FAQ

Installation Instructions

1. Upload the entire google-document-embedder folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
3. Done.

Upload the documents to your site using the media upload facility built into WordPress, via FTP, or link to documents on another (public)
site. Use the Media Library or Google Doc Embedder button in the Visual editor to build the appropriate shortcode, or use the documentation.

For basic manual instructions, please see the FAQ.

Go to “GDE Settings” (under “Settings” in the admin panel) to change defaults, or override individually using the shortcode syntax in the FAQ.

How can I get support for this plugin?

Because Google Document Viewer does not seem to be something that Google is fully committed to supporting, there will no longer be any active development of this plugin by the original author. You may use the support forum attached to this plugin on wordpress.org to post support questions, and active users are encouraged to help each other out where possible. However, the forum will not be monitored by any official development team. If you discover any security vulnerabilities please contact WordPress directly as usual.

Where can the files live?

The file to embed must first be publicly available somewhere on the internet, in order for Google to retrieve the document for conversion.
You can upload it to your WordPress site using the standard techniques, or link to a file on another site. For testing purposes, your site can run locally or on private networks, but the documents you wish to embed must be publicly accessible.

How do I embed a file in my page or post?

There are several ways you can insert a supported document, depending on your preference:

• Manually enter the shortcode (explained below).
• Click the “Add Media” button to upload or select a file from your media library, and ensure the “Link To” setting in Attachment Display Settings
  is set to “Media File.” Then click “Insert into post.”
• Use the Google Doc Embedder button in the Visual editor to insert the [gview] shortcode.
• Paste the URL into the HTML editor, select it, and click the “GDE” quicktag button (HTML/Text editor).

To manually insert the [gview] shortcode into your page or post to embed the file, use the syntax below (use of the HTML tab in the editor
recommended):

[gview file="http://url.to/file.pdf"]

Note: the file= attribute (generally pointing to the full URL of the file) is required. If the majority of your files are referenced
from the same directory, you can set a File Base URL in GDE Settings and only put the changing portion in the file= attribute (or a full
URL for a file outside of that base URL). File Base URL will be prepended to the value of file= unless file= starts with http or //
(dynamic protocol selection).

Common optional attributes:

• profile= : Enter the number or name of the desired profile for the viewer to use (default profile is used if not specified)
• width= : To override the profile’s default width of the viewer, enter a new width value – e.g., “400px” or “80%”
• height= : To override the profile’s default height of the viewer, enter a new height value – e.g., “400px” or “80%”

What are “Profiles”?

Profiles allow you to create a unique batch of settings and access them from the viewer using only a profile ID (or name), rather than
writing a horrifically complicated shortcode. This allows each instance of GDE (even on the same page) to be completely customizable while
keeping the shortcode syntax simple.

Will it embed files that are password-protected or stored in protected folders/sites?

Most likely, no. If your file requires a login to view – such as being saved in a password-protected directory, or behind a firewall
(on your intranet, etc.), the viewer will probably not be able to access the file. This is what is meant above, that the document should
be “publicly available.” Please save the file in a publicly accessible location for best results.

What about private documents?

The file must be publicly available, but there is no reason why you need to publish the location beyond supplying it to the GDE plugin.
However, savvy users will be able to locate the URL and download the original file.
To make it difficult for users to download PDF files (the old ‘enhanced mode’ of GDE), please find out more about our new plugin – PDF Embedder Secure.

Does it work with files saved in Google Docs/Drive?

This plug-in utilizes the viewer from Google Docs in a standalone fashion. There is no direct integration with Google Docs and even those
documents stored there and shared publicly do not embed reliably with their standalone viewer (ironically), so at this time that use is not
supported by the plug-in.

If you are able to store your files in Google Drive, you may want to try the Google Drive Embedder plugin. This will be faster to display, and more reliable in that case.