豆知识 2009-11-08&11-14 Google小工具——Google Docs

 Home is where we keep the things we need. Whether it’s a lawn mower¹ or a coffee pot, it has a home in our lives. Of course our documents are no different. For years they lived on our computers. Each person has their own computer-based home for documents. When we need to share a document, we used to attach it to an email and send it to a friend's or a co-worker's computer home.

 

Here’s the problem. When you attach a document to an email, copies are created. Consider this, if you send an email attachment² to three people, the same document would exist in four different places. That’s a problem.

 

There’s a better way. And it means saying goodbye to messy email attachments³. This new kind of home isn't on your computer, it’s on the Internet. And that makes sharing and collaborating⁴ on documents much easier, and gives you full control of who can see and access your documents.

 

Here’s the basic idea. Instead of attaching a document to an email, let's switch it around and look at how we can attach an email address to a document.

 

Meet Sam. Sam is the editor of a neighborhood newsletter called The Oak Tree View. She works with local writers who’d like to publish articles in the newsletter. Sam loves her job but often feels frustrated⁵ when time is wasted managing all the articles.

 

It’s a familiar problem. Each month writers send her draft articles as email attachments. She reviews them and sends them back with comments. One article might create six different versions of the same file. Not to mention countless⁶ emails. Sam often feels buried by all the email attachments. She finds it hard to keep track of all the versions being sent to her from the writers. As the deadline looms⁷, frustration⁸ rises. Something has to give.

 

Sam decides to try something new: Google Docs. Here’s what happens. First, she visits the Google Docs page and creates a free Google account. She logs in, and because some articles are already written, she uploads the current drafts right from her computer. With a snap, Google Docs turns the offline articles into online versions. Now all she needs to do is invite the writers to collaborate⁹ on the documents.

 

Here’s how. She clicks “Share” and searches email addresses and clicks “Invite collaborators”. Google Docs sends the writers an email with a secure link directly to her document. One click and they can edit and save the document online. This means that when Julie edits the document, Sam sees the changes immediately. Since there is only one document, there is never confusion about updates or versions. It's all saved, along with the past versions on the website. For the first time, the articles all have a home. A single place for organizing and editing that is accessible from any computer with Internet access. Problem solved.

 

What’s really cool is this problem isn't just solved for documents, but also spreadsheets and presentations. All three can now have a secure home on the web that works exactly like Sam's documents.

 

Sam is relieved. Without having to deal with attachments, multiple versions and all that clutter¹⁰, she can be an editor instead of a document master. And for the next newsletter, not a single email attachment is sent and Sam beats the deadline by a week. Sharing documents made simple. And all for free.

 

Google Docs, rocks.

1 mower   

n.割草机

参考例句：

• We need a lawn mower to cut the grass.我们需要一台草坪修剪机来割草。
• Your big lawn mower is just the job for the high grass.割高草时正需要你的大割草机。

2 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

3 attachments   

n.（用电子邮件发送的）附件( attachment的名词复数 )；附着；连接；附属物

参考例句：

• The vacuum cleaner has four different attachments. 吸尘器有四个不同的附件。
• It's an electric drill with a range of different attachments. 这是一个带有各种配件的电钻。

4 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

5 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

9 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

10 clutter   

n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱

参考例句：

• The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
• We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。