HOW TO – Save a Google Docs document

You might need to save a copy of a Google Docs document for several reasons. One common reason is to save a draft that has your peer review comments on it, so that you get credit for doing the peer review.

Follow these steps to save a document for that purpose:

(1) Go to the File menu within Google Docs and drag down to Download as. Then drag over to Word, as shown below:

Gd downloadas word

(2) In the dialogue box that appears, change the file name, if necessary, and indicate where you want the file to be downloaded (perhaps in a folder for all your documents for our class).

If you open the file in Microsoft Word (from 2003 or later), you’ll see that it will have your comment bubbles along the right margin, although in a different color than they appeared on Google Docs. Hang onto this file so you can include it later in a portfolio that demonstrates your participation in the peer review process. (You can include it in Word format or you can “print” the Word file to PDF format.)