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View files in Google Docs

With Google Docs, you can quickly view many file types online, including PDFs, Microsoft Office files, and many image file types.

Any file that you upload to Google Docs and don’t convert to a Google Docs format has a Google Docs page. You can access this page by clicking the file's title in the Documents List or by following a link shared with you.

Here are some things you can do from a Google Docs page:

  • Show revision history of the file (if you have owner or edit rights)
  • Change the sharing settings (if you have owner or edit rights)
  • Download and print by going to the File menu and selecting Download as...
  • Search text on the page using the Ctrl + F keyboard shortcut

Supported file types

Google Docs supports over 15 different file types, listed below:

  • Microsoft Word (.DOC and .DOCX)
  • Microsoft Excel (.XLS and .XLSX)
  • Microsoft PowerPoint (.PPT and .PPTX)
  • Adobe Portable Document Format (.PDF)
  • Apple Pages (.PAGES)
  • Adobe Illustrator (.AI)
  • Adobe Photoshop (.PSD)
  • Tagged Image File Format (.TIFF)
  • Autodesk AutoCad (.DXF)
  • Scalable Vector Graphics (.SVG)
  • PostScript (.EPS, .PS)
  • TrueType (.TTF)
  • XML Paper Specification (.XPS)
  • Archive file types (.ZIP and .RAR)
Google Docs is also connected directly to Gmail. If you receive an attachment in Gmail, you can click the ‘View’ link, which will display that file attachment in the Google Docs.

Search your uploaded files

You can search for text in PDF and image files by:

  • Typing a query in the search box in your Documents List.
  • Opening a Google Docs page and using the Ctrl + F keyboard shortcut.
  • Clicking View in a Gmail message that contains a PDF attachment and using the Ctrl + F keyboard shortcut.

Keyboard shortcuts on a Google Docs page

Action Shortcut
Open Ctrl + O
Download Ctrl + S
Play/Pause Video Space
Compact controls Ctrl + Shift + F
Edit description Ctrl + Alt + E
Open Ctrl + O

About the Google Docs Viewer tool

With the Google Docs Viewer, you can create a Google Docs link for any file on the web. Then, you can share the Google Docs link with other people for them to view. Here's how to create a Google Docs page using the Google Docs Viewer:

  1. Go to http://docs.google.com/viewer.
  2. Enter the URL of the file you'd like to create a Google Docs page from.
  3. Enter link display text in the text box (optional).
  4. Click Generate link.
  5. Send the Google Docs page URL to other people for them to view.

Keyboard shortcuts for pages created in the Google Docs Viewer

Note: If you use a Mac, you can use the shortcuts below by replacing Ctrl with Command key (or 'Apple' key).

Search
 Shortcut
Search for item Ctrl + F or /
Find next F3 or Enter
Find previous Shift + F3 or Shift + Enter

View
 Shortcut
Zoom in Ctrl + Shift + Right arrow
Zoom out Ctrl + Shift + Left arrow
Fit page to screen 1
Fit two pages to screen 2

Related

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