How to use docs of a different type in Google Docs
Recently, Google started using a new Word-type document format for Google Docs. While this is good for most people, I find that it’s very constrained for certain types of documents that I work on – specifically, the show notes we use for the podcasts. I find that the Word-type format is very constrained whereas the old format is very open and free form.
Unfortunately, Google doesn’t allow you to switch formats on the fly. There’s a setting in your Document Settings->Editing screen that has a checkbox which determines if your new documents will be in the new version or the old version. I set mine to the new version, but I couldn’t figure out how to create a single document in the old version without unchecking that box, saving my settings, creating a new doc, and then checking that box again.
Creating a document that’s an opposite format from your default setting isn’t that hard, it just took a little digging to figure out how to do it. To start, you need a document of the format you want to use because you’re going to duplicate it. If you don’t have one, you’ll have to go through the trouble of checking/unchecking that document type checkbox, creating a document in the format you want, and then setting the checkbox back to what it was before.
Once you have your document, go to File->Make a Copy. Google Docs will ask you if you really want to create a new copy of the document. Click “OK”, and your document is duplicated with the word ” copy” appended to it. Now, simply remove all the text in it (Ctrl/Cmd-A, and then Delete), rename it to what you want, and save. Now you have a template document to use whenever you want, and all you have to do is duplicate the template document. You don’t have to fiddle with that silly checkbox anymore.
If Google allowed us to duplicate the file from the document list, it would be one less step, but until they do, you’ll have to open the template and do File->Make a Copy.
Category: How-Tos, Technology
