Google Documents

Question: How do I link to a PDF in my sidebar or post?

Answer: You can use Google Documents to upload a PDF, then link to the uploaded file. This really is not very difficult to do. The only reason I labeled it intermediate, is because if you wanted to add it as a widget in your sidebar, you might want to make it a clickable button. Or you may need to know how to make a PDF in the first place. But really, you can upload and share Word documents or images, as well.

Step 1: From Google's main page, click on the drop-down menu under "More" and select "Documents."

Step 2: Click on the "Upload" button to upload a new document.

Step 3: Either drag and drop your file into the space provided, or click "select file to upload."

Step 4: Select your security settings. For our document, we chose "Anyone with the link."

Step 5: Your uploaded document will now appear as a link with a check mark to the side. Click that link to view your document.

Step 6: Copy that URL. You can either paste it into your sidebar to link from a gadget/widget, or you can just use it as a link in one of your posts.

Optional step: Take your URL into bit.ly and shorten the length of the URL! Here is how our final document's shortened URL looks: http://bit.ly/gZkkf8

Step 7:  Once you are viewing your document, you can click "File" for download options. Select "Download original" to download the file to your desktop.