keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs.. For the last fifteen years, I have been writing about technology, and for the most of that time, I have been composing all of my articles on Google Docs.
Despite its lightweight nature and the fact that it can be used from any location with an Internet connection, Google Docs has become my preferred word processor simply because it is always available to me whenever and wherever I want it. The simple white page of a Google Doc is always there for you, whether you are taking notes during a lecture or playing around with poetry in a coffee shop. It is always there for you.
keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs
Those of you who use Google Docs on a regular basis will find that there are a few keyboard shortcuts that are not only useful but also have the potential to save you time in the long term. When I say “advanced tricks,” I’m not referring to the shortcuts that allow you to work more quickly and effectively without having to take your hands off the keyboard. I’m not even talking about the shortcuts that allow you to copy and paste, which are quite helpful if you aren’t already utilizing them.
After more than a decade of pouring drafts into Google Docs, I’ve grown to really enjoy these shortcuts that aren’t as well recognized. Once you learn them, they may help you get more done in less time, which is a significant benefit. Because these are the keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs that you really need to be familiar with, you should get a notebook and scribble them down.
- CTRL + H: FIND AND REPLACE
It’s possible that you wouldn’t put this one at the top of the list, but I think that having the ability to rapidly locate all occurrences of a term in a document and replace them with another word may be a significant time saving.
When you press the Ctrl key and the H key simultaneously in Google Docs, the “Find and replace” option will appear. This menu gives you the ability to instruct Google to replace all occurrences of a certain term with another one. In addition, you have the ability to modify settings such as case matching, whether or not you wish to omit diacritic markings, and other choices.
- CTRL + SHIFT + V: PASTE WITHOUT FORMATTING
When you first begin using Google Docs, some of the first shortcuts you learn are copying and pasting (which are respectively composed of the keys Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V). On the other hand, after you have mastered them, there is really another technique to paste that I like to use a lot more often since it is beneficial while writing in several apps.
If you press the Ctrl key, the Shift key, and the V key simultaneously, you will be able to paste anything you have just copied into your document; but, the formatting will be removed. When working between Google Docs and other word processors, this is helpful for me because copying text from other programs (like Microsoft Word) and pasting it into a Google Doc can bring the formatting of that original document into your Google Doc, which could make it look funny or mess up your existing formatting. This is something that I find helpful.
On the other hand, if you just hold down the Shift key while you are doing your typical Paste operation, you will be able to instantly remove all of the formatting. What this implies is that any text that you enter into your Google Doc will match up much more neatly with whatever is already there in your document.
If you spend a lot of time working with papers, as I do, you can also be at the point where you are writing and revising without taking your hands off the keys too much. This is something that I experience. Personally, I despise having to take my hands off the keys while I’m writing or revising anything, and that’s why I like the keyboard shortcut in Google Docs that consists of Ctrl + Shift + X. It allows me to quickly navigate around the document without having to break my concentration.
The context menu, which is more widely known as the right-click menu due to the fact that it is the little menu that appears whenever you right-click anything in Google Docs, may be rapidly accessed by pressing these three keys simultaneously. It is convenient to be able to access this menu without having to move your hands to the mouse since it allows you to do a variety of tasks in a short amount of time, including copying, pasting, removing formatting, leaving comments among other things.
- CTRL + Y: REPEAT LAST ACTION
As a result of the fact that keyboard shortcuts are quick and easy methods of carrying out instructions, it is simple to rapidly repeat them after you have learned them. This is one of the advantages of using keyboard shortcuts. If, on the other hand, you do not know the shortcut for a certain action and you want to do that action over and over again, you do not need to worry about it since there is also a shortcut for it.
In Google Docs, using the Ctrl key in conjunction with the Y key will cause the previous action to be repeated. For example, if you copied a block of text into your document and then pushed this shortcut three times, it will automatically paste three new copies of the same content into your page. Additionally, if you erase a paragraph of text and use this shortcut, Google Docs will delete an extra character each time you hit it. This is because the shortcut deletes an additional character.
- CTRL + SHIFT + F: COMPACT MODE
On the other hand, while I’m working on a large project, I like to have as little distractions as possible. I don’t know how you feel about this. Due to the fact that it conceals a number of buttons and choices at the top of the screen, working in Compact Mode is something that I like doing when I am editing large Google Docs.
Even if you have a lovely huge laptop screen to read on, I still prefer this more condensed and focussed reading mode while I’m editing lengthy projects. This is mostly for the purpose of reducing the amount of wasted space that occurs when you are working in a window that is restricted in size. When working with Google Docs, you may rapidly enter and leave Compact Mode by hitting the Ctrl key, the Shift key, and the F key simultaneously.
- SHIFT + RIGHT/LEFT: EXTEND SELECTION
In the event that you have ever found yourself in need of a method to rapidly choose an extra character or two without having to manually locate it with your mouse, Google Docs has you covered.
By hitting Shift and either Left or Right, depending on which way you wish to highlight text, you may swiftly pick text with the keyboard alone while you are working on a document. This allows you to highlight text in either direction. In order to swiftly shift text about (for example, moving a sentence from the end of one paragraph to the beginning of another paragraph) without having to take my hands off the keyboard, I take use of this feature on a regular basis. This may be a very time-saving solution.
- CTRL + /: SHOW LIST OF KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Finally, but certainly not least, you should be familiar with the shortcut in Google Docs that allows you to search up any additional shortcuts that you may wish to use in your own work.
You may access the list of popular keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs by hitting the Ctrl key and the / key simultaneously. By clicking on this, a tiny menu box will appear, inside which you will discover listings for the most popular shortcuts that are used in browsing Google Docs, as well as a link to the whole Google Docs help page. If there is a keyboard shortcut that you need to discover but it is not included in this guide, you should be able to locate it by utilizing this approach.
All that is required of you is that! In the event that you find any of these shortcuts to be really useful, I sincerely hope that you will include them into your toolkit and continue to hone your skills with them until you are able to effortlessly navigate around your Google Docs.
