Doug Anderson

Tech Tip Tuesday: Google Alerts

Sign up to receive personalized alerts in your Gmail inbox for various topics of interest to you.

  1. Make sure you are logged into your Allegheny College Gmail account.
  2. Go to Google Alerts.
  3. Fill in the search terms for the topic you wish to monitor, and other details in the Create Alert box.
    Screenshot of the search dialog box in Google Alerts with the phrase "Allegheny College" typed in
  4. Click on Show options.
  5. Choose your preferred frequency, language, and other options.
    Screenshot of the "Choose options" dialog in Google Alerts
  6. Click on Create Alert.

Based on your choices, you will receive emails alerting you to new Google search results using the terms you entered in the search box.

You can run a number of alerts concurrently, and revisit your Google Alerts account to modify/add/remove alerts.

Learn more about Google Alerts.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Assign Tasks in Google Workspace

When you’re working with others in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, you can assign tasks and action items to specific collaborators.

  1. In a web browser, open a shared Google file.
  2. Select the text, images, cells, or slides you want to comment on.
  3. To add a comment, click the plus sign to Add comment.
    Screenshot of "Add comment" option in a Google Doc
  4. Somewhere in your comment, add the email address of the person you want to assign it to, and add a plus sign (+) in front of it.
  5. Click the box next to Assign to [name].
    Screenshot of a comment assigned to infodesk@allegheny.edu
  6. Click Assign. The person you assigned the action item to will receive  an email.
  7. Once the action item has been resolved, then return to the document. In the top right corner of the comment, click Done.
    screenshot of the "Mark as done and hide discussion" option in a comment on a Google Doc
Tip
If someone has set their status to “Out of office” and you have permission to view their calendar, you get a notification in the comment as you assign it to them.

You cal also see what tasks have been assigned to you:

  1. Go to Drive and click the arrow next to Search to show the advanced search options.
  2. At the bottom of the advanced search box, there is an dropdown menu for Follow up.
  3. Select Action Items Only from the Follow up menu, and click Search.
    Screenshot of the advanced search options in Google Drive, with "Follow up" and "Action Items Only" selected.
  4. You will see a list of all the documents where you’ve been assigned action items in one place.

Learn more about using comments and action items in Google Workspace.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Improvements in Google Meet

In response to feedback from users, Google is adding improvements to the Google Meet interface. Some of these include:

  • Seeing what you are presenting within Google Meet.
  • More intuitive positioning for buttons and controls–for example, the Leave call button is moved away from the microphone and camera buttons to prevent accidental call hang-ups.
  • When someone speaks, their tile is outlined in blue.

Learn more about all the new features!

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Tech Tip Tuesday: New “External” Label in Gmail

Google is adding a new “External” label to Gmail. You will begin to see the label added to email threads that include people outside Allegheny College. This adds to the existing external recipient warning banner, which is displayed when responding to emails sent from people not using Allegheny College email addresses.

The “External” label will be visible on Gmail on the web and Android devices. Google plans to add this feature to iOS devices in the future.

Screenshot of a Gmail window showing the "External" label and an alert about sending to external recipients.
The external label and warning banner will appear when interacting with individuals outside of the allegheny.edu domain.

The “External” label and the reply warning banner and label are helpful reminders to treat external messages with caution. This can help prompt users to consider carefully before sharing confidential information with people outside the college.

Learn more about using labels in Gmail.


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Tip Tuesday: Changes Coming to Google Sites

Some Allegheny College users and organizations use Google Sites to host some of their content.

Google will soon be replacing classic Sites with new Sites, with updated features and a new interface. If you are still using classic Sites, you have until the end of 2021 to complete the transition to the new Google Sites.  Starting May 15, 2021, users will no longer be able to create new websites using classic Sites.

Here’s how to check whether your site is still using classic Google Sites:
  1. Navigate to Google Sites on your computer using any web browser.
  2. Click on the main menu (the three lines in the upper left corner).
    Screen shot of the Main Menu button in Google Sites
  3. Choose Classic Sites.
    Screenshot of the main menu in Google Sites, highlighting the "Classic Sites" option
  4. Click on My Sites in allegheny.edu.
    Screenshot of the side menu in Classic Google Sites
  5. If your sites are still using Classic Google Sites, you will see them listed there. If not, then any Google Sites you have are already using the new Google Sites, and you don’t need to change anything.

Here are the steps to convert a classic Google Site to use new Google Sites:

  1. Open your Google Site.
  2. Click on the Settings icon (the little gear in the upper right corner.)
    Screenshot of the Settings menu in classic Google Sites, highlighting the "Manage Site" option
  3. Choose Manage site.
  4. In the side menu, choose Convert to new Sites.
    Screenshot of the side menu in the Manage sites interface of classic Google Sites, highlighting "Convert to new Sites"
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the conversion.
  6. Note that you will need to do this for each individual Google Site you maintain.
Learn more about transitioning from classic Google Sites to the new Google Sites.
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Resolved: Service Disruption May 5, 2021

On Wednesday morning, May 5, 2021, there was a temporary issue with the college’s authentication system (username and passwords) that caused some attempts to connect to college resources to respond with errors, in particular connecting to wireless networks. This issue was resolved shortly after it was discovered. Systems using Google authentication were not affected.

LITS thanks those in our campus community who alerted us to the issue.

Whenever you experience issues with logging into any Allegheny College system, please reach out to the InfoDesk via email at infodesk@allegheny.edu, or call 814-332-3768.

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Tip Tuesday: Export to PowerPoint from Keynote on Mac

Many Mac users create presentations in the Keynote app, but may need to share what they’ve created in a PowerPoint or Google Slides file format.

To save a copy of a Keynote presentation in another format, you export it in the new format. Any changes made to the exported presentation don’t affect the original.

Save a copy of a Keynote presentation in another format

  1. Open the presentation, then choose File > Export To > PowerPoint.
    The File menu open in Keynote with "Export To" selected and its submenu showing export options for PDF, PowerPoint, Movie, HTML, Images, and Keynote ’09.
  2. You may be offered the option to set a password for the exported file, keep or change an existing password, or export without a password.
  3. Click Next, then type a name for the presentation.
  4. To choose where to save the presentation, click the Where pop-up menu, choose a location, then click Export.
  5. Your exported file can now be opened in MS PowerPoint, or uploaded to your Google Slides.

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Tech Tip Tuesday: Allow Screen Sharing on a Mac

To share your screen in some versions of the macOS, you need to allow Zoom or Google Meet access to screen recording. You can do this in your System Preferences. Select the Security & Privacy option, click the Privacy tab, scroll down to Screen Recording, and finally check the option for zoom.us (for Zoom) or Google Chrome (for Meet).

Screenshot of the Screen recording settings in macOS, with "Google Chrome" and "zoom.us" checked.

Tip Tuesday: Restarting Google Drive for Desktop

Google offers a desktop app for Mac and Windows to access files in your Google Drive directly from your computer, without a browser. This app is already installed on most employee PCs and Mac computers.
Occasionally, the app will crash, and needs to be restarted to restore your direct access. Here’s how:

How to restart Google Drive For Desktop in Windows:
  1. Click the Start button in Windows.
  2. Find the program called “Google Drive” or “Drive File Stream”.
  3. Click the program.
  4. Wait for 20-30 seconds
  5. Google Drive will reload, and you should regain desktop access to your files.
How to restart Google Drive For Desktop in macOS:
  1. Open Finder.
  2. Open your Applications folder.
  3. Find the app called “Google Drive“.
  4. Double-click the app.
  5. Wait for 20-30 seconds.
  6. Google Drive will reload, and you should regain desktop access to your files.

Remember that even if the desktop app has crashed, you still have access to your files via a web browser. Simply go to drive.google.com. You will need to be logged into your Allegheny account in the browser to access your files.

Read more about using Google Drive for desktop with your Allegheny account.

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