10 Google Docs Shortcuts You Wish You Knew
When it released its workspace, Google changed the word processing game. Its workspace features the very popular free-for-all word processor, Google Docs.
Google Docs has stayed ahead of the competition with consistent updates and exciting features. One of these features is keyboard shortcuts — and as a writer, you know how shortcuts can make your writing easier.
However, there are many shortcuts on Google Docs, and it’s impossible to know them all. But there are a few you must know to make your writing process more efficient.
Here’s a list of 10 Google Docs shortcuts you must know if you want to accelerate your writing process.
Normal Text Shortcut — ‘CTRL + ALT + 0’
When you press the Ctrl key, Alt key, and “0” simultaneously, the processor automatically applies the formatting for your normal text to a paragraph or a highlighted portion of text.
This shortcut makes it easy to format text while typing or when editing, so you don’t waste time highlighting text and going to the navigation bar every time to format your document.
Insert Link — ‘CTRL + K’
To quickly turn a text into a clickable link, highlight the text and press the Ctrl key and “k” together on your keyboard. A dialogue box will pop up, asking you to enter the URL. Fill it in and press okay; your text will automatically turn into a link with blue color.
Page Break — ‘CTRL + ENTER’
To enter a new page without pressing the Enter key multiple times or starting a new chapter in your document, you will need the page break shortcut.
To quickly make a page break, press the Ctrl key and Enter key simultaneously.
Find — ‘CTRL + F’
To use the ‘find’ shortcut, press the Ctrl key and “f” simultaneously. You will see a dialogue box where you will type in the text you want to find.
The ‘find’ shortcut will make finding instances of a particular text, phrase, or sentence in your document easy.
Find and Replace — ‘CTRL + H’
To use this shortcut, press the Ctrl key and “h” together to see a dialogue box with two text boxes. One text box for the text you want to find, and the second for the text you want to replace it with.
This shortcut is an editor’s best friend. It’s perfect if you want to replace every instance of a text in your document with a new one or delete it entirely.
Superscript and Subscript — ‘CTRL + .’ and ‘CTRL + ,’
To turn a text into a superscript, highlight the text and use the shortcut–Ctrl + “.”; You will press the Ctrl key and the full-stop key simultaneously.
Do the same thing for subscripts, but instead, you’ll press the Ctrl key and comma “,” together.
If you’re the type of writer that uses a lot of special characters or formulas in your writing, then knowing the shortcut for superscripts and subscripts will be super-helpful to you.
Increase or Decrease Paragraph Indentation — ‘CTRL + [‘ or ‘CTRL + ]‘
To Increase indentation on a paragraph, highlight the block of text you want to indent and press the Ctrl key and “[“simultaneously. Press the Ctrl key and “]” to decrease that paragraph's indentation.
Create List — ‘CTRL + SHIFT + 7, 8, or 9’
There are three types of listicle shortcuts available on Google Docs:
1. Number Lists: The most popularly used type of list. To make number lists, press the Ctrl key + Shift Key + “7.”
● Bullet Point List: To make this type of list, press the Ctrl key, Shift key, and “8” simultaneously.
● Checklists: Although checklists are less popular than the other two, it serves its purpose in a document. To make a checklist, press the Ctrl key, Shift key, and “8.”
Move to Next and Previous Misspelling — ‘CTRL + ‘ ’
To move to a previous misspelling before the cursor, press the Ctrl key and “;” That is the Ctrl key plus “semicolon.”
To move to the next misspelling after the cursor, press the Ctrl key and apostrophe “ ‘ ” simultaneously.
It’s impossible to write a 100% perfect document. As far as you’re typing a document using a word processor, you’ll make spelling errors. Thankfully, Google Docs is programmed to pick up these errors and underline them.
Insert Comment & Footnote — ‘CTRL + ALT + M’ & ‘CTRL + ALT + F’
To use the ‘insert comment’ shortcut, first, highlight the paragraph or portion of text you want to leave a comment on, then press the Ctrl Key, Alt key, and “m” together.
For footnotes, on the page where you want to leave a footnote, press the Ctrl key, Alt key, and “f,” and you’ll automatically add a footnote to your page.
Takeaway: If you want a list of all possible keyboard shortcuts in Google Docs, press ‘Ctrl + /’ on your Windows/Chrome OS or ‘⌘ + /’ on your Mac.
Mastering as many Google Docs shortcuts as possible will reduce the time you’ll spend typing and formatting, making your entire writing process less tedious.
