Workspace Productivity: collaboration

Docs for teams: the @ menu and smart chips

In simple words

A smart chip is a little sticker in your document that points to a person or a file. You click it to find out more, instead of copying and pasting long links.

Before this course: Google Docs, Sheets & Slides (course 13.7). You should already know the Viewer, Commenter and Editor roles, comments and assigned tasks, Suggesting mode and version history.

Key facts

Type @ anywhere in a Google Doc to open a list of suggestions. Type letters, numbers or symbols after the @ to narrow the list.
The @ menu adds smart chips that show information and suggested actions for people, places, files and events. It also adds building blocks such as email drafts and meeting notes, plus items like drop-downs, checklists, lists, tables and headings.
People chip: start typing a name or email address, or type @me for yourself.
File chip: type the file name or related keywords.
A placeholder chip lets a teammate fill in information later.
You can find all the chip types under Insert > Smart chips.
Important: mentioning someone in a smart chip does not give them access to the document. To give access, you must share the document (course 13.7, lesson 2).
Custom building blocks cannot be shared; only the creator can reuse one, but others can copy the template and make their own.

Step by step

Open a Google Doc and give it a title, for example "Team meeting notes".
Type @ and choose a meeting-notes building block if you see one, or type headings for Date, Who is here, Decisions and Actions.
Under Who is here, type @ and a teammate's name or email to add a people chip.
Under Actions, type @ and the name of a file to add a file chip.
Click Share and check that the people you mentioned can actually open the Doc and the linked file.
Check: every person chip belongs to someone who has access, and each file chip opens.

Watch on YouTube

Insert smart chips and other information using the @ menu in Google DocsTelana · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01Docs for teams: the @ menu and smart chips

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "Stop pasting long links into your documents."
[Screen: typing @ in a Doc] "Type the at sign. A menu pops up with people, files, events and building blocks."
[Screen: people chip and file chip] "Add a person chip and a file chip. Hover to see more."
[Text on screen: Mention does not equal access] "Careful: mentioning someone does not give them access. Share the document too."

Try it now

Create a one-page "Meeting notes" Doc with a date, two people chips, one file chip and a list of actions. Then check that each person can open it.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Workspace Productivity: collaboration" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Docs for teams: the @ menu and smart chips".

What the lesson teaches:
- Type @ anywhere in a Google Doc to open a list of suggestions. Type letters, numbers or symbols after the @ to narrow the list.
- The @ menu adds smart chips that show information and suggested actions for people, places, files and events. It also adds building blocks such as email drafts and meeting notes, plus items like drop-downs, checklists, lists, tables and headings.
- People chip: start typing a name or email address, or type @me for yourself.
- File chip: type the file name or related keywords.
- A placeholder chip lets a teammate fill in information later.
- You can find all the chip types under Insert > Smart chips.
- Important: mentioning someone in a smart chip does not give them access to the document. To give access, you must share the document (course 13.7, lesson 2).

The exercise I'm working on:
Create a one-page "Meeting notes" Doc with a date, two people chips, one file chip and a list of actions. Then check that each person can open it.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Docs for teams: the @ menu and smart chips" from the course "Workspace Productivity: collaboration".

Here's what the lesson says:
A smart chip is a little sticker in your document that points to a person or a file. You click it to find out more, instead of copying and pasting long links.

The activity:
Create a one-page "Meeting notes" Doc with a date, two people chips, one file chip and a list of actions. Then check that each person can open it.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

Google Docs Editors Help, Add items with the @ menu: support.google.com/docs/answer/11276813
Google Docs Editors Help, Insert smart chips in Google Docs: support.google.com/docs/answer/10710316

My notes

I learned this