Even regular Google Workspace users can overlook the time-saving brilliance of templates. This under-appreciated tool is a powerful efficiency hack that makes regularly used content such as order forms, agendas, and client letters easier to create. It’s available across all Workspace apps too - allowing you to use and customize templates in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms and Sites.
How to use Google templates
Getting started with templates is easy. Open up your chosen application (Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides), and you’ll see a library of various templates under the ‘Template gallery’ heading.
Select the one you want, and it will open up a new presentation or document that you can customize with your own text, images, colors, and more. In Slides, you can choose from:
- Prototyping Presentation
- Consulting Proposal
- Pitch
- Status Report
In Docs, available templates include:
- Project proposal
- Meeting notes
- Brochure
- Newsletter
These are just the highlighted options. Click the small arrow icon beside the Template gallery to view more - organized into the categories of Work, Personal, and Education for Slides and Work, Sales, Legal, Letters, Resume, and more in Docs.
Creating a template from a file
There are situations when you need a template that’s customized to your organization or for your clients - such as a presentation with your branding or a document with a client’s letterhead.
Google gives you the ability to create templates from your own files and save these in your template gallery for future use. If your organization has pre-made templates in their resources, you’ll be able to see them by navigating to your template gallery and clicking the tab labeled with your organization’s name.
If you’ve created a document or file that you want to convert to a template, you can do this with the following steps:
- Go to the template gallery and your organization’s tab
- Click the ‘submit template’ button
- Toggle on ‘Submit a copy of this file instead of the original’ and give your template a title
- Click ‘Select a presentation’, choose your file, click ‘Open’ and ‘Submit’
The template will be stored in your gallery. To navigate to it quickly, make sure that it’s readily available on the home screen by clicking into the Menu on the Docs or Sheets homepage. In Settings, you’ll see ‘Display recent templates on home screens’ - toggle this switch on to keep your most used templates at the top of the home page banner.
Google Workspace is packed with applications, tools, and features designed to streamline your processes, enhance productivity, and improve collaboration. Our Google Cloud certified consultants and technicians can help you navigate through the extensive Google ecosystem to ensure you’re getting the most from your Workspace office suite. We provide training, troubleshooting, and integration services for businesses of all sizes and industries. Talk to our team today to schedule a consultation and get started.
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