Know your way around some keyboard shortcuts—whether for Windows, macOS, or individual programs—is perhaps one of the best time-saving productivity hacks out there. You don't have to use your mouse or trackpad to navigate to a new location on the screen, and you don't have to search through menus to find image and text formatting options: Just press a key combination right and you're done.
There aren't many places where keyboard shortcuts are as useful as in Google Docs. When you're looking at a document, these quick keystrokes can save you a ton of time, adding up over the course of your day—and that means your brain is always in a creative mode.
These are the most important Google Docs keyboard shortcuts you need to know, with variations for Windows and macOS. (macOS keyboard shortcuts are often the same as Windows keyboard shortcuts, with Cmd replacement button Control.) To display the full list of keyboard shortcuts when you're in Google Docs, hold down Control or Cmd and press / (forward slash).
Switch between modes
Hold and hold Ctrl+Shift+Alt (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Options (macOS) and then you can touch Z to switch to editing, X to move on to the proposal and C to switch to view in the document.
Paste without formatting
Use Ctrl+Shift+V or Cmd+Shift+V to paste any text that's on your clipboard, but without any of the original formatting attached—so you don't suddenly find your document's layout broken.
Expand text selection
Once you've selected some text, hold Change hold and you can expand your text selection character by character with the key Left arrow And Right arrow. Hold and hold Control or Cmd same thing, and you say every word.
Insert or edit a link
Highlight any text and tap Ctrl+K or Cmd+K to add a link to the text. The same keyboard shortcut works for editing links. Hover over a link with your cursor to find the option to remove the link.
Get the word count
Press Ctrl+Shift+C or Cmd+Shift+C to display the total number of words, pages, and characters. Check the box on the dialog to display them permanently.
Create a list
Hold Ctrl+Shift or Cmd+Shift hold on the keyboard and then you can create a numbered list by pressing 7a bulleted list by clicking 8and checklist by clicking 9.
Comment on documents
There are some keyboard shortcuts you can use when selecting comments: R to answer it, J And K to scroll up and down through the comments, E to address a comment, and Friend to get rid of a comment.
Find a tool
Google Docs has a handy search tool that you can use to search through all the menu and toolbar options: replace or Select then press / (forward slash) to display it.
Back… and back
Maybe you already know that Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z can undo your last action and fix errors. But you can also keep tapping the shortcut to go back further and even undo things from the current session if needed.
Again
Here's one that's useful in a variety of situations: Tap Ctrl+Y or Cmd+Y to repeat the same action, whether it's inserting a specific character or deleting a sentence.
Find and replace
You can display the find and replace dialog box by pressing Ctrl+H or Cmd+Shift+H. If you just want to find something (without replacing it), that is Ctrl+F or Cmd+F instead of.
Resize images
You can also manipulate images using keyboard shortcuts. Choose an image, hold Ctrl+Alt or Cmd+Ctrlthen press K to make the image larger or J to make it smaller.
Text format
With text highlighted, hold Control or Cmdthen press B bold, I for italics, Friend to underline, Shift+X to strikethrough, . (dot) for superscript, or , (comma) for subscript.
Apply a title style
If you want to apply the set title style to text in your document, keep Ctrl+Alt or Cmd+Optionsthen tap a number (from first ARRIVE 6) to apply that specific title style.
Switch to Voice Typing
Sometimes you can remember your words faster if you dictate them. Press Ctrl+Shift+S or Cmd+Shift+S and the voice typing dialog box will pop up on the screen. Your browser will prompt you to give Google Docs permission to use your microphone; grant that permission and you can start dictating.
Insert a page break
You don't have to navigate around menus to drop a page break into an open document—Ctrl+Enter or Cmd+Enter will insert one at the cursor's current position.
