How to...

How to use Google Notebook

Wouldn't it be great to be able to take very quick notes on web pages as you are doing research: clip the URL, selected passages, images, your own comments and queries, to a notebook that was accessible without leaving the page you are on, and then return to the notebook later when writing a paper?  That is the idea behind Google Notebook.

Google Notebook permits clip-as-you go functionality.  After clipping, you can organize and search notebooks, add your own comments, invite others to collaborate with you, even publish them to the web if you want your notebooks be public.  Here is how it works.

Begin by logging in to Google Notebook with your GMail account information or your email address.  (There is helpful information on creating an account at the Notebook web site).

Next, agree to the terms of service, and download the web extension that enables Google notebook within your browser. 

Note that this web add-in does not yet work with Windows Vista except in a Vista-compatible version of Firefox (version 1.5 or above).  It does work with IE7 on the Windows XP platform.

Depending on your browser and security settings, you may see a yellow security banner at the top of your browser:

If you see this, click the banner and choose "Download File..."

If you are using Firefox  you will see the familiar Firefox Add-on installation box:

After installation, Google and your browser will talk, and eventually you will see the Notebook icon in the status bar of your browser (the bar at the bottom of the browser window--look in the lower right corner). 

Click the "Open Notebook" link or the notebook icon itself to activate the notebook.

You can begin clipping text, images or links immediately, without leaving the web page you are on.  Just highlight the item you wish to clip, click the "Clip" button in the mini -notetebook.   You can leave it docked to the status bar, or click the arrow ("pop-out") control to float it over your browser window.  (It is called the mini-notebook when it is docked to your status bar or floating on your screen.  The full notebook appears on the notebook home page.)

After clicking the Clip button, you will see a note for the content placed in the notebook.  Each note will retain the title of the page from which it is clipped, the URL of the page, and the content of the note itself.  Each note contains a drop-down menu in its upper right corner in order to delete it, move it (to another notebook or section), or remove its URL.

Notes can be moved by dragging and dropping on your notebook home page.  To drag and drop, go to the Notebook home page (by clicking the "Go to my notebook home page" item on the Tools menu in the mini-notebook), place your cursor in the far left margin of a note (the cursor will become a four headed arrow), hold down the mouse button and drag and drop to a new location, either within the same notebook or to another notebook.

To create a new note, click the "New note" button.  A blank note will be created.  Within any blank note, you can type your own text, clip text from a web page, or add a section header to help keep your notebook organized.  Each section header has its own drop-down control.

Clicking the minimize control next to the section title will collapse all notes under that section header.

Each individual note also has a comments section, where you can annotate the notes as you gather them.  Simply click within a note you have clipped and a comments field will appear at the bottom of the note.

Text within notes can be more elaborately formatted from the Notebook home page.  Once again, to quickly get to the home page click the "Tools" button and choose "Go to my notebook home page."

Formatting options are minimal, but include the ability to change font attributes or add links to existing text/

As you gather a great deal of material in your notebook, you will lose track of things, and that's where Google's search technology comes to the rescue.  The notebook is fully searchable and, since it is web-based, accessible from anywhere.

Use the search box at the top of your notebook home page to search its contents, or search the web if you are looking for other material or URLs with which to build links.

The Tools button from the notebook home page is different than the one in the mini-notebook.  It contains options for printing, exporting to Google docs, renaming the notebook, and so on.

For group projects, Google notebooks can be shared by invitation of the notebook creator.   The notebook creator grants access to others who can then edit existing notes or add their own.  Initiate sharing by click the "Share options" from the notebook home page and enter the email address of those you wish to collaborate with, then click the "Save Settings" button.

You will be prompted for text in an email to be sent to those whose addresses you have included on the invitation form.  You do not need to put the URL of the notebook in the email.  It will be placed there automatically.

If you decide to remove a collaborator later, you will have that option on the Sharing options form from your notebook home page.

Finally, your Google notebook can be published to the web, if you wish to make it public.  It's URL can then be shared with others, and all public Google notebooks can be searched.  To publish a notebook click the Sharing options from the notebook homepage and click the Yes radio button under the "Publish this notebook" label.  You will be given the URL of the web page to which it will be published and prompted to invite others to view it by entering their email addresses in a form.  Note that graphics will be displayed as thumbnails unless you clear the "Use thumbnailed images" checkbox.

That is a quick overview of how to use Google notebook.  It is a great tool for gathering materials as you conduct research on the web, and for conducting group class projects.

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