PERRLA/PERRLA for Google Docs/Get started

You have PERRLA. Here is your first paper in Google Docs.

Six steps, about ten minutes, and you write in Google Docs the whole way. The add-on is free to install; your PERRLA account is what you sign in with.

Start with step 1 Open the Help Center
Before you startWhat you need
Account
Your PERRLA email and password, from the trial or purchase. No account yet? Start a free trial.
Google
Any Google account that opens Google Docs, and a blank Doc
Formats
APA 7, MLA 9, and Turabian 9, all in the same add-on
Time
About ten minutes to install, sign in, and start your first paper

From a blank Doc to a submitted paper, in six steps.

Everything happens in the PERRLA sidebar on the right of the Doc.

  1. Once:
    install the add-on

    Open a blank Google Doc. Click Extensions, then Add-ons, then Get add-ons. Search for PERRLA and click Install. Click Continue to sign in to Google, check Select All on the permissions screen, click Continue, then Done. PERRLA in the Google Workspace Marketplace

  2. Once per account:
    sign in

    Click Extensions, then PERRLA. The sidebar opens on the right with a sign-in screen. Log in with your PERRLA email and password, or start a free trial right there.

  3. Before you write:
    start your paper

    On the Create Document screen, pick APA, MLA, or Turabian and the paper type, then fill in your title page details. PERRLA builds the title page, spacing, margins, and heading styles in the Doc. Start from an empty Doc; if you already have text, move it to another Doc for now.

  4. Right after:
    place the page numbers

    Google doesn't let any add-on insert page numbers. So PERRLA puts a placeholder in the header, selects it for you, and shows the few clicks in Google's Insert menu that turn it into real page numbers. It takes a few seconds.

  5. Mid-sentence:
    cite as you write

    In the References and Citations panel, look up a source by DOI, ISBN, or link, or pick one from your library. Put your cursor where the citation goes, click Add Citation on the source, then Create. The reference list builds itself.

  6. When it's done:
    turn it in

    Click I'm Finished for one last read against the format's rules, with a one-click fix for most of what it finds. Then share the Doc, or download a Word file or PDF from Google's File menu.

Good to know in your first week.

A few things work differently inside Google Docs. None of them change the paper you turn in.

In Turabian papers, citations become real Google Docs footnotes, placed and numbered by PERRLA.

  • Adding PERRLA to a Doc you already started works for the APA format today. MLA and Turabian are coming soon; until then, start those papers from PERRLA.
  • Page numbers are the one short step you do by hand, described in step 4.
  • The Writing Timeline covers PERRLA Online and the Word add-in, not Google Docs. A Doc keeps Google's own version history (File, then Version history), which shows how the paper changed over time.
  • .bib import isn't in the add-on. Import in PERRLA Online, and the references are in your library in Docs right away.
  • Spellcheck is Google's. The synced custom dictionary is a PERRLA Online feature.

Writing somewhere else this week?

Same account, same library. A reference you save in Google Docs is in PERRLA Online tonight and in Word tomorrow.

A Google Doc titled Bigfoot Sightings in the Pacific Northwest, with citations to Morris (2007) and Birx (2006) and a References page, beside the PERRLA sidebar's Refs & Citations panel listing the same two sources.
The PERRLA sidebar in Google Docs: the paper's two sources, cited in the text and listed on the References page.

Help, seven days a week.

Three ways to get unstuck.

Help Center

Any time

Articles, step-by-step guides, and short videos on every part of PERRLA, including installing the add-on, page numbers, and citations in Google Docs.

Open the Help Center

PERRLA 101, live

Free, no signup

A 30 to 45 minute walkthrough of PERRLA with our support team, then your questions. Four sessions a week, on the calendar below.

Join the next session · Get a reminder

Support

Every day

US-based team. Someone answers every day until 10 PM Central.

[email protected]

MonSupport 10 AM to 10 PM Central
TueSupport 10 AM to 10 PM Central
WedSupport 10 AM to 10 PM CentralPERRLA 101, live7 PM Central
ThuSupport 10 AM to 10 PM CentralPERRLA 101, live7 PM Central
FriSupport 10 AM to 10 PM Central
SatSupport 1 PM to 10 PM CentralPERRLA 101, live4 PM Central
SunSupport 1 PM to 10 PM CentralPERRLA 101, live4 PM Central

Questions in the first week

PERRLA isn't showing under Extensions.
Start with the Help Center's article on installing PERRLA in Google Docs, which walks through each screen. If it still isn't there, email [email protected] with the Google account you installed it under and we will sort it out with you.
Can I use PERRLA on a Doc I already started?
Yes, for the APA format. Open the PERRLA sidebar in the Doc, choose Add PERRLA to this paper, and PERRLA sets up the document so you can add references and citations as usual. MLA and Turabian papers should be created from PERRLA so the page setup is right from the first line.
Will my paper still be a Google Doc when I'm done?
Yes. Your paper lives in Google Docs from start to finish. If your instructor wants a Word file or a PDF, download one from the Doc's File menu. Nothing has to be exported from PERRLA.
Do I need a special Google account?
No. Any account that can open Google Docs can install the PERRLA add-on. Once installed, it's available in every Doc you open under that account.
Where are the references I saved in PERRLA Online?
In the sidebar. Google Docs, Word, and PERRLA Online share one PERRLA library, so a source saved in any of them is ready to cite here.

That was the whole setup, and your next paper starts from Extensions, then PERRLA.

Install PERRLA for Google Docs