Embedded Files
Being able to find everything you own is nice - but being able to point to everything you own is even better. Here are ideas of the kinds of content you can address directly in G Suite, and why you want to get in the habit of doing that. Inspirational use cases ahead!
URLs don't have to look complicated like that, but there are benefits to it. Since every document and every email has a code (as you'll discover), it is easy to use the back button, have history in your browser and do all sorts of shenanigans! Google is a web-based company and loves browsers. That is good for us - let's take a look.
Why bother?
You will be faster
You learn about browsers
You learn about Google Workspace access rights
New building block for your personal work style
Big show-off potential, depending on how easily impressed your colleagues are
What you can retrieve by URL
What you can retrieve by URL
Why you want to do that
Why you want to do that
Drive and all editors (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms...)
Drive and all editors (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms...)
Drive URLs are the most intuitive ones, because we copy/paste and share them so much:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=15OiIZnObmEvCz7yJaJbbBVaO6feiJwxmNZNV2AP5-K8
There are many other valid formats, but the ID (in bold) is always the same. Always copy the full link, the ID alone will not suffice.
Those IDs are fixed, there is one per document, the same for everybody. Being in possession of an ID is not enough - you need to have been given access to the document.
Share documents easily. Copy/pasting the link into Chat will save you from using the file picker!
Create links easily. Many G Suite tools require you to paste a URL to create a link.
Store documents in lists for later reference.
In Drive, you can save links to folders.
In Drive, you can save (and share) links to sophisticated searches.
You can now get advanced previews of the items you are linking to, and manage them.
Pro tip: You can have links that point to single comments!
Because you can.
Meet
Meet
Those are widely known, too.
https://meet.google.com/kyj-isxk-pxw
Meet IDs are tied to the Meet session, everybody uses the same. Thus, the Meet ID enables you to join the Meet (outsiders need to ask to join).
Ask people to jump on a call
Add Meet links into other documents ("From 08:00-09:00: All hands meeting")
Calendar has the ability to re-use old Meet URLs. This is practical for back-to-back meetings. In general it's a good idea to use fresh URLs for each event though - save your guests the embarrassment of arriving early and stumbling into conversations.
Gmail
Gmail
When you open Gmail, if you look closely, it doesn't say "gmail.com", it says: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox
When you open any email, it will say something like https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxxzLNhgFtvBrGVhhnTrCPnJBsNr
See what happens? Every one of your emails has an individual ID. You can use that to find an old email again! (When Google Tasks creates a link to an email, it does exactly that.) If you are in Gmail and paste such a URL into the address bar, it will not even reload the interface - it will jump right to the email! Remember to always copy/paste the full URL, the ID alone is not enough.
Those IDs are individual. If I send you an email, we both get different IDs. Other people can't do anything with those IDs.
"Store" emails in task management systems: I keep my tasks in a task management app (not by G Suite - oh the heresy). When I need to refer to that email, I copy the URL back into Gmail.
Save searches and filters. You can create a Chrome bookmark that points you to "emails received from my 3 team members".
This will not work with Preview Pane. One more reason to shun it and go minimal!
Chat
Chat
Pay attention to the URLs and you'll find that it treats each chat room and message as a little "conversation" with its own URL.
https://chat.google.com/dm/zLusLAEAAAE
This ID is not individual. Everybody in the conversation uses the same ID.
Technically, each thread and each message has an ID too, but that would take us too far down the nerd road. The hardcore nerds will know how to figure this out. Like in all of Google Workspacee, gaining access to the link does not get you access to the conversation if you're not part of it.
Include the conversation in lists for your boss: "Things you must check each day before you leave"
Ask people to jump into a specific conversation by providing the link
Calendar
Calendar
When editing an event, the URL becomes really long. You can reuse that URL too - you will jump back to editing that specific event.
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r/eventedit/NzNhMTQ1a3JnY2I1dGM2aTkwY2dodGp1MXYgaG9sZ2VyLm1hdHRoaWVzQGRldi5wd2MuY29t
This ID depends on the event and on the calendar. Normally they are individual (meaning somebody else has no use for your IDs), but if somebody delegated their calendar to you, their links work for you too.
Store events outside of Calendar
Create lists of events for yourself
When many of your team share a delegated calendar, you can quickly ask people to take a look at certain events. "Can you look at this?" Very nerdy, but very unambiguous.
When your team shares a Team Calendar, you can pass URLs to events on that calendar too.
This was very nerdy, but I hope you try some of those tricks! The worst thing that can happen is a "page not found" message. Play around and let me know what you come up with, or where you are already using URLs. Thank you for reading!
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