New templates in Google Slides (Presentations) and Sheets, too!

image from pixabay.com

Yesterday I posted about the new templates in Google Docs.  What I didn't mention is that they're also in Slides (the "Powerpoint" of Google Docs) and Sheets (spreadsheets).

There are templates for things like calendars and monthly budgets (in Sheets) and science projects (in Slides).

Check them out at:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/u/0/

and

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/

New templates in Google Docs

You may have noticed that Google Docs has brought back templates!  While precise formatting is not Google Docs' strong point, they keep improving and these templates are a good step along the way.

To see the templates, open Google Docs (not Google Drive) from your Student or Faculty & Staff login page or-- if you're already in Google-- as shown:

You will see the templates at the top.

If you are already in Google Docs (or in Drive), you can also create a new doc from a template as shown:

One thing I noticed while trying these out is that it helps to understand how styles work in a word processor.  Rather than simply re-sizing and changing the color of text, if you use the built-in styles for a theme, the elements of your document will match. For example, in this theme, all text formatted as Heading 1 will look like the word "INTRODUCTION," all Heading 3 will be teal-colored, etc.

As I've mentioned this before, you can insert of tables of contents in your docs (which can be really handy!)-- but only if you've used paragraph formatting.

I'd love to hear what people think of the templates.  Please comment below!

What happened to the Template Gallery in Google Drive?

I was just trying to create a document from something that I knew was in the Template gallery (it was a requisition).  It reminded me that Google has removed "From Template" as a choice when you click "Create."  Pretty annoying, but here are two work-arounds:

1. (The official way) When you actually open a Google Doc and click the File menu, you will now see the choice to create "From template" at the bottom.  If you are trying to upload to the Template Gallery, this same approach will get you there.
2. 
3. (The "this might be easier" way) If you've used the template before (say, filled out a Field Trip request or requisition), it may be easier to simply search for the doc you created earlier, make a copy of it and just change what needs changing.  

Here's hoping that Google will add the old functionality back soon!