ShortenMe goo.gl Chrome extension

The goo.gl link shortner is a great way to turn crazy long links into simple and quick-to-type URLs. These are particularly useful when you want to get your students or colleagues all accessing the same website or shared doc, or when you want to share resources during a training session.

You can create shortened URLs from http://goo.gl, however using the ShortenMe Chrome extension makes it even easier! This extensions allows you to generate a goo.gl short link, and a QR code, for any web page (incuding Google Docs, Slides etc.) while you are actually on that page. It immediately copies the short URL to the clipboard for you (so you just need to paste it somewhere), and let’s you copy the QR code too.

How do I get it?

You need to install ShortenMe from the Chrome Web Store.
1. Visit ShortenMe in the Chrome Web Store.

2. Click the + FREE button to install the extension.

How do I use it?

ShortenMe is a Chrome extension, so it only works in the Chrome browser.

1. Have the website or document you want to create a short URL for open in Chrome.

2. Click the ShortenMe icon (three black dots) in the Chrome toolbar (if you can’t see the icon, click the >> button in the top right corner to view a list of installed extensions).

3. A box will appear with the shortened URL and QR code. The shortened URL has already been copied to the clipboard.

4. Paste the URL into an appropriate location (eg. document, slide) to use later.

5. Click on the QR code to copy it to the clipboard (if desired).

6. Paste the QR code into an appropriate location (eg. document, slide) to use later.

Extra options

You can also connect ShortenMe to your Google account. This allows you to find all your shortened URLs in the one place, and track how many clicks they have had. Follow the steps below to link ShortenMe to your Google account:

1. Right-click the ShortenMe icon (three black dots) in the Chrome toolbar (if you can’t see the icon, click the >> button in the top right corner to view a list of installed extensions).

2. Click Options.

3. Click Log in.

4. Click Allow access to permit ShortMe to manage your goo.gl shortened URLs.