Among its many amazing applications, Google now has web-based alternatives to many of the applications in Microsoft Office. This comprehensive and easy-to-follow new book enables you to explore Google's new office applications in detail. Once you do, you'll be in good company -- more than 100,000 small businesses and some corporations are already looking to take advantage of these free Google offerings. Google Apps: The Missing Manual teaches you how to use three relatively new applications from Google: "Docs and Spreadsheets", which provide many of the same core tools that you find in Word and Excel; and Google Calendar and Gmail, the applications that offer an alternative to Outlook. This book demonstrates how these applications together can ease your ability to collaborate with others, and allow you access to your documents, mail and appointments from any computer at any location. Of course, as remarkable as these applications are, Google's office suite is definitely a work-in-progress. Navigating what you can and can't do and -- more importantly -- understanding how to do it isn't always easy. And good luck finding enough help online. Google Apps: The Missing Manual is the one book you need to get the most out of this increasingly useful part of the Google empire. This book:

• Explains how to create, save and share each of Google's web-based office applications

• Offers separate sections for Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, and Gmail

• Demonstrates how to use these applications in conjunction with one another

• Gives you crystal-clear and jargon-free explanations that will satisfy users of all technical levels

Many of you already use Gmail, but do you know its full potential? Do you know how you can increase its power by using Gmail with Doc and Spreadsheets and Google Calendar? You'll find out with Google Apps: The Missing Manual. You'll also come to understand why large corporations such as General Electric and Proctor & Gamble are taking a long, hard look at these applications.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 8 Ratings

Another Gem from Missing Manuals.... - 2009-02-05
Reviewer Rating:
Of course, Google Apps are not packaged in shrink-wrap, but this title is another one of David Pogue's Missing Manuals. It's a title you just have to have to get the maximum use out of Google's new online Apps. Of course, if you're not into it yet - you don't need the title.

But once you discover that you don't need to pay Microsoft hundreds of dollars for something that's free online, you'll be happy if you take a look at this title. You'll get the most from Apps.

Good guide to complete feature set - 2009-02-13
Reviewer Rating:
This is a good overview of a number of useful free web-based applications put out by Google. It is especially helpful for alerting you to some non-obvious features of the apps. Google Apps are an exciting development not only because they are a free way to perform most common computer tasks, but because they permit a high degree of collaborative work. They are also pleasing to those of us who prize simplicity in computing (I like the phrase "hyperlink carnival" used on p. 411 to describe the typical dotcom home page, contrasted to Google's simplicity).

A book about Google Apps is bound to be awkward, because they are not a single subject and are aimed at several different audiences. In general this book assumes the reader is already familiar with the type of application being discussed, and just needs to learn how to use the Google version. In particular the presentation focuses on individual features and doesn't say much about workflow. For example, although Google's spreadsheets are simple, and well-described here, I don't believe anyone who was unfamiliar with spreadsheets would be able to figure out how to use Google Doc Spreadsheets from this book.

The section on Google Docs (word processing, spreadsheet, slideshows) goes fairly quickly through the available editing functions. It goes into more detail on the collaboration functions (since documents are stored on the web, you can collaborate with anyone else who can get on Google), version history, and reconciling online and offline edits. This section of the book works well.

The section on Communications (email, talk, calendar) really does start at the beginning and assumes you've never done this before. This also works well, although it is a little overwhelming for Gmail because there are so many features.

The web design section is confusing, not least because it combines two very dissimilar apps without telling you what they are for, or what the difference is. iGoogle, which has a very complex discussion, merely creates a custom start page. Page Creator, although it does create pages, is in fact a complete web publishing system, but you don't find this out until late in the chapter (Google lets you have a limited amount of web space and bandwidth for free on googlepages.com). These two chapters are basically OK, but they need more extensive introductions to orient the reader.

The last section deals with Google Apps for organizations. Google offers an enterprise-level version of the same apps discussed earlier in the book. These are basically the same as the individual versions, but they provide a way to control the sharing and customization for the whole enterprise. This section of the book deals with the system administrator's job in managing all this. The book admits on p. 482 that the remainder of the book is "aimed at techie types". It assumes the reader is already administering the enterprise's computers, and describes all the admin steps for Google apps. These chapters look plausible to me, but I don't know enough about that kind of operation to evaluate them in depth.

Learn how to create a Wiki website with this outstanding guide - 2008-11-10
Reviewer Rating:
Nancy Conner's GOOGLE APPS: THE MISSING MANUAL offers a free alternative to Microsoft Office, covering all of Google Apps' downloadable files, step-by-step coverage of Gmail, Docs, and Calendar, and tips on producing in Google anything you can do with Office: spreadsheets, slideshows, and word processing. Move the files back and forth between Google Apps and Office and learn how to create a Wiki website with this outstanding guide.

Google Apps users must have book! - 2008-12-21
Reviewer Rating:
If you use any Google Applications this is the book for you. I liked it so much that I had to get another one and give it away as a gift. While Google applications are always changing this book gives you 90 % of what you need and it even covers information that I didn't know. It's well worth the price and is the only book out there that tells it all. for example, I didn't realize that if you register a domain name with google that you can switch it over to GoDaddy.com since that's who actually registers the domain name for them. It tells you that and how to transfer evertything properly. No more printing out of help text to find out how to do things.

The Missing Manual - 2009-06-29
Reviewer Rating:
The Missing Manual by Nancy Conner is a beautifully presented and well illustrated manual about Google Apps. I was most pleasantly pleased by the completeness and breadth of the book.

Browse Similar Topics

Top Level Categories:
Desktop Applications
Internet/Online

Sub-Categories:
Desktop Applications > Browser
Internet/Online > Searching
Internet/Online > Web Services
Internet/Online > World Wide Web