How To Enable Night Mode In Google Docs For Desktop and Android

If you need to work at night often, then that all-white interface of Google Docs is going to strain your eyes for sure. Thankfully, you can get night mode (aka dark mode) in Google Docs that will turn your background dark with light fonts for easier readability. Not only the dark mode is easier on the eyes, but it will also help save your laptop or phone’s battery life.

If you are ready for using night mode while working on Google Docs, then keep reading and I’ll show you how to get it on both Google Docs desktop and Android app.

Also read: 2 Ways To Use Text-To-Speech in Google Docs to Read Aloud Text

Get night mode in Google Docs desktop

Google Docs doesn’t offer a built-in way to enable night mode on the desktop. Sure you can make the page color dark and font color light, but it will still be quite bright as all the surrounding interface will stay white. So for Google Docs desktop, you’ll have to use a third-party Chrome extension to get night mode.

Although there are a handful of Chrome extensions that can enable dark mode in Google Docs, but I prefer to use the Google Docs Dark Mode Chrome extension for this purpose. It’s extremely easy to use and gets the job done without any complicating setups.

Just install this Chrome extension and the extension will provide a simple toggle button to enable/disable dark mode, and that’s it. Once enabled, the interface will turn grey/black with white fonts. Although the page will still stay white.

If you need to make things even darker, just turn the page color to a darker one from the page setup option in the File menu. 

You can give the Dark Mode Chrome extension a try as well. It’s made to make all the website dark, including Google Docs. It makes the interface dark in a different way, so it’s worth checking out.

Enable night mode in Google Docs Android app

Recently, Google introduced dark mode for Google Docs smartphone apps. Therefore, on the Android app you can easily enable night mode right from the Google Docs settings. Here’s how:

Click on the hamburger menu at the top-left corner and select “Settings” from it.

Now tap on “Choose theme” under the “Theme” section and select “Dark” from the list.

That’s it, the whole interface will turn dark with white fonts.

Ending words

I personally like using Google Docs Dark Mode chrome extension all the time even in the day as it separates the page color from the interface. This helps me focus better on the work in hand, it could be just me though. Although having a dark mode is definitely a great blessing if you need to work in a dark room often, for you and those around you.

The post How To Enable Night Mode In Google Docs For Desktop and Android appeared first on Gtricks.

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A Simple Trick To Get Faster Mobile Data Speed During Rush Hours

I mostly rely on my mobile 4G connection for my internet needs. However, during rush hours (9 pm to 1 am) the data speed slows down to a crawl due to heavy network traffic. During rush hour, it’s a luxury to stream a video at 480p without stuttering. Thankfully, I have found a simple solution to at least get a bearable internet speed to make it through the rush hour.

I am not going to promise top LTE speeds during rush hours, but if you can get enough speed to stream 480p videos or even 720p, then I think it’s worth trying. So let’s see how to increase your internet speed during rush hours.

Also read: How To Change IP Address on Android

Speed up mobile data during rush hour

Before we try to get better speed, it’s good to know why you are getting slow speed in the first place. Mobile networks have dedicated towers placed that have a limited capacity of users they can handle without a drop in promised download speed. And during the rush hours, the network limit is reached so all users receive slower mobile data speed.

Once the tower is overloaded there isn’t much you can do to get better speed. Although you can switch your cell phone tower, but there is a good chance all nearby towers are overloaded as well during rush hour. However, there is a good chance that the 3G tower near you might not be overloaded. If you switch to 3G, you might get a better speed than 4G if the tower isn’t overloaded.

4G and 3G towers are separate from each other and come with their own bandwidth capacity. Most of the phones today are 4G enabled, so there is a good chance most users in your area are using 4G; which is why your 4G connection is slow. Although 3G connection offers 2-10 Mbps speed on average, but as it is stable; it might be better than 4G during rush hour.

From my personal experience, during rush hour my download speed on 4G drops to 2-4 Mbps and it’s very unstable. However, when I switch to 3G I get a consistent 6-8 Mbps speed. If you are up for switching to 3G during rush hours, then here’s how to do it:

Switch to 3G for better Mobile data speed

All 4G enabled phones are backward compatible with 3G and 2G, so you can easily switch to 3G right from the phone settings. Here’s how to do it:

In the phone “Settings”, tap on “More” and then select “Mobile network”.

Now scroll down and tap on “Preferred network mode” and select “WCDMA/GSM auto” from the list. On some phones, it might be “3G/2G” instead. You can also select “WCDMA only” if you don’t want the connection to auto switch to 2G if needed.

That’s it, if the 3G towers in your area aren’t overloaded as well, you should see an increase in mobile data speed.

Ending thoughts

I should mention that this trick isn’t limited to getting better speed during rush hours. It might also help if 4G reception is weak in your current area and your phone is not automatically switching to 3G connection. Furthermore, if your network provider is throttling the 4G connection for some reason, it might not be throttling 3G, so it’s worth trying.

Let us know in the comments if this trick helps you increase mobile data speed during rush hours.

The post A Simple Trick To Get Faster Mobile Data Speed During Rush Hours appeared first on Gtricks.

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How To Stop Google Chrome From Running in the Background for Good

I never let Chrome run in the background, ever. Chrome has a habit of running in the background even after explicitly closing it. The main reason is that an app or extension might keep it awake to complete tasks such as sending a notification. It may also be allowed to start up with your PC, so it will keep processes open even if you didn’t open Chrome at all.

I don’t like Chrome eating up resources for no reason, and I personally find it rather shady when Chrome runs resources worth a 3D game when I don’t even have extensions installed. So I make sure Chrome doesn’t run in the background both from Chrome settings and from my Windows PC settings. In this post, I’ll you how to stop Chrome from running in the background whether it’s running after closing or on PC startup.

Also read: 5 Funny Chrome Extensions To Put A Smile On Your Face

Stop Chrome from running in the background after closing

One of the Chrome advanced settings can stop Chrome from running in the background by disabling apps and extension background processes when Chrome is closed. Here’s how to do it:

Click on the Chrome main menu at the top-right corner and select “Settings” from it.

Now scroll down to the very bottom and click on “Advanced”.

Here disable the option “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed” in the “System” section.

That’s it, Chrome will now close properly when you will hit the cross button without any background processes open.

Stop Chrome from running in the background at PC startup

In Windows, you can use the System Configuration menu to manage startup apps and disable Chrome from starting up with PC. Here’s how:

Press Windows+R keys on the keyboard to open “Run” dialog and type “msconfig” here to open System Configuration.

Now move to the “Startup” section and uncheck the checkbox next to Google Chrome. You can press “OK” to apply the changes.

This will stop Chrome from running in the background on future startups of Windows.

The above instructions work on all versions of Windows. Although, in Windows 10 you can also access startup apps from the Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc).

Wrapping up

By using both of the above instructions, you can make sure that Chrome never runs in the background. Although do keep in mind that by stopping Chrome from running in the background, you might miss on important notifications while Chrome is closed. If that’s not a problem for you, then closing the Chrome background process is the best decision for your PC.

The post How To Stop Google Chrome From Running in the Background for Good appeared first on Gtricks.

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How To Add a Custom Background in Gmail

Gmail comes with hundreds of background themes to beautify your interface. Although there are sufficient wallpapers, but if you want to add a little personal touch, then you can add your own custom backgrounds as well. Whether you want to add a wallpaper that isn’t available in the Gmail collection or you want to add your own picture as a background, all can be done.

In today’s post, I am going to show you how to add a custom background in Gmail.

Also read: How To Bulk Delete Gmail Emails – 3 Easy Ways

Adding a custom background in Gmail

Gmail uses your albums saved in Google photos as background, and interestingly, it doesn’t give you the option to separately upload pictures. Therefore, you must upload your background pictures to Google photos and also create an album, because Gmail only accepts pictures in albums for some reason. So make sure the background Pictures are saved as an album in your Google photos account. if you don’t know how to do it; here is a support page by Google explaining it.

To set the custom background in Gmail, click on the “Gear” icon at the top-right corner and then click on “View all” in the “Theme” section.

Afterward, click on the “My photos” button at the bottom-left corner.

You will see all your albums here, just open the album and choose the background photo and then click on “Select”.

That’s it, the background will be applied and your selected picture will show up in your list of themes.

For the best results, you should use a 2560 x 1920p or higher resolution picture. If the picture will be smaller than this, then Gmail will zoom in and apply the background as it finds fitting.

And just like regular themes, you can also customize your custom background picture from the “Pick your theme” section, such as add vignette or blur the background.

Ending words

Adding a custom background in Gmail is definitely a great way to personalize your interface. Although, it would have been easier if Gmail would just let us upload a picture and apply it. Creating an album in Google photos is just an extra chore we have to go through.

The post How To Add a Custom Background in Gmail appeared first on Gtricks.

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How To Forward an Email in Gmail Without Showing Original Sender

If you forward an email in Gmail, it will show all the connected information like sender email, time, and subject, etc. However, what if you don’t want the recipient to know that you are forwarding the email? Or maybe you don’t want the recipient to know where the email came from.

If it’s only a text email, you can just copy it and compose a new email. Although it will be tough to copy it if it contains graphical content like images, themes and buttons, etc. That is when you can just forward it, but remove all the connected information about the sender. Let’s see how you can forward emails without showing original sender information.

Also read: Gmail FAQ: Answers To 15 Most Asked Questions About Gmail

Forward email without sender information

There are basically two types of information that you must remove to make the email look like it’s coming directly from you. First you need to remove the “Forwarded message” section that contains information directly connected to the original sender, such as name and time, etc. And then you should remove the “Subject” of the email as it may give away that the email has been forwarded (not necessarily though). Here’s how:

After opening the email, click on the three vertical dots menu on the right side and select “Forward” from it.

A compose window will open below with a “Forwarded message” section at the top. Use the backspace key to remove all information in this section, including the “Forwarded message” heading. You should also remove any empty space created there to make sure the original email starts from the top.

Afterward, click on the “Type of response” button next to “Recipients” and select “Edit subject”.

The email will open in a new compose window and here you can change the subject and add the recipient’s email address to send the email.

In the below screenshot, you can see that it looks like that email has been sent directly by me. There is no forwarding information anywhere.

Wrapping up

I will recommend you to stick with copying text if the email only contains plain text. There is no need to go through 2-3 extra steps just to forward an email without sender information. Although for emails with even slight graphical content, it’s better to forward it like I have instructed above.

The post How To Forward an Email in Gmail Without Showing Original Sender appeared first on Gtricks.

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Simple Tips To Manage Spam Emails in Gmail

Gmail does an amazing job of keeping spam emails out of your main inbox. Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I received an email in my inbox saying my uncle has left me a million dollars and I just need to click a link to get it. Although, Gmail spam filter is good at dealing with obvious scam emails, but it’s still far from perfect. Occasionally, you will still get a well-written unknown marketing email dropped in your inbox, or an important email going into spam just because it triggered the Gmail spam filter in some way.

Fortunately, Gmail spam filter learns from your behavior, so depending on how you interact with emails, it can manage spam better for you. In this post, I am going to list simple tips that will help you minimize spam in Gmail and also make Gmail spam filter better at catching the spam emails.

Mark or unmark an email as spam

Starting with something simple, when Gmail makes the mistake of marking or unmarking a wrong email as spam, you can manually fix the mistake. This is important as Gmail will use this preference to manage your future spam and make the filter better. So if you see a spam email in the inbox, you should mark it as spam to send it to the spam folder and future emails as well. Similarly, if an important email ends up in the spam folder, then you should let Gmail know it’s not spam. Here’s how.

To mark an email as spam in your inbox, click on the select box next to the email to select it and then click on “Report spam” at the top to mark it as spam.

To unmark an email as spam, go to the spam folder and select the email by clicking on the select box next to it. Afterward, click on the “Not spam” button at the top.

Protect your email address

The best way to avoiding spam is to stop it from reaching it to your email address in the first place. If you sign up to online websites and services often and/or give your email address on online public pages, then you are bound to receive spam emails. Spammers use multiple techniques to get access to emails and send spam emails. Many shady websites sell your email to these spammers, and spammers can also use software to analyze random pages (especially forums) and look for potential emails.

What you need to do is protect your email address from being publicly available. Only sign up to websites that are trustworthy. If you are in doubt, use a disposable email service to get a fake email and keep your real email address clean. You should also avoid typing your email anywhere the public can see, such as forum posts or comments. If you really need to give your email to someone, then directly message the person. Same goes for social profiles, you should hide your email on social media websites too (if possible).

Bulk unsubscribe from spam emails

If you are continuously receiving spam emails from different email addresses, then you can use a third-party tool to bulk unsubscribe from them. There are a bunch of apps for this purpose, but I personally prefer the Unsub Chrome extension. The extension basically creates a filter to move all the emails from a sender to a dedicated label, both current and future emails.

It keeps your inbox clean all the time, and if you ever need to see emails from a specific sender; you can just go to the specific label and see them. If you are interested in using this extension, check out my post on how to use Unsub to bulk unsubscribe emails.

Ending words

I will also recommend you to go through your spam folder at least once a week as an important email can end up there. Quite often I receive marketing emails in spam folder from companies that I care about, usually because they didn’t get my exclusive consent to receive a newsletter. So keeping an eye on the spam folder is always worth it.

The post Simple Tips To Manage Spam Emails in Gmail appeared first on Gtricks.

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Guide To Set Up and Use Google Authenticator on Windows

Google doesn’t offer a Windows version of the Google authenticator app. However, if you don’t want to rely on your phone for logging in, then there is a workaround to use Google Authenticator on Windows. With the help of a third-party authentication app, you can set up Google Authenticator on your Windows PC.

In today’s post, I will show you how to set up Google authenticator on Windows and validate logins right from your PC.

Use Google Authenticator on Windows

To use Google Authenticator on Windows, you need to get a secret Google Authenticator code that allows other authentication apps to use Google Authenticator service. You can then enter that code in your preferred authentication app for Windows and use Google Authenticator through it. Follow the below instructions to set it up:

Get Google Authenticator secret code

You can get this code right from the security settings of your Google account, here’s how:

Click on this link to the Google account security page and then click on the “2-Step Verification” option in the “Signing in to Google” section.

Provide Google account password and then scroll down and click on “Set Up” under the “Authenticator app” section. This setup is here to verify Google Authenticator on phone, but we will be using it just to get the secret code.

Afterward, click on the “CAN’T SCAN IT” link under the barcode.

Copy the code on the next screen and then you may cancel this setup process.

Keep this code safe, as anyone with this code can access your Google Authenticator.

Use a Windows Authentication app to access Google Authenticator

Now you must use an authentication app compatible with Windows to access your Google Authenticator account through it. There are many apps for this purpose, but I will recommend you to use WinAuth. Apart from being really easy to use, WinAuth is also an open-source app (source). As the app will be managing your extremely sensitive information, you need to make sure it’s trustworthy. And as the app’s code is available to the public, you can trust that no shady business is happening in the background.

After downloading WinAuth, launch it and click on the “Add” button and select “Google” from the list.

Here provide the secret code and click on “Verify Authenticator” and then click on “OK”.

A page will open up with multiple options to tighten up the security of the WinAuth app. You can use a password, restrict device access, or use a Yubikey. I will recommend you to at least use a password to make sure no one can access the app.

That’s it, WinAuth will now show a refreshable Google Authenticator code that you can use to validate your logins.

If you would ever like to remove your Google Authenticator account from the WinAuth app, then right-click on the Google option in the WinAuth app and select “Delete” from the context menu.

Wrapping up

Using Google Authenticator on your Windows PC is definitely a convenient way to validate logins without having to access your phone. Although, make sure you add strong protection to the WinAuth app as now a hacker doesn’t need to have access to 2 different devices to access your account. If the hacker gets your account password and access to the unprotected WinAuth app, then he can easily access your account.

The post Guide To Set Up and Use Google Authenticator on Windows appeared first on Gtricks.

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