This page last modified: Oct 03 2007
title:Hints, tricks and suggestions for Google Docs spreadsheets and documents. keywords:tab,separated,csv,txt,import,columns description:A quick tutorial on Google Docs spreadsheets import and hits about documents. Table of contents ----------------- Importing tab separated text New window and two or more documents/spreadsheets Exporting presentations as HTML Importing tab separated text ---------------------------- When importing into a spreasheet, Google Docs (aka Docs) spreadsheets will automatically detect and import tab separated text (tab separated values) into a spreadsheet, but the file extension must be ".txt". If you use ".csv" then Docs expects true comma separated values. (Excel and some other spreadsheets are forgiving about putting tab separated text into so-called csv files.) (By the way, if you simply "upload" a .txt file, then Docs will assume that you wanted a document, not a spreadsheet. Create an empty spreadsheet first, then import.) You must be in a spreadsheet. Use the menu "File" -> "Import..." then Docs will open a new spreadsheet. I haven't experimented enough to find a method to "insert" a set of values into a spreadsheet from the File menu. Copy and paste works to insert values into spreadsheets. You can open a document that contains an HTML table, copy the table, and paste into a spreadsheet in another window. I guess that copying tab separated values from a document and pasting into a spreadsheet will work also. If you are using Postgres and need the hints on creating tab separated values or HTML see: http://defindit.com/readme_files/postgres_utilities.html New window and two or more documents/spreadsheets ------------------------------------------------- When creating a new doc or spreadsheet, Docs opens a new window. However, when uploading, Docs does not create a new window. If you need the main Docs file listing, open a new browser window, and enter the URL docs.google.com (the full URL is http://docs.google.com/ but you can enter the short version). Docs knows you are already logged in, and therefore takes the new window directly to your Docs file list. If you want to preview your document in a non-editing, new window you have to use a work around. Google doesn't have a feature for this. There are a couple of ways to view your document in a second window. Open your document to edit as normal. Right click the "Preview" link and "open in new window". You now have a second editing window. Do not edit in this window. Click the "Preview" link (a normal left click). This should open the document in a non-editing "View". Exporting presentations as HTML ------------------------------- Presentations do not have an "export as HTML" feature from inside the presentation. Instead, save and close. From the Docs file list, click the checkbox next to your presentation and from the "More actions" menu choose "Save as HTML (zipped)..." item. This will download a zip archive containing all necessary files and folders for your presentation. Move this zip to your web server, create a folder as necessary, and unzip. The first slide apparently has a file name which is the same as the title of your presentation. (This is unfortunate since the standard default name for home pages is index.html or home.html.)