Merge cells vertically in Google spreadsheets

There are many times when you want to format your spreadsheets in a certain way to make your data easier to read and understand. Starting today, we’ve extended the merge functionality to let you create vertical merges across several rows of data.

In the spirit of the NFL season, let’s say you want to host a football tournament for your friends. To make it easier for them to cast their votes on the winning team, you organize the NFL teams by conference and division in a Google spreadsheet. Using vertical merges, you can assign headers to sets of rows. Simply select the set of cells you’d like to merge, then click on the down arrow next to the merge icon, and select Merge vertically.


In the NFL spreadsheet, you’ll see that some of the team names don’t fit on one line in the width of the cells of Column C.

To improve the formatting, select the cells across all the rows of teams in the AFC (rows 2-17) and 2 columns (C and D) and click Merge horizontally. You’ll have 16 merged cells that span 2 columns for better formatting.


After applying vertical merges to all of the conference and division headers and horizontal merges across the team names in each conference, you’re ready to share with your friends for the tournament!


To undo a merge action, select a merged cell and click Unmerge in the drop-down menu.

New look for Google Docs and Sites now rolling out

New look for Google Docs and Sites now rolling out


Posted: 03 Oct 2011 02:58 PM PDT



Previously available as an opt-in option, the new look for Google Docs and Sites is now rolling out to all rapid release domains. You’ll see clean menus and toolbars, prominent action buttons, and colorful presence that pops when you’re editing with others.



Some of the changes:

- We made it clearer that your document is always saved, by showing “Saving...” right after you make a change and then “All changes saved” once it’s fully saved.

- We added an icon to the Share button so you can tell if your document is shared at a glance.

- If you’re looking for options that were previously under the Share button (e.g. “Email as attachment...”), you can now find these in the File menu.

- By default, the documents list automatically fits a comfortable number of documents on your screen (large desktop monitors show more, smaller laptop screens show fewer). We also added density options to give you more control.



If you’re not quite ready for the new look, choose Help > Use the classic look (or in the gear menu, for some products). We’ll support the classic look for at least a few more weeks, but encourage you to use the new look.



Release track:

Rapid*



Editions included:

Google Apps, Google Apps for Business, Government and Education



Languages included:

All languages supported by Google Docs and Sites

Here's the latest from Google Apps

Google Apps News April 2010 New customers join the cloud revolution, plus Google launches Google Apps Marketplace: Newcomers to Google Apps: • Simple ways to get more out of Google Apps: The Mind Research Network taps Google’s online documents, video, and archiving and encryption for 200+ research scientists and staff (Free webcast). • An advanced infrastructure, lower costs in two months:City of Orlando becomes one of the first cities in America to switch to Gmail (Free webcast). • No fooling around: On April 1, the same day Google re-named itself Topeka, the State Library of Kansas in Topeka got serious with a move to Google Apps. Google Apps + third-party cloud applications = big win! • New! Google unveils the Google Apps Marketplace, a new online storefront that enables Google Apps administrators to discover and purchase integrated third-party cloud applications and deploy them in their domains. • New! Hot on the heels of the Google Apps Marketplace release, Google announced a new Marketplace YouTube channel showcasing videos from Marketplace vendors. Get timely customer news and product updates delivered to your inbox by signing up at theOfficial Enterprise Blog. All the best from Google, and stay tuned!

Ever wonder about analytic on your Facebook page. - No More!

Here's a great John Haydon post detailing Facebook Insights.

http://johnhaydon.com/2010/04/facebook-page-insights-measure-engagement/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Corporatedollarorg-ExceedYourOn-lineFundraisingGoalsWithSocialMediaMarketing+(John+Haydon+|+Social+media+inbound+marketing+for+non-profits+and+small+businesses)

Email summary of Google Spreadsheet forms results - Automatic. Strengthens the case to Go Google!!

Ability to now receive a summary email of form responses in Google Spreadsheets Posted: 12 Apr 2010 05:40 AM PDT If your username is being collected when you submit to a form created in Google Spreadsheets, you now have a new option to also receive an email summary of your responses for your reference. Editions included: Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions Languages included: All languages supported by Google Spreadsheets How to access what's new: At the bottom of a Spreadsheets form when the username is being collected, enable/disable the checkbox 'Send me a copy of my responses' to receive the summary email.

Phybridge Uniphyer Customer's 1st year anniversary! = 0 Complaints and very pleased.

Happy 1st Anniversary to IPC Financial Services "We deployed IP phones using the UniPhyer over a year ago and have not had a single service complaint or quality issue since."                                            Reggie Alvares, VP of Operations, IPC                                                                                          Congratulations to IPC Financial on zero dropped calls since deploying IP Telephony over 365 days ago using the UniPhyer! Installing the Phybridge UniPhyer is a piece of cake!

Very power Social Media information for Non-Profits

Social media 101 for small nonprofits Posted: 05 Apr 2010 10:45 AM PDT   Upcoming tool will help small nonprofits improve their social media savvy Should small nonprofits wade into the sometimes daunting terrain of social media? Increasingly, the answer is: Yes, because that’s where their members and supporters are, and social media the most effective way to reach them. Last year TechSoup Global won a grant fromKellogg Action Lab/Fieldstone Alliance with an impressive goal: to create a tool that helps nonprofits assess their current social media capabilities and to connect them with resources to get them started down the right track. TechSoup Global hired Socialbrite to manage the project and build the tool, and our team spent weeks interviewing the top executives of 50 mostly small nonprofits: CARES Foundation, Down Syndrome Network, Net Literacy, Legal Community Against Violence, National Autism Association and dozens of others. We found that these nonprofits — often run on a shoestring budget with a bare-bones staff — are well aware that major changes are taking place in the media and communications landscape. Often they seem to feel baffled by the disruptions. Many wonder whether they have the resources to effectively use social media, given the resources and time commitment required inside organizations where everyone does everything — and then some. “There hasn’t been a lot of data that justifies putting labor into this. How sure are we that social networking is worth prioritizing?” one foundation’s communications director asked me. Still, the vast majority of nonprofits said they were eager to learn and to push forward internally with modest social media programs. While the survey results are confidential, I can tell you that we’re working with TechSoup Global to put the finishing touches on a Social Media Literacy Tool that will be available to the public starting in May. (The tool is geared to nonprofits but can be used by anyone.) How social media will benefit your nonprofit When I discuss the need to embrace social media with nonprofit leaders, the reasons usually fall into these buckets: (1) Social media has altered the balance of power The same tectonic shifts that have disrupted other spheres of society — the public’s interactions with brands, with media, with government — are starting to affect other sectors as well, including the nonprofit community. The smartest reaction would be to identify key learnings from watching the other sectors and then adapt and apply those takeaways to your own. People no longer want their only interactions with a favorite cause or nonprofit to be restricted to their credit cards — they want to participate (at least some of them do) at all levels of your core mission, from communicating with members of your team to communicating with each other to helping you raise money or connect with community resources. It’s likely that there are rich conversations taking place online about your nonprofit or your cause. You should be a part of those conversations. (2) You can copy what has worked elsewhere The real-world results are in: There are now tons of case studies proving that social media has moved the needle in a positive direction for organizations — nonprofits and businesses alike — that know how to how to create a social media action plan, which begins with a strategy and then an implementation of the proper tactics. I’ll refrain from citing Twestival, which every “social media expert” on the Web cites, and instead point to efforts like: • Awareness campaigns (PDF) by PBS KIDS and War Child Canada • charity: water’s September birthday campaign • CouchSurfing International’s efforts to forge connections across borders • Invisible Children’s Visible Children Scholarship Program • epic change’s Tweetsgiving program • The American Cancer Society’s More Birthdays program The nonprofit Society for New Communications Research — of which I’m a senior fellow — honors nonprofits, universities, media organizations and businesses with annual awards in categories like communities, collaboration, social media production and more. Head over to our sister site, Socialmedia.biz, to read some great case studies. (3) Your nonprofit has a compelling (untold) story In every conversation I had with nonprofits, it emerged that their organization or cause had a heart-tugging, compelling story that wasn’t being effectively captured or conveyed on their website. Social media’s strongest component is its ability to give supporters an easy way to create and share stories about the things that matter to them most. Whether it’s using Twitter to spread the word about your latest campaign or using a Flip cam to interview people who are being directly helped by nonprofit, social media expands the range of possibilities in a dynamic, conversation-driven, low-cost way. (4) Your staff’s internal dynamics will thrive Time after time we’ve heard from nonprofits about how a strong social media effort not only improves the connections between your organization and its supporters but also strengthens the fabric that binds your staffers together. When employees are empowered to interact with the community, their stake in your organization rises immeasurably. When employees use new tools to communicate with each other more effectively, they get more accomplished and form deeper ties as a team. And when your nonprofit begins each day by listening to and talking with your community, deeper understanding follows. Everyone is after the holy grail of return on investment (ROI). The top ROI of using social media for your nonprofit? Insight. Related articles by Zemanta Understanding The Roi Of Social Media (slideshare.net) What’s the real value of social media for communicators? (willmarlow.com) What nonprofits need to know about social media (smartblogs.com) Streamline Your Nonprofit on Twitter (ricksrss.com) JD Lasica works with nonprofits, social change organizations and businesses on social media strategies. See his profile, visit his business blog, contact JD or leave a comment.