Google Docs Tutorials - Part 16 - Printing Documents
Learn how to print documents using Google Docs. Now that you have a relatively complete document, you may want to print a hard copy. There are a couple of ways that you can accomplish this, assuming you have a printer connected to your computer.
The easiest way to pring in Google Docs, is to use the Print button on the toolbar menu, as seen to the right. You may also note the keyboard shortcut of Ctrl+P as an option. When you click on the Print button, Google Docs’ response will vary depending on the type of computer and/or the type of browser you are using. On a MAC, for example, Google Docs will load your document in the Safari browser. The Safari Print button will bring up a print menu that lists your available printer. You can make any adjustments, if needed, and print as you normally would from this screen. Another available option is to print from your computer’s file menu.
If you are on a Windows-based computer, using the Print button on the Google Docs toolbar will cause your document to load in Adobe Reader. From this screen, you can take a look at a preview of your document, make sure that everything looks okay, and then you can actually print using the File menu and Print, or the Print button on the Adobe Reader toolbar.
As previously mentioned, there is another way to access the printing tool in Google Docs (as seen to the right). With your document open, open the File menu, and then you will see the option for Print… This will load your document as a PDF file in your browser if you are on a Mac (as shown below) or in Adobe Reader if you are on a PC.
There is another option in the File menu, which you may want to use, called Print settings…. When you select Print settings…, you will see a dialog box, shown below, with a few options you can change before you print your document.
You can set the document’s orientation as either Portrait, for a document that is longer from top to bottom, or Landscape, for a document that is longer from side-to-side. You can add page numbers to your document, by checking Include page numbers. Page numbers can be set to appear on the top left, top center, top right, bottom left, bottom center, or bottom right (as seen here).
You can also choose to Include comments, which would print out any comments that you have added to your document previously. If you use footnotes in your document, you could choose to Include footnotes, but these will be discussed later in this manual. You can also choose the paper size here: letter, legal, or A4. Finally, you can change your document’s margins, which are currently set at one inch all the way around.
Once you are satisfied with your document print settings, you can either click the OK, Cancel, or Print buttons. If you choose OK, the print settings will take effect and you will return to your document view. You would then proceed to print using the Print button on your toolbar as described previously. The Cancel button is useful if you change your mind about the modified print settings. Cancel will return the settings to default, and return you to your document view. Finally, you can actually print the document from this window by clicking the Print button. This button will work like the previous Print button discussed, and will take you to the Safari browser window, on a MAC, or Adobe Reader, on a windows-based computer.
You are now familiar with the basics of printing a document from Google Docs.
