How To: Circumvent, Remove The Maximum 2MB File Size Upload Limits In Google Docs

While working with other collaborators in our team on a certain web project, I recently learned that uploaded document files that are converted to Google documents format cannot be larger than 2MB. Google Docs seem to protest for any uploaded files/documents of more than 2MB in size, which I believe a big turn off for anyone who wants to get the job done fast.

Here's a sample failed upload prompt from Google Docs. It says "Sorry, this file is too big. We can only convert files up to 2 MB in size.":

Well, obviously there is this file size upload restrictions on Google Docs, and unfortunately there's not such a good web app similar to Google Docs that offers seamless, real-time collaboration at no cost.

Access, Manage All Files Stored Across Multiple Cloud Storage Accounts In One Place

So let's get our head back to Google.

Getting Rid Of Google Docs' 2MB Upload File Size Limits

If you ever found yourself in a complete need to upload large documents, spreadsheets to Google Docs but could not due to file size restrictions, you might find this simple workaround useful. (For more of our Google-related goodies, you can find them HERE).

Alright, here's the trick:

Rather than uploading your large files, spreadsheets and documents to Google Docs, send them all to your own Gmail account. As soon as you receive all the documents, save them to your Google Docs account. Yes, it's really that quick.

Cloud Save - The Quickest Way To Download, Backup Files Straight To The Cloud

Here are the basic steps:

Step 1 Send the document to your own Gmail account.

Step 2 Once received, click on "View". Gmail should launch Google Doc viewer in a separate tab/window.

Step 3 Now, hit that tiny "Save in Google Docs" button at the upper right corner of the viewer. Once done, you should see your newly-added file to your Google Docs collection.

It's quite surprising to note that it takes only Gmail to remove that file size upload restriction in Google Docs. So next time, if you encounter that same Google Docs prompt again, just follow that dead simple Google hacks. Enjoy!

Extensis Fonts Lets You Access, Use Google Fonts In Your Google Documents

Truth be told: Google Docs is one of the coolest word-editing software there is to get the job done like no other. Its collaborative editing and cloud-centric nature make it really a smart choice to make our digital lives a lot easier.

But despite its shiny reputation, Google Docs also has its surprising limitation: you won't be able to access and use thousands of sleek, custom fonts from Google Fonts collection. Yes, you read it right — Google hasn't pushed that feature yet to their Google Docs app which is being heavily relied by millions of users across the globe.

Filling this void is Extensis, a company specialising in font management software, who has launched Extensis Fonts.

Use custom Google Fonts in your Google Documents with Extensis Fonts (link)

3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You

Extensis Fonts is a free Google Docs add-on that lets you access and use Google Fonts in your Google Docs files. So if you feel too limited and dissatisfied with Google Docs' built-in fonts, you've got to check out Extensis Fonts.

Getting Started

Now, let's get the ball rolling. Follow this guide on how to use custom Google Fonts in your Google Documents:

Step 1 Open any Google Document, or create a new one.

Step 2 From the Add-ons menu, click Get Add-ons

Step 3 In the Search Add-ons box, enter “Extensis Fonts” (without quotes)

Step 4 Select the Extensis Fonts add-on from the list.

Step 5 Click the Free button in the upper right hand corner.

Step 6 Click Accept to install the add-on to your Google Docs account.

Step 7 To launch the Extensis Fonts add-on, navigate to the menu and hit Add-ons > Extensis Fonts > Start.

You're done.

Once Extensis Fonts add-on is added to your Google Document, a new Extensis Font panel will be accessible on the right. This is where you access the thousands of Google Fonts collection and apply it to your Google Docs or current text selection.

PRO TIP: You can get Extensis Fonts to display only the trending and the most popular Google fonts by sorting it out accordingly.

Get Notified When A Collaborator Made Some Changes On A Shared Google Spreadsheet

Final Verdict:

Extensis Fonts is one cool Google Docs add-on you cannot miss. You may not need it every day, but in case you want to give your Google Docs a facelift, then you should check out Extensis Fonts. It's FREE.

LINK: Extensis Fonts 

Access, Manage All Files Stored Across Multiple Cloud Accounts All At Once

At last, the file management tool we've been waiting for has finally arrived!

Everybody can now access all backup files stored across multiple cloud storage providers all at the same time. If you love how TweetDeck or HootSuite works for your social media accounts, you'll also love this new file management tool designed for the cloud!

Access, Manage Backup Files Stored In The Cloud All At Once With Otixo

Meet Otixo, a new breed of file management web service that offers a whole new level of convenience. Otixo gives you a consolidated view of all files stored in the cloud by allowing you to connect all your favorite cloud storage services such as DropBox, Google Docs, Box, MobileMe, among others. Otixo works by fetching all your files stored in the cloud, populate and list them altogether in a single interface. Otixo exactly does what TweetDeck or HootSuite does for social media accounts, but for files stored in the cloud!

Cloud Save: The Quickest Way To Download, Backup Files Straight To The Cloud 

With Otixo you can:

1. Search and find your files across many cloud-based services in one simple step.

Admit it: it's a pain to look for a particular file especially when all you can remember is that it was saved somewhere in the cloud and you can't seem to remember which cloud services it was saved. Finding a particular file is even awful lot harder especially if you're to deal with a large collection of files. Thankfully Otixo comes with a smart search function enabling you to search for a particular file, regardless of its virtual file location. Think of Otixo like Apple's Finder or Window's File Explorer, but for the cloud.

2. Move files from one service to another without downloading them first to your computer.

There are several occassions when I need to transfer files from my Google Docs to DropBox account. For example, I want to generate a direct HTTP link for my PSD file stored in Google Docs so I can edit it using PSD editor online. Google Docs unfortunately cannot provide me a public HTTP link (required by most online PSD editor) so I need to move the file to DropBox first and let DropBox generates a public HTTP link for me. Also, Google Docs can't seem to render images embedded in a document or spreadsheet so all I need to do is to generate a public link so I can fully open the file using free document and excel viewing tool online.

Learn How To Play, Stream All Music Files, MP3 Saved From Your DropBox

3. Access your many online services with a single username and password.

The real beauty of Otixo is that you get access to all your files saved across multiple cloud storage accounts. Just one-time login takes you to the neat and interactive interface of Otixo where you can quickly manage your backup files stored in DropBox, SugarSync, Google Docs, Picasa, Box, etc. Otixo is also available on mobile so people on-the-go can access and manage their files on the fly.

Otixo is one of the many great web applications that are hard to be missed. Sign up for your FREE otixo account here!

Open and View Online Documents of Any Format Directly On Your Browser without Downloading Them

To those who want to escape the hassle of downloading documents online and running multiple programs just to view them, well, then, here’s something sweet for you:

Docs Online Viewer is new and a FREE online document viewer add-on for the Mozilla Firefox that eliminates the need for you to download common day job files such as DOC, DOCX, XLS, PDF, CSV, etc. Powered by Google Docs API and Zoho Viewer, Docs Online Viewer is absolutely a time and computer resource saver.

Docs Online Viewer: Use Only Your Web Browser To Open/View DOCS, XLS, PDF, etc.

With Docs Online Viewer, you can view any document with relative ease and safety without having to download it first. This eases the burden of your computer in protecting itself from unwanted malware or tracking cookies, or worse, viruses. It also saves time from having to download something before being able to view it.

Doc Online Viewer also proves very useful for Linux users who do not have Windows Office. The Docs Online Viewer will open any document format such as DOC, DOCX, PDP, PPT, PDF, ODT, and more. 

Mozilla's Popcorn Maker Lets You Enhance, Recreate Existing Videos from YouTube, Vimeo

Opening documents on your Mozilla Firefox does not even involve installing any software in your computer. All you need to do to start is:

1 With your Firefox, download and install Docs Online Viewer HERE. Firefox may require you to restart your browser after installation.


2 Once installation is done and Firefox has been restarted, you should see a tiny "Eye" icon on the search results page when you search for any documents, whether using Yahoo, Google, or Bing.


3 Click on the "Eye" Icon and another window will appear. The document can then be viewed on this online window within the browser. You can view the pages in order, zoom, and use tab options like File, View, Help, or search for a particular word in a search box.

4 Suppose that you’re using other browser and you want to view some a doc file, just prefix your file URL with:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=file_full_URL

Example:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.xmlw.ie/aboutxml/wordsample2.doc

Some notable goodness of Docs Online Viewer:

• Cutting down viewing time of documents by avoiding downloading time consumption. 
• Documents are easily identified using the 
• Online Viewer Ease, simplicity, and convenience of use. 
• Honesty to being secure and risk-free. 
• Pages can be viewed in any order. 
• Safety, since documents are viewed on the browser. 
• You can download the original document should you opt to. 
• You can even edit and save a document online. 

Buttonizer Gives You Cleaner and Neater Viewing Area by Turning a Toolbar Into a Button (Firefox)

Supported File Formats: DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, PDF, PAGES, AI, PSD, TIFF, DXF, SVG, EPS, PS, TTF, XPS, ZIP, RAR, RTF, ODT, SXW, SSV, SXC, ODS, SXI, ODP, WPD

If you’re wondering how to open documents using only your browser (without using additional software), well, give Docs Online Viewer a shot!

3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You (Part 1)

There's no denying that we are all slowly becoming too dependent on Google apps. From a simple task of digging the world's information down to locating the nearby coffee shop, we always turn to Google and get the information we want in the blink of an eye.

One of the best web services that Google has ever made for everyone is the Google Docs suite. Its powerful, cloud-centric features along with its ever-improving mobile app makes it really a mature and capable platform.

Open and View Online Documents of Any Format Directly On Your Browser without Downloading Them

But just as every finest web app available in the wild, there are things that you might have missed & didn't realized you could do with Google Sheet app. And in this post, we are going to explore some of the lesser-known Google Sheet hacks and tricks to make your digital life a lot easier.

3 Clever Uses of Google Sheets You Might Not Know Yet (Part 1)

(1/3) Use Google Spreadsheet to monitor website downtime and uptime

If you have a blog or website, you know exactly how important web monitoring apps like Pingdom and Uptime Party can be. These are apps designed to monitor your website's uptime that should alert you in real-time when your site is down or inaccessible. These website monitoring apps work great, but they often come with a price.

In case you need a FREE Pingdom alternative, you can turn to Google Spreadsheet and use it as a website monitoring tool to track your site's downtime and uptime. As with premium apps like Pingdom, you get instant email or SMS notification delivered straight to your inbox once your site is down.

The process should only take about a minute or so to setup, and you're good to go.

Here's how to get started:

1 Sign-in to your Google account and make a copy of this Google sheet (File > Make a copy)

2 Put your website URLs in cell B2 (comma separated) and your email address in cell B3. If you wish to receive alerts by text messages, put Yes in cell B4.

3 You’ll find a new Website Monitor menu in your Google Sheets toolbar. Click Initialize and you’ll get a pop-up asking for authorization. Grant the necessary access.

4 Go to the Website Monitor menu again and choose “Start Website Monitor” to begin the monitoring process. Close the Google Sheet.

That's it. Google Sheet should now monitor and alert you in real-time when your site goes down, as seen below:

Get Notified When A Collaborator Made Some Changes On A Shared Google Spreadsheet

CONTINUE: 3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You (Part 2)

Use Google Spreadsheet As Website's Time-Machine (Web Archive alternative)

This is the second and the last part of our tutorial on how to get the most out of Google Docs to get things done the clever way. In case you missed it, here's the first part: 3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You (Part 1)

LICEcap Is The Best Alternative To Recordit To Screencast & Create High Quality GIFs

Web Archive is everyone's go-to place when they want to see how a specific website looks in the past. It's a wayback-machine that randomly creates snapshots of your site as reference so you can anytime check back when your site's gone awry in the future.

While Web Archive is one reliable tool to do just that, you cannot however specify how frequent a snapshot should be created. If you want to automatically create a site snapshop daily or weekly, then, Google Spreadsheet can do you a favor.

Using Google Sheet as Archive.org Alternative

Here's how:

1 Go to Screenshotmachine.com and create a FREE account. After sign up you will get an account key necessary for the API request.

2 Sign-in to your Google account and make a copy of this Google sheet (File > Make a copy).

3 Provide the required parameters as required like Account Key, URL to Capture and Capture Frequency.

4 Click Verify Now button to see if the API works or not. If it works, a new folder called Web page captures should be automatically created on your Google Drive account. This is where all screenshots will be saved.

Note: you’ll get a pop-up asking for authorization. Grant the necessary access.

5 Click Start Capturing button. You're done.

Depending on the capture frequency you specify, Google Sheet should automatically instructs Screenshotmachine.com to create a site snapshot and send it back to Google Drive.

mHotspot Is A FREE Alternative To Connectify That Turns Your Computer Into Wifi Hotspot

(3/3) Use Google Spreadsheet to Scrape Web Contents Online

One of my favorite features of Google Sheet is the importXML function which basically allows you to grab contents from another site. It's one pretty useful feature of Google Sheet as it saves you time especially if you're asked to web scrape or copy the entire contents of a site.

Watch this video below and see how web scraping can be done so easily using Google Documents Spreadsheets:



The information you get can then be imported to your website using the right apps and tools like WP All Import (if you're using WordPress as your site platform).

How To: Extract All Images Embedded In .DOC Word Documents All At Once

So next time you're asked to export the existing content of a website, then, importXML of Google Sheet is one nice function you can exploit.

Add, Embed Videos, Photos, Google Docs Within Facebook Comments

Finally, it's here! Shortly after the announcement of video chat with Skype, Facebook has rolled out another support for videos, photos, Google Docs and other publicly accessible contents as attachments to your comments on Facebook. Now you can add, attach or embed YouTube videos, photos, and other external contents within the Facebook comments and let your friends play or view them inside comments’ thread.

Learn How To Find Who Deleted, Removed You As Friend On Facebook

All you have to do is to paste the link of the video (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3He6D_jG6M&NR=1), photos, Slideshare presentation, or public Google Docs document. Facebook will then automatically render the object within the comment section. Facebook friends who participated in the thread can then view the external objects inside the comments, eliminating the need to open it separately in a new tab or window.

Facebook Video Chat -- 10 Things You Need To Know

The sophistication of Google+ may have taken a serious bite out of Facebook traffic but that's not exactly a big deal for team Facebook. In fact, the goings-on in Google have motivated Facebook to come up with something new to make the website even more exciting and engaging.

How do you like this new feature of Facebook? Share them as comments below or better yet, spread the word! Share this post to your friends!

Best & FREE Alternatives To Otixo To Manage Multiple Cloud Storage Accounts

Otixo is absolutely one of the best productivity web tools out there that web workers use almost every day.

For the uninitiated, Otixo is a file management web service that gives you a consolidated view of all files stored across multiple cloud storage accounts such as DropBox, Google Docs, Box, MobileMe, among others, thus making it easier to manage all your files stored in the clouds.

One awesome use of such file management tool is you can easily free up some space on your DropBox or Google Drive in just a matter of copy-pasting or dragging your files to another virtual drive (e.g. SkyDrive).

Cloud Save Is The Quickest Way To Download, Backup Files Straight To The Cloud

But just as any other online services out there, Otixo cannot offer the service for free forever. Which means you’ll have to spare about $3.99 - $4.99 for the monthly paid subscription in exchange of “premium” features and better cloud support.

And for those who don’t want to spend a single cent to enjoy such service, I've got you here three decent alternatives to Otixo which offers almost the same level of convenience at no cost -- as in FREE.

Best Web-based Alternatives To Otixo To Manage Files Stored In The Clouds

ZeroPC (link)

ZeroPC's Cloud Navigator gives you a centralized, quick and easy way to access all your files stored in the cloud. Cloud services supported by ZeroPC includes Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Flickr, Google Drive, Instagram, Photobucket, Picasa, Recood, SkyDrive, SugarSync and 4shared.

Get A Consolidated View Of All Email Attachments In Gmail — View All Gmail Attachments All At Once

Just like Otixo, it's easy to locate and manage all of your cloud content with a single ZeroPC login straight from your web browser, tablet or smartphone.



Joukuu (link)

Joukuu is another good file management solution that makes it simple to track, edit and manage files across multiple cloud storage accounts through a unified platform.

Supported cloud storage providers include Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, SugarSync and Evernote.



Primedesk (link)

Primadesk takes the stress out of managing your files on the web. From single sign on to your accounts, to uploading photos to your Facebook, Primadesk makes it simple.

Just like Otixo, you can drag and drop files between your cloud storage accounts or you can do a quick search across personal online content including selected cloud back-up data in a single operation. Or you can locate files by topic, date range and content type and with a single mouse click you get instant access.

Also available on Android and iPhone.

Play, Stream All Music Files, MP3 Saved From Your DropBox

That's it! If you know other online FREE file managers, don't forget to buzz off in the comments and I will sure update the list. Thanks.

New App 'PowWow' Seeks To Revolutionize The Way We Collaborate Online

Almost everyone knows how Google Docs works and how multiple users can work on either single or multiple documents at the same time. Now, wouldn’t you want that same capability on other applications? However, you know that is not going happen.

Until now.

How would you react if you found out that a brilliant group of programmers has created a screen share application wherein two users can work on a single application such as Excel or Photoshop? Amazing, right?

Working On Shared Projects? ToodLedo Helps You Get The Job Done FAST

This is the essence of PowWow. It is a very simple application that allows two users to work on an application at the same time, taking turns with their own mouse pointer. The design is for complete collaboration and not just screen broadcasting like that from Google Docs.



PowWow has been proven for such tasks as sharing Google Chrome to write an e-mail together, sharing a Photoshop task, sharing web-coding reviews between two web developers, or sharing paired programmer tasks. In short, PowWow feels as if you are working with someone just sitting beside you, even if the other user is a continent away. So far, most applications can be used on PowWow.

Access, Manage All Files Stored Across Multiple Cloud Accounts All At Once

For the present, PowWow is a beta available only for Mac. A version for Windows will be available very soon. For now, the official site is requesting people to sign up for an e-mail listing so they can be informed later when the Windows version will be out.

Because the Mac version of PowWow is still in Beta, the official site is giving caution to users should anything unusual or unpredictable happens, and to inform the makers by emailing them.

Get A Consolidated View Of All Email Attachments In Gmail — View All Gmail Attachments All At Once

Turn Any Printed Documents, Notes, White Board Discussions into PDF Using Your Phone

How do you like if your phone can turn any printed documents, notes and other personal docs into an instant PDF? How do you like if your handy-dandy phone can digitize any text written in a chalk/white board by simply pointing your camera to the board?

While there are a lot of people who’ve got high-end phones but never bothered to try out something cool about their phone, there are also a few people who can’t seem to appreciate the beauty of owning advanced mobile handsets like that of iPhone and Android. This is due to the fact that they’re way too pricey. But have you ever thought of the amount of time and money you can save if the desktop operations you normally do in PCs can be carried out with your smartphone? If you’re a student, a working professional or a businessman, here is your chance to consider again getting an Android or iPhone so you can experience real mobility you deserve.

Turn your iPhone, Android into a Scanner – Create Instant PDF Using Your Phone

CamScanner is another killer app for the iPhone and Android. If you have heard about Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology of Nokia (MultiScanner), CamScanner is a much improved version of it.

CamScanner turns your iPhone or Android into an instant portable scanner. As a portable scanner, you’ll be able to scan all paper documents, printed receipts, notes, and even whiteboard discussions anywhere and anytime. This is an award-winning mobile scanner technology that uses Smart Image cropping and Image enhancement technique to ensure that the scanned images are perfectly clear and recognizable.

So how does it work?

CamScanner lets you to digitize any printed documents by photo shooting. Simply take a picture of any paper documents such as receipts, whiteboards, notes, agreement and so forth, and CamScanner can auto-crop image, enhance image quality and to create an industry standard PDF file.

Notable features of CamScanner include:

• Anti-shake snapshots: Intelligent scene recognition and auto-snapshots when shooting conditions are smart-fit. 
• Multi-page file(s) support: multi-page files are supported.
• Image processing: Use enhanced image processing algorithms to help perform auto-cropping, color and brightness adjustment to ultimately make images clear and recognizable.
• Saving image(s) to photo album: save processed images to photo album.
• Creating PDF: Preview and create PDF files.
• Multi-size PDF support: over 10 different sizes of PDF files are available (Letter, A4, B5 and etc.)
• Email: Send files (PDF) via email.
• Uploading: Upload files to online storage such as Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net and etc.

“CamScanner is the greatest invention in 21th century”, says Jose Michael. “I can scan newspapers articles to keep as file and share it on the internet and scan personal docs to my own records. It as simplify my everyday tasks”, added Zed Ruger.

CamScanner is available for the iPhone in the AppStore for free. For Android, there’s also a free version. Get it here:
CamScanner for Android
CamScanner for iPhone

Cloud Save: The Quickest Way To Download, Backup Files Straight To The Cloud

Why download those files you found on the web when you can just save them straight to the cloud?

When we found something useful on the internet (e.g. photos, videos, MP3s, PDFs, docs, etc.), we normally take the time to download them, save them to our hard drive, and upload them to our online drive. That’s how typical users perform backup whenever they found something great on the internet. But, do you know that you can skip through this process by simply sending those files you found on the web straight to DropBox, Facebook and other similar sites?

Get Notified When Someone Talks About You On The Web

Back to my previous post, I have described how easy it is to backup, share and sync your files across multiple computers with DropBox. At no cost, you can safely and seamlessly put your files on the cloud, access them anywhere, and recover them in the event that you’ve accidentally deleted them.

This post seeks to complement that innovative technology of DropBox and its rival SugarSync. If you want to save yourself from unnecessary clicks when trying to save, backup file you found on the web, this post is for you.

Save Files Directly To The Cloud With Cloud Save

Cloud Save is a Google Chrome extension that lets you to automatically save files to web services such as DropBox, Google Docs, Box.net, SugarSync, Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, Twitpic and more. So when you stumble upon a website and wish to grab any of the file as backup, you can just right-click the link, then decide where you’d like to send the file. Cloud Save will then automatically save the file to the chosen web service.

Scan File URL Before Download -- Check Download Link If Safe

Cloud Save truly saves your time as you don’t need to download file you found on the internet as backup. With Cloud Save, you can just right-click the file/link and allow Cloud Save to connect through these web services to initiate transfer/backup process. Download Cloud Save for Chrome here.

Slide.ly: Turn Your Instagram, Flickr & Facebook Photos Into Stunning Video Slideshows

Back in the good ‘ol days, Scribd and Slideshare allowed you to host your PowerPoint photo presentations. These sites were very popular at that time. The problem is, you can’t use these sites to create new slideshows from the beginning.

There is also Prezi, Zoho, Microsoft Office web apps, and even Google Docs that are advanced resources you can utilize to create online presentations. However, none of these allows you to create simple slideshows as quickly and easily.

Create Video Slideshows From Facebook, Instagram Photos With Slidely (link)

Now, meet Slide.ly, it's a new web app that makes it easy to create photo slideshows from Picassa web albums, Instagram photos, Google Images, Flickr photos, and Facebook albums. Slide.ly also allows you to upload pictures from your own desktop and puts them together into a musical slideshow of your own production and making. You can simply pull images and photos from shared multiple social sites you share with others and just pick out the specific photos you like to create your very own photo album or photo slideshow.

Slide.ly can even be used for office or class presentations so long as there’s an internet connection available.

Prezi: Create Visually Engaging, Rich Media Presentations, Slideshows Online FREE

Using Slide.ly is a snap. First you need login using your Slide.ly or Facebook account HERE. Once logged in, Slide.ly should bring you this:

Here you can select an album and individually select those photos you want to be added in your Slide.ly. You may also remove and re-arrange the selected photos, and instruct Slide.ly to randomly select the photos to be displayed by simply toggling the "Shuffle" button, as seen below:

Now, hit "Preview and Save Slidely" button, until Slide.ly bring you this:

From here you can select a track as music background for your Slide.ly. You can pick up from YouTube, SoundCloud, and you can even upload your own track. You can even choose from the thousands of free tracks from Slide.ly itself for your gallery, theme, or audio background.

Now it's time to add some effects. Just select any of the nine transition effects found in the upper right, as seen  here:

One unique feature of Slide.ly is that you can add pictures from any of your friend’s Facebook albums. Just make sure the privacy settings of the album or specific pictures are set to public or have been shared to you in the past.

Here's a Slide.ly presentation I created for the legendary Filipino rock band "Eraserheads":