvinceyou
thatMicrosoftOfficeisnotthelastwordinbusiness
applications.Thepriceiscertainlyright.


GoogleAppsHacks
byPhilippLenssen
Publisher:O'Reilly
PubDate:April16,2008

PrintISBN-13:978-0-596-51588-1
Pages:374
TableofContents|Index

dedication
FOREWORD
PREFACE
MEETTHEGOOGLEDOCSFAMILY
Hack1.HowtoGetYourGoogleAccount
Hack2.CollaboratewithOthersThroughGoogleDocs
Hack3.MakeaDesktopIcontoCreateaNewDocument
Hack4.EmbedaDynamicChartintoaGoogleDocumentor
aWebPage
Hack5.ShareDocumentswithaGroup
Hack6.AutomaticallyOpenLocalFileswithGoogle
Hack7.GoogleDocsontheRun
Hack8.BackUpAllYourGoogleDocsFiles
Hack9.BeyondGoogle:CreateDocumentswithZoho,
EditGridandmore
THEGOOGLEDOCSFAMILY:GOOGLEDOCUMENTS
Hack10.LetOthersSubscribetoYourDocumentChanges
Hack11.BlogwithGoogleDocs
Hack12.InsertSpecialCharactersIntoYourDocuments
Hack13.SearchandReplaceTextUsingRegularExpressions
Hack14."GoogleDocsLight"forWebResearch:Google
Notebook
Hack15.ConvertaWordFileIntoaPDFwithGoogleDocs
Hack16.WriteaJavaScriptBookmarklettoTransmogrify

YourDocuments
Hack17.RemoveFormattingBeforePastingTextIntoa
Document
Hack18.PrettifyYourDocumentwithInlineStyles
THEGOOGLEDOCSFAMILY:GOOGLESPREADSHEETS
Hack19.AddLiveDatatoYourSpreadsheet
Hack20.PickaWinneratRandom
Hack21.EmbedYourSpreadsheetinaWebPage
Hack22.UseGoogleSpreadsheetsasaContent
ManagementSystem
Hack23.ShowElapsedTimeasDaysandHours
Hack24.:ShowtheWeekdayorMonthofaDate
Hack25.ShowtheDifferenceBetweenTwoDates
Hack26.AutomaticallyCompleteListsofRelatedItems
Hack27.ImportDatafromWebSites
Hack28.FormatCellsAccordingtoTheirValues
Hack29.ConvertCurrenciesWithinYourSpreadsheet
THEGOOGLEDOCSFAMILY:GOOGLEPRESENTATIONS
Hack30.AddaCustomPresentationTheme
Hack31.FindImagesforYourPresentation
Hack32.ShrinkYourPresentationforEasySharing
Hack33.UsePowerPointTemplates
Hack34.ViewYourPresentationonaMobilePhone
Hack35.MakeYourPresentationsEasytoRead
Hack36.EmbedaPresentationinYourWebPage
Hack37.DragandDropImagesfromOtherWebSites
Hack38.SaveYourPresentationsasVideo
BECOMEAGMAILPOWERUSER
Hack39.SendMailtoSeveralPeopleatOnce
Hack40.ImportContactsfromOtherEmailPrograms

Hack41.AdjustYourGmailLayout
Hack42.ChangetheAppearanceandBehaviorofGmail


Hack43.ReadGmailonYourMobilePhone
Hack44.OrganizeMessagesasTheyArrive
Hack45.GmailDrive,YourOnlineHardDrive
Hack46.KnowYourGmailKeyboardShortcuts
Hack47.MakeGmailBetter
Hack48.BackUpYourEmail
Hack49.AttachaGoogleDocsDocumenttoYourEmail
Hack50.ViewUnreadMessages
Hack51.InsertPseudographicalEmailSignatures
Hack52.ForwardMessagestoYourCellphone
Hack53.CreateSpareGmailAddresses
Hack54.SearchforaSpecificLanguage
Hack55.LinktoConversations,Searches,Labels,andMore
Hack56.BeyondGoogle:Yahoo!Mail,MSHotmail,andMore
CUSTOMIZEYOURGOOGLEHOMEPAGE
Hack57.AddGoogleToolstoiGoogle
Hack58.ChatfromiGoogle
Hack59.CreateYourOwniGoogleGadgetsQuickly
Hack60.ProgramYourOwniGoogleGadget
Hack61.CreateaniGoogleTheme
Hack62.AddGoogleNewstoiGoogle
Hack63.EmbedContentfromAnyWebSiteinaGadget
Hack64.AddAnyFlashGameasaGadget
Hack65.BeyondGoogle:Netvibes,Pageflakes,andMore
MANAGEYOUREVENTSWITHGOOGLECALENDAR
Hack66.AccessYourCalendarfromaMobilePhone

Hack67.SubscribetoPublicCalendars
Hack68.CreateaTo-DoListinGoogleCalendar
Hack69.ShareCalendars
Hack70.PutaCalendarXMLWidgetinYourBlog
Hack71.EmbedAllKindsofContentinCalendarEvents


Hack72.StyleYourCalendar
Hack73.QuicklyAddEventsfromAnywhere
Hack74.KnowtheWeather
Hack75.BeyondGoogle:Yahoo!CalendarandOthers
KEEPUPONNEWSWITHGOOGLEREADER
Hack76.UseGoogleReaderOffline
Hack77.SubscribetoGoogle'sFeeds
Hack78.TakeYourOldSubscriptionswithYou
Hack79.GetAlertsforNewBlogPosts
Hack80.ShareaPostwithaSingleShortcut
Hack81.UseGoogleReader'sMobileVersion
Hack82.TrackWhatWikipediaSaysAboutYou
Hack83.TrackYourPackage
Hack84.CompareTwoPoststoSeetheChanges
Hack85.BeyondGoogle:Bloglines,Kinja,andOtherFeed
Readers
MANAGEYOURPHOTOSANDVIDEOSWITHPICASAAND
YOUTUBE
Hack86.TurnaPicasaPhotoFeedIntoaScreensaver
Hack87.LinktoaSpecificPositionWithinaGoogleVideo
Hack88.WatchVideosonYourCellphone
Hack89.OptimizeStreamingWhenEmbeddingMultiple
YouTubeVideos

Hack90.AddSubtitlestoaGoogleVideo
Hack91.DownloadaYouTubeorGoogleVideoFilmfor
OfflineConsumption
Hack92.GeotagYourPhotosandShareThemonGoogle
Maps
Hack93.ResizeandCustomizeEmbeddedVideos
Hack94.DisguiseYourPicasaIdentity
Hack95.DisplayMusicVideoLyrics
Hack96.BeyondGoogle:FromFlickrtoVimeoandBlip.tv
CREATEYOUROWNHOMEPAGE,BLOG,ORGROUP


Hack97.AddaGadgettoYourGooglePage(orBlog)
Hack98.BattleSpaminYourBlog
Hack99.AddaSearchEnginetoYourHomePage
Hack100.GetaTasteofBlogger'sExperimentalFeatures
Hack101.KeepaDiscussionThreadattheTopoftheGroup
Hack102.BlogTransparently
Hack103.HidetheBlogspotNavigationBar
Hack104.MonitoraThreadforNewPosts
Hack105.HidetheAdsinYourGoogleGroup
Hack106.TrackWhoLinkstoYourBlogPosts
Hack107.QuicklyShareYouTubeVideosonYourBlog
Hack108.GenerateTextImages
Hack109.BlogviaEmail
Hack110.OutsourceYourKnowledgeBaseHosting
Hack111.TestYourWebSiteinOtherBrowsers
Hack112.Geta(Google)Site
Hack113.TurnYourBlogIntoaBook
Hack114.BeyondGoogle:FromWordPressandFriendFeed

toYahoo'sGeoCities
DIVEINTOGOOGLEMAPS,GOOGLEEARTH,ANDSKETCHUP
3D
Hack115.DropaGoogleMapOntoYourSite
Hack116.AddaGadgettoGoogleMaps
Hack117.CreateYourOwnGoogleMapsLayer
Hack118.EnableAdvancedSketchUpTools
Hack119.LoadPlug-insIntoSketchUp
Hack120.ViewtheMoonandMoreonGoogleMaps
Hack121.CreateGoogleMapsOverlaysOntheFly
Hack122.AddaSkytoGoogleEarth
Hack123.AddYourBusinesstoGoogleMaps
Hack124.MakeYour3DModelMoreSketch-Like


Hack125.AvoidtheClashofContextMenus
Hack126.PlotGoogleCalendarEventsonaGoogleMap
Hack127.TurnGoogleEarthIntoaFlightSimulator
Hack128.BeyondGoogle:TheYahoo!MapsWebService,
LiveMaps,andMore
GOOGLEANALYTICSANDBEYOND:MARKETYOURSITE,
TRACKVISITORS
Hack129.CustomizeYourGoogleAnalyticsDashboard
Hack130.OptimizeYourSiteforSearchEngines
Hack131.TracktheTrafficofYouriGoogleGadgets
Hack132.CreateaFirefoxKeywordtoSkiptheAnalytics
LoginBox
Hack133.ExportYourAnalyticsTraffictoGoogle
Spreadsheets
Hack134.PromoteYourSiteUsingGoogleGadgets

Hack135.RollYourOwnAnalyticsAPIfora"MostPopular
Posts"Widget
Hack136.ConductaUserSurvey
Hack137.VisualizeTrafficwithDIYVectorGraphics
Hack138.TalktoYourVisitors
Hack139.ADifferentDisplayforGoogleAnalytics
Hack140.FollowtheOnlineDiscussion
Hack141.BeyondGoogle:Clicky,Mint,andOthers
CREDITS
Index


GOOGLEAPPSHACKS
byPhilippLenssen
Copyright©2008.Allrightsreserved.PrintedinU.S.A.
PublishedbyMake:Books,animprintofMakerMedia,adivision
ofO'ReillyMedia,Inc.
1005GravensteinHighwayNorth,Sebastopol,CA95472.
O'Reillybooksmaybepurchasedforeducational,business,or
salespromotionaluse.
Formoreinformation,contactourcorporate/institutionalsales
department:
800-998-9938or
PrintHistory
April2008
FirstEdition
Publisher:DaleDougherty
AssociatePublisher:DanWoods
Editor:BrianJepson
CreativeDirector:DanielCarter

Designer:AnneMellinger
ProductionManager:TerryBronson
CopyEditor:NancyKotary
Indexer:PattiSchiendelman
CoverPhotograph:DanielCarter
TheO'ReillylogoisaregisteredtrademarkofO'ReillyMedia,


Inc.TheHacksseriesdesignations,GoogleAppsHacks,and
relatedtradedressaretrademarksofO'ReillyMedia,Inc.The
trademarksofthirdpartiesusedinthisworkarethepropertyof
theirrespectiveowners.
ImportantMessagetoOurReaders:Whileeveryprecautionhas
beentakeninthepreparationofthisbook,thepublisherand
authorsassumenoresponsibilityforerrorsoromissions,orfor
damagesresultingfromtheuseoftheinformationcontained
herein.
Thetechnologiesdiscussedinthispublication,thelimitationson
thesetechnologiesthattechnologyandcontentownersseekto
impose,andthelawsactuallylimitingtheuseofthese
technologiesareconstantlychanging.Thus,someofthehacks
describedinthispublicationmaynotwork,maycause
unintendedharmtosystemsonwhichtheyareused,ormay
notbeconsistentwithapplicableuseragreements.Youruseof
thesehacksisatyourownrisk,andO'ReillyMedia,Inc.
disclaimsresponsibilityforanydamageorexpenseresulting
fromtheiruse.Inanyevent,youshouldtakecarethatyouruse
ofthesehacksdoesnotviolateanyapplicablelaws,including
copyrightlaws.
ISBN-10:0-596-51588-X

ISBN-13:978-0-596-51588-1


dedication
ToD.&C.


FOREWORD
Google.That'sthesearchplace,right?Notanymore.Today,
Googleislikeamegastoreofferingproductsandservicesofall
types.Sure,itstillhassearch—butitdoesn'tstopthere.Google
canbeyouroffice;youransweringservice;yoursecretary.It
canbringyouthenewseachday,reportonhowyourbusiness
isperforming,andprovideyouwithentertainmentwhenthe
dayisdone.Bestofall,virtuallyalloftheseservicesarefree—
andthat'sbeginningtodramaticallychangeourlives.
Iremembertheshockofhowexpensivemyfirstcomputerwas
whenIboughtitin1985—andhowshockturnedtohorrorasI
contemplatedthecostofsoftware.Asacollegestudent,I
couldn'taffordit.Iborrowedcopies,likesomanyothers.After
college,Istartedbuyingmyownsoftware.Butevenwitha
goodjob,itwasanexpensiveoutlaytoequipmyselfwitha
wordprocessorandaspreadsheet,aswellasanelectronic
organizer.Expensivedatabasesoftware?Forgetit.Butwithout
software,ourcomputersarelumpsofmetalandplastic.
Softwareiswhatletsusharnessacomputer'spowertodo
manythingsfaster,betterormorecreativelythanwithout
digitalhelp.
EnterGoogle.IfIwereincollegetoday,I'dnolongerneedto
borrowwordprocessingsoftware.Googlegivesittome,freeof

charge.Andspreadsheets.Andnotepads.Andacalendar,and
anemailaddressbook—nottomentionnearlyunlimitedstorage
ofmyactualemail.Heck,usingGoogle'sproductsandservices,
Icanstartabusinessonashoestringbudget.
Thebirthofthepersonalcomputerliberatedmillionsfromthe
"priesthood"ofprogrammersthatwatchedoverthebig
mainframesofthepast.PCs(IBMPCs,Windowsmachines,
Macs,andcomputersrunningotheroperatingsystems)let
ordinarypeopletapintoacomputer'spower.Buttheliberation
movementdidn'tendwiththePC.TheemergenceoftheWeb
letmillionssliparoundthegatekeepersofbigpublishersand


mediaoutlets.Anyonecouldspeakoutanddevelopastrong
voiceatlittletonocost.Liberationcontinuesaspartoftheweb
applicationmovement.Freewebapps—softwarerequiringno
painfulinstallationprocess—letmillionscreateinformationand
accessitfromanywhere.Qualitytoolsnolongerhavetobe
obtainedathighcost.Thepricebarrier,likethecomputer
priesthoodandthemediagatekeepers,hasbeensweptaside—
andmuchcreditgoestothechargethatGooglehasled.
Thegloriousrevolutionhasn'tproducedutopia,however.The
downsidetoGoogleofferingsomanyproductsinsuchashort
timeisthatyoumayfindthatthey'remissingfeaturesyou
want.Butbecauseasfreeappstheydon'tgeneraterevenue
throughaprocessofcontinualupgrades,itcantakealongtime
forfeaturestoappear.I'mstillwaitingforthefeaturethatlets
meseemorethan100emailsatonetimeinGmail—howhard
canitbe?
Enterthisbook.Ifthesoftware'snotdoingwhatitshould,hack

it!Findaworkaround,apatch,oranadd-on.PhilippLenssen
hasassembledanamazingnumberofwaystomakeGoogle
Appsdowhatyouwant—ortodothingsyoudidn'tknowyou
wantedthemtodountilheshowedyouhow.Inaddition,he
alsotakestheappsfurtherbycombiningthem.Google'smany
appsarealmostlikehavingaccesstoaweb-basedErectorSet.
Youcanlinkpiecesofappstogethertocreatenewandunusual
creations.
Vivatherevolution!Vivatherevolutionary'smanual!Get
hacking!
—DannySullivan,Chitterne,UK
DannySullivanistheeditorofthepopularnewssite
SearchEngineLand.comandorganizeroftheSMX:Search
MarketingExpoconferenceseries.He'sbeeninvolvedin
coveringsearchenginesdatingbacktothepre-Googleeraof
themid-1990s.


PREFACE
0.15seconds.That'sthetimeitjusttookGoogletoreturn100
searchresultsfromtheWebforarandomword.Google
searchesthroughbillionsofdocuments,andithasmassesof
peopleusingiteverysecond.
13minutes,48seconds.That'sthetimeitjusttookMicrosoft
Windowstoreturn100searchresultsonthisPCforthesame
randomword.MyWindowssearchesthroughthousandsof
documents,andithasonlyasingleusertoday(me).
Morethan13minutes'differenceisalongtime;ifyou're
workinginahurriedoffice,it'sthecrucialseparationbetween
"Yeah,itworks,"and"I'lljusttrytofindthedocumentmyself."

Whatseparatesthefirstprocessfromthesecond?It'snotonly
thenumberofsmartengineerscaringaboutsearchengine
technology.It'salsothefactthatwhenyou'reusingGoogle,
you'renotusingyourowncomputer,buttheearth'sbiggest
supercomputerinstead.Thissupercomputerisitselfmadeupof
tensorhundredsofthousandsofsmallercomputers,spreadall
overtheglobe;manyperhapsresemblingyourowncomputerin
power.Butconnectthem,andyouendupwiththeultimatetool
torunapplications.Search,itturnsout,isjustoneofthese
applications—andtheGoogleengineersrealizedthistoo,awhile
ago.

Hack.Google'sApps—aGoogleOffice,or
aGoogleOS?
Today,Googleisgrowingitsappssuitetowhatpeoplehave
startedtocallaGoogleOffice,orevenaGoogleOperating
System.Itactuallyhasfeaturesofboth.There'saplatform
callediGoogletorunyourownsmallprograms(whichinturn
arecalledgadgets).There'sawordprocessor(Google
documents)andakindofonlineExcel(GoogleSpreadsheets).
There'safilesystemexplorerthat'sfoundintheGoogleDocs


program.TheGoogleGearsprogramexpandsyourbrowserso
thatyoucanusewebapplicationsevenwhenyou'reoffline.
GoogleCalendarletsyoumanageyourevents.Gmailletsyou
manageyouremail.GoogleSketchUpletsyoucreate3D
scenery.Google'sYouTubehostsyourvideocollection.Google
Mapsshowsyouinformationmappedinspace,usingsatellite
imagery,drivingdirections,andevendetailedstreetview

photos.Andthere'smuchmoreinthisGoogleappssuite.
However,mostofthesearen'tdesktopapplicationsyouinstall:
they'rehostedonline.Thisapproachbringswithitsomepros
andcons.Ontheupside,notonlywon'tyouneedtoinstall
thesewebapplications;youdon'tneedtocareaboutgetting
thelatestsoftwarepatch,either.Also,asisthecasewithmost
ofGoogle'swebapps,they'refreetouse(asthey'repartlyadfinanced).Andtheseonlinetoolsareverycollaborativein
nature—insteadofeditingtheWordfileallonyourown,Google
Docsallowsyoutoeditalongwithothers,simultaneously.And
whenyou'refinishedcreatingadocument,youwon'tsaveit
locallytosendouttheattachment,butinsteadcansimplypoint
someonetotheURLofwhereyourdocumentishosted.
Therearesomedownsidestoo.Microsoft(amongotherswho
provideofficesuites),althoughnotaleaderinsearching,has
immenseexperienceindesktopapplications.Excel,PowerPoint,
Outlook,andothersarefeature-rich,andthankstothe
advanceddesktopmodel,theinterfacecansupportmanytricks
andnicetiesthatarestillhardtoemulateinthebrowser.
Googlecancertainlybeexpectedtoexpandtheirtoolsover
time.Buttoday,almostuniversallyacrossapplications,
MicrosoftOfficewinswhenitcomestothesheerquantityof
features.
Andthat'swherethisbookcomesin.There'salong
traditionincomputingthatwhenthere'samissingfeature,you
applyahacktomaketheprogramdowhatyouwant.Afterall,
software—thedesktopmodel,orthenewonlinemodel—is
supposedtodotheworkforyou,nottheotherwayround.


InGoogleAppsHacks,we'llbepresentingyouwithawidearray

ofhacksthatguideyouthroughgettingmoreoutofthisnew
applicationsuite.Fromeasierworkarounds(howdoIattacha
Googledocumenttoanemail?),tomoreadvancedtips(howdo
IskinmyGmailclient?),toprogrammingguides(howdoIuse
theimportXmlfunctioninmyspreadsheet?).We'llalso
introducethemoreexoticprogramsoftheGoogleappssuite,
likeGoogleNotebook,andprovideyouwithapproachestoapply
toyourprojects.Googleapps,itturnsout,havetheirown"13
minutes"problemseveryonceinawhile;hopefully,byusing
thesehacks,you'llbeabletoroutearoundsomeofthem.

Hack.HowtoUseThisBook
Youcanreadthisbookfromcovertocoverifyoulike,buteach
hackstandsonitsown,sofeelfreetobrowseandjumptothe
differentsectionsthatinterestyoumost.Ifthere'sa
prerequisitethatyouneedtoknowabout,across-referencewill
guideyoutotherighthack.

Hack.HowThisBookIsOrganized
Thisbookisintendedtobeacompendiumoftricksandtricks
forlifeintheageof(Google)webapps.Beyondthis,wehope
youwillgainabroaderunderstandingofhowthevariousparts
ofthe"Googleoffice"interconnect(indeed,althoughthegreat
varietyofGoogletoolsofferedallowsyoutotackletasksin
manydifferentways,thissamevarietycanalsobeconfusing).
GoogleAppsHacksisorganizedinto12chapters:
Chapter1,MeettheGoogleDocsFamily
GoogleDocsisthenamefortheGooglesuitethatincludes
document,spreadsheet,andpresentationediting.Inthis
chapter,youwillfindinformationrelatedtoallthreeof

them,aswellastheGoogleDocsexplorertoolingeneral.
Youlearnhowtomakethebestuseofdocumentsharing,
howtoconnectGoogleDocstoyourdesktop,howtodo


backups,andmore.

Chapter2,TheGoogleDocsFamily:GoogleDocuments
TheGoogledocumenteditoristheWordofwebapps.
FormerlynamedWritely,thisapplicationallowsyouto
createallkindsofdocuments,withafocusonsharingand
teameditingcapabilities.InChapter2youwillfindout
aboutthingslikereplacingtextusingregularexpressions,
fileconversions,andCascadingStyleSheetstoprettifyyour
document.

Chapter3,TheGoogleDocsFamily:GoogleSpreadsheets
GoogleSpreadsheetsisGoogle'sspreadsheetwebeditor.
Alongwithnumerousfunctionalitiesthatyoumayknow
fromdesktoptoolssuchasMicrosoftExcel,Google
Spreadsheetsalsoallowsyoutoconnectcellstolive
informationcontainedontheWeb,whichChapter3
discusses—amongmanyotherhacks.

Chapter4,TheGoogleDocsFamily:GooglePresentations
Thewebtoolthat'scode-named"Presently"isthenewkid
ontheblockofGoogleDocs.Whileit'saratherfresh
additionlackingfeaturesofmorepowerfultoolslike
PowerPoint,italreadyofferssomesolidbasefeatures.We'll
takealookintosomeofthebasefeatures,aswellas

advancedusesofthepresentationsapp.

Chapter5,BecomeaGmailPowerUser
GmailwasoriginallyreleasedonApril1,2004,causing
manypeopletobelievethatitsthen1GBofstoragemust


beajoke.Sincethatday,manypeoplehavestartedtouse
Gmailastheirmainemailapplication,andsomeofthese
usersalsobuilttheirownfunctionalityontopofGoogleMail
usingGreasemonkeyscripts.We'lldiscussthesescriptsas
wellasotherGmailhacks,likeuserstylesheetediting,in
depth.

Chapter6,CustomizeYourGoogleHomePage
TheiGooglevariantoftheGooglehomepageisabitofa
fridgedooronwhichyoucanstickallkindofmagnets:a
calendar,yourlatestmail,yourto-dolist,aphoto,or
somethingelseplainfun.InChapter6,you'llfindouthow
toprogramgadgetsandcreatethemusingwizards,aswell
ashowtocreatecustomthemes.We'llalsoshowmanyof
theinterestingavailablegadgets.

Chapter7,ManageYourEventswithGoogleCalendar
Thischapteroffershacksonsuchsubjectsascreatingatodolist,sharingandfindingofcalendars,takingthequick
addboxofGCalwithyou,andconnectingyourmobile
phonetoyourevents.

Chapter8,KeepUponNewswithGoogleReader
Ifyouhaven'tusedan"RSSreader"before(orifyouare

consideringswitchingfromyourcurrentone),youmight
wanttogiveGoogleReaderatry.Someoftheadvanced
usesandhacksareillustratedinChapter8.You'lllearn
aboutGoogleGears,whichaddsofflinecapabilitiesto
Reader,packagetrackingandWikipediaarticletracking,
alerts,andthemanylocationsatwhichGoogleoffersfeeds
fortheirtools.


Chapter9,ManageYourPhotosandVideoswithPicasaand
YouTube
Chapter9coversGoogle'sPicasaWebAlbums,GoogleownedYouTube,andGoogleVideo.Ifyouwanttofindout
moreabouthowtoaddyourpicsandvideostotheWeb,
youmightfindusefulhackslikelinkingtoaspecifictime
withinaGoogleVideo,addingsubtitlestoavideo,
displayingthelyricsforamusicvideo,"geotagging"your
photos,andmore.

Chapter10,CreateYourOwnHomePage,Blog,orGroup
Creatingandmaintainingyourownsiteisatopicthatcould
spanawholebook.Orperhapsawholebookshelf.In
Chapter10,we'vepickedsomeofthemostinterestinguse
casesforhackingGoogle'sBlogger,GoogleGroups,and
GooglePageCreator.YoualsogettoknowGoogleSites,the
formerJotSpot,whichallowsyoutosetupwiki-style
intranetorInternetdestinations.

Chapter11,DiveintoGoogleMaps,GoogleEarth,andSketchUp
3D
GoogleMapsanditsdesktopsiblingGoogleEarthsqueeze

theEarth—andtheuniverse,as
shows—intoyourbrowser.Thischapterdiscusseswaysto
embedaGooglemapontoyourownsite;tipsonusing
GoogleSketchUp3D,whichallowsyoutoaddmodelsto
GoogleEarth;programmaticallycreatingKeyholeMarkup
Languagelayersontopofmaps;andmore.

Chapter12,GoogleAnalyticsandBeyond:MarketYourSite,


TrackVisitors
What'sthebestpublicationwithoutvisitorstoseeit?Avery
lonelypublication,Iguess.Byanalyzingyourtrafficwith
GoogleAnalytics,youcanoptimizeyoursiteforyour
visitors,whetheryoubuiltatraditionalhomepage,a
weblog,oranythingelse.InChapter12,youwillfindout
howtotrackiGooglegadgettraffic,howtocustomizeyour
GoogleAnalyticsdashboard,howtoaddalivechattogetto
knowyourvisitorsbetter,andmore.
Foreverysetofapps,aBeyondGooglesectiongivesyoua
broadoverviewforsomeofthevaluabletoolsinthearea
offeredbytheGooglecompetition.

Hack.ConventionsUsedinThisBook
Thisbookusesthefollowingtypographicalconventions:

Italic
Usedtoindicatenewterms,URLs,filenames,file
extensions,directories,andfolders.

Constantwidth
Usedtoshowcodeexamples,verbatimsearchesand
commands,thecontentsoffiles,andtheoutputfrom
commands.
Payspecialattentiontonotessetapartfromthetextwiththe
followingicons:

NOTE
Thisiconindicatesatip,suggestion,orgeneralnote.It
containsusefulsupplementaryinformationoran


observationaboutthetopicathand.

Thisiconindicatesawarningornoteofcaution.

Theslidericons,foundnexttoeachhack,indicatetherelative
complexityofthehack:
Easy:
Intermediate:
Expert:

UsingCodeExamples
Thisbookisheretohelpyougetyourjobdone.Ingeneral,you
mayusethecodeinthisbookinyourprogramsand
documentation.Youdonotneedtocontactusforpermission
unlessyou'rereproducingasignificantportionofthecode.For
example,writingaprogramthatusesseveralchunksofcode
fromthisbookdoesnotrequirepermission.Sellingor
distributingaCDofexamplesfromO'Reillybooksdoesrequire

permission.Answeringaquestionbycitingthisbookand
quotingexamplecodedoesnotrequirepermission.
Incorporatingasignificantamountofexamplecodefromthis
bookintoyourproduct'sdocumentationdoesrequire
permission.
Weappreciate,butdonotrequire,attribution.Anattribution
usuallyincludesthetitle,author,publisher,andISBN.For
example:"GoogleAppsHacks,byPhilippLenssen.Copyright
2008O'ReillyMedia,Inc.,978-0-596-51588-1."
Ifyoufeelyouruseofcodeexamplesfallsoutsidefairuseor


thepermissiongivenhere,feelfreetocontactusat


Hack.Acknowledgments
ThankstoeveryoneatO'Reillywhohelpedmakethisbook
happen,includingBrianSawyer,whowasthereintheearliest
phase;DaleDougherty;NancyKotary,copyeditor;Terry
Bronson,productionmanager;PattiSchiendelman,indexer;
AnneMellinger,designer;andDanielCarter,coverdesigner.A
hattiptoTimO'Reilly.MybiggestthanksofallgoestoBrian
Jepsonforhisterrificandextensiveworkineditingthebook.
Brian'snotonlyanexpertwordsmith,butalsohasagreat
technicalunderstanding,andhemoldedthisbookintoatrue
O'Reillypublication.
ThankstoMottiStrom(MobileSoftwareEngineeratGoogle
UK),PiotrKonieczny(),AdamSah,
BryanBurkholder,andSiggiBecker(),who
allsenttipsforthebook.IonutAlex.ChitufromRomaniaalso

sentpointers,andhisblog()
continuestobeaterrificresourceforallkindsofGoogle-related
tipsandtricks.Fortheirhackcontributions,abigthanksto
TonyHirst,RetoMeier,andChrisRiley.Thankstomywifeand
familyforthesupport.
SpecialthankstoeveryoneatGoogleBlogoscopedfor
sharingnewsandtipsviaemailandintheforumorhelpingout
otherwise,including,butbyfarnotlimitedto,HaochiChen,
Search-Engines-Web.com,Ionut(again),BrinkeGuthrie,
TomHTML,Luka,PeterDawson,ColinColehour,DavidHetfield,
MathiasSchindler,JamesXuan,Hebbet,ManojNahar,JuhaMattiLaurio,TadeuszSzewczyk,Sohil,Mambo,Mrrix32,ArtOne,IanF,Stefan2904,RogerBrowne,MartinPorcheron,Niraj
Sanghvi,KirbyWitmer,Mysterius,SethFinkelstein,Alek
Komarnitsky,RohitSrivastwa,JosueR.,Orli,Beussery,Veky,
JohnMu,HongXiaowanaswellasallChinesetranslatorsof
GoogleBlogoscoped,Jared,KeithChan,andRamibotros(a


longerlistisat
Lastnot
least,thankstotheGoogleBlogoscopedco-editorTonyRuscoe
fromSheffield,UK.Whenotherstakeacoffeebreak,youcan
findhimdiggingaroundGooglesourcecodetofindnoteworthy
bitsandpieces.

Hack.We'dLiketoHearfromYou
Pleaseaddresscommentsandquestionsconcerningthisbookto
thepublisher:
O'ReillyMedia,Inc./MakerMedia,Inc.
1005GravensteinHighwayNorth
Sebastopol,CA95472

(800)998-9938(intheUnitedStatesorCanada)
(707)829-0515(internationalorlocal)
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thegrowingcommunityofresourcefulpeoplewhobelievethatif
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Magazine,CraftMagazine,MakerFaire,andtheHacksseriesof
books,MakerMediaencouragestheDo-It-Yourselfmentalityby
providingcreativeinspirationandinstruction.
FormoreinformationaboutMakerMedia,visitusonline:
MAKE:www.makezine.com
CRAFT:www.craftzine.com
MakerFaire:www.makerfaire.com
Hacks:www.hackszine.com


MEETTHEGOOGLEDOCSFAMILY
GoogleDocs()isthetitleof
Google'stext,spreadsheet,andpresentationeditor,
similarinstyletoMicrosoft'sWord,Excel,and
PowerPointprograms,butwithfewerfeatures,anda
strongerfocusoncollaboration.WithGoogleDocs,you
canwriteletters,recipes,tutorials,adiary,book
chapters—I'musingittowritethisbook—oranything
else.
Youcanalsocreatewebpages,thankstotheexportoptions

thatGoogleDocsprovides.GoogleSpreadsheets,ontheother
hand,allowsyoutoperformspreadsheetcalculations;youcan
keepanynumericortextualdataorganized—fromthepricesof
itemsinyourantiquecollectiontotheageandaddressofyour
employees,andsoon.GoogleSpreadsheetsprovidesyouwith
avarietyofformulastoperformcalculationswithina
spreadsheet.Youcanalsocreateneatvisualizationsusingthe
charttool.GooglePresentations,thelastofthetrio,isuseful
forcreatingpresentationslidesforonlineorofflineuse.
Tosignupforthisservice,asisthecasewithmostother
Googleservicesdescribedthroughoutthebook,youneeda
GoogleAccount.

Hack1.HowtoGetYourGoogleAccount
YoucancreateaGoogleAccountthroughmanyofGoogle's
services.Theeasiestwayistogotoand
clickthe"SignupforGmail"link.(Notethatifyoualreadyhave
Gmail,youalsoalreadyhaveaGoogleAccount.)Duringthe
sign-upprocess,youprovideyourfirstandlastnameandyour
preferredusername,alongwithotherinformation,asshownin
Figure1-1.OnceyouagreetotheTermsofServiceand
completethesign-upbyclickingthe"Iaccept"button,you'll
seeaCongratulationspage.NowyoucanlogintomostGoogle
servicesusingyouremail+password.


NOTE
Ifyouremailaddressisagmailaddress,suchas
"",it'senoughtoenterjust
"officehacks"(alongwithyourpassword)whenyou

wanttologintoyourGoogleAccount.
LogIntoGoogleDocs
NowyoucangotoandlogintoGoogle
Docs.Afteryoulogin,youwillseeyourfileexplorer,picturedin
Figure1-2.Ontheleftsideyoucanfinddifferentviewsofyour
items,andyoucanalsoseealistofpeopleyouhaveshared
youritemswith;ontherightside,youwillseeyourfiles,ifyou
haveany.
Tocreateanewdocument—"document"isGoogle'snamefora
wordprocessingfile—clicktheNewbuttoninthetopleftand
pickDocument.Anewbrowserwindowwiththedocument
editorappears,asshowninFigure1-3—nowyoucanstart
writing,insertingimages,creatingtables,andmore.Click
anywhereonthedocumenttitletochangeitsname,andthen
savethefile.Bydefault,unlessyousharethefilewithothers,
yourdocumentisprivate.Itis,however,storedonGoogle's
servers.(Itwouldalsobevisibletoanyonewho'sabletoguess
yourpassword,somakesurethatyouuseastrongpassword—
morethanjustasingleword,forinstance.)
CreatingaGoogleAccount