Linking to a Google Doc From Blogger

If you make a file in Google Docs and Spreadsheets, this is how to link to it from Blogger If you've created one document and saved it already, locate the url (web address) in the window above on your screen and copy it. Use the right-click button on your mouse and then the Copy on the small menu so that you don't make a typo. Then go back into the post or sidebar where you intend to keep the link and produce this: <a href="http:...documentLink">DocumentName</a> Paste the url that you already Copied into the above code, replacing everything between the quotation marks with the url. Keep the quotation marks, of course. The "DocumentName" is whatever name you choose to call it, whether a title or description. If you can succeed with one link, you can make a list of them, maybe using the ul or ol list or create a LinkList type Gadget. Neither one is very hard, though anything can be intimidating the first time you try (remember bicycles?). Unordered & Ordered Lists

Adding Pages

Adding Pages, MS Word Documents, Spreadsheets Some people want to add pages other than just another post, maybe something with a document or spreadsheet look. They should check out:

Google Docs and Spreadsheets
Google Sites

I only used Google Docs for implementing MS Word documents, so I have limited experience. Google Docs worked very well for me, much better than merely trying to put a Word document into the Blogger Editor—and, of course, you can't "attach" a document as you can in emails! If you can create or paste your file in Google Docs, you can of course create a link to it from your blog or elsewhere. Other programs said to be useful in this situation are: Windows Live Writer and SCRIBD

Strange Symbols

Clean MS Word Gobbledegook!

Word has formatted lettering. In short it introduces some gobblydegook and symbols that will screw up templates and sometimes posts. I use two methods, usually separately, to "clean them up".

1. I write often in Word, but I "clean" it (remove formatting) by copying and pasting into Notepad (plain-text editor), then copying that again before pasting it into the Blogger editor.

OR

2. I copy and paste the Word doc into Google Docs And Spreadsheets, then copy and paste that into the Blogger Editor. Sometimes this works when the other will not.

You CAN sometimes get away with using Word and it'll be okay. But then it will trip and stumble and screw up your blog when you're not looking! Apostrophes, quotation marks, or other symbols will appear and create havoc, and question marks will replace hyphens! I've found that the quotation marks in Word will screw up a link code (an anchor formula) because the machine is seeing it differently than you and I do!

Though Word is very good in its own arena, it's not worth being careless about pasting it directly into Blogger!

See also this post: Adding Pages.

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