Google Docs is an amazing way to create documents online, and it works pretty much the same way as Microsoft Word. If you use this online tool to prepare your documents, you might want to learn some of its keyboard shortcuts.
You can use these shortcuts to quickly open various menus, format your text, manage your media files in your documents, select text in a certain way, and do more.
What’s more, these shortcuts work across all major platforms so you can use them regardless of what machine you use.
Here are some of the Google Docs keyboard shortcuts you should learn.
| Windows | macOS | Chrome OS | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Actions | |||
| Ctrl + C | Command + C | Ctrl + C | Copy an item |
| Ctrl + X | Command + X | Ctrl + X | Cut an item |
| Ctrl + V | Command + V | Ctrl + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Command + Shift + V | Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste without formatting |
| Ctrl + Z | Command + Z | Ctrl + Z | Undo change |
| Ctrl + Shift + Z | Command + Shift + Z | Ctrl + Shift + Z | Redo change |
| Ctrl + K | Command + K | Ctrl + K | Add or modify link |
| Alt + Enter | Option + Enter | Alt + Enter | Launch link |
| Ctrl + S | Command + S | Ctrl + S | Save changes |
| Ctrl + P | Command + P | Ctrl + P | Print document |
| Ctrl + O | Command + O | Ctrl + O | Open document |
| Ctrl + F | Command + F | Ctrl + F | Find in document |
| Ctrl + H | Command + Shift + H | Ctrl + H | Find and replace |
| Ctrl + G | Command + G | Ctrl + G | Find again |
| Ctrl + Shift + G | Command + Shift + G | Ctrl + Shift + G | Find previous |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Ctrl + Shift + F | Ctrl + Shift + F | Enter compact mode |
| Ctrl + Enter | Command + Enter | Ctrl + Enter | Add page break |
| Alt + /, Alt + Shift + Z, Alt + Z (Chrome) | Option + /, Ctrl + Option + Z | Alt + Z, Alt + / | Find in menus |
| Ctrl + Y | Command + Y | N/A | Perform last action |
| Format Text | |||
| Ctrl + B | Command + B | Ctrl + B | Bold text |
| Ctrl + I | Command + I | Ctrl + I | Italicize text |
| Ctrl + U | Command + U | Ctrl + U | Underline text |
| Alt + Shift + 5 | Command + Shift + X | Alt + Shift + 5 | Strikethrough text |
| Ctrl + . (dot) | Command + . (dot) | Ctrl + . (dot) | Superscript |
| Ctrl + , (comma) | Command + , (comma) | Ctrl + , (comma) | Subscript |
| Ctrl + Alt + C | Command + Option + C | Ctrl + Alt + C | Copy text formatting |
| Ctrl + Alt + V | Command + Option + V | Ctrl + Alt + V | Paste text formatting |
| Ctrl + \, Ctrl + Space | Command + \ | Ctrl + \ | Remove text formatting |
| Ctrl + Shift + > | Command + Shift + > | Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + | Command + Shift + | Ctrl + Shift + | Decrease font size |
| Format Paragraphs | |||
| Ctrl + ] | Command + ] | Ctrl + ] | Increase paragraph indentation |
| Ctrl + [ | Command + [ | Ctrl + [ | Decrease paragraph indentation |
| Ctrl + Alt + 0 | Command + Option + 0 | Ctrl + Alt + 0 | Use normal text style |
| Ctrl + Alt + 1 to 6 | Command + Option + 1 to 6 | Ctrl + Alt + 1 to 6 | Use heading style (1 to 6) |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Command + Shift + L | Ctrl + Shift + L | Left align paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Command + Shift + E | Ctrl + Shift + E | Center align paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Command + Shift + R | Ctrl + Shift + R | Right align paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + J | Command + Shift + J | Ctrl + Shift + J | Justify paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + 7 | Command + Shift + 7 | Ctrl + Shift + 7 | Use numbered list |
| Ctrl + Shift + 8 | Command + Shift + 8 | Ctrl + Shift + 8 | Use bulleted list |
| Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow | Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow | N/A | Move paragraph up |
| Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow | Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow | N/A | Move paragraph down |
| Media | |||
| Ctrl + Alt + Y | Command + Option + Y | Ctrl + Alt + Y | Add alt text |
| Ctrl + Alt + K | Command + Ctrl + K | Ctrl + Alt + K | Make media larger |
| Ctrl + Alt + B | Command + Ctrl + B | Ctrl + Alt + B | Make media larger horizontally |
| Ctrl + Alt + I | Command + Ctrl + I | Ctrl + Alt + I | Make media larger vertically |
| Ctrl + Alt + J | Command + Ctrl + J | Ctrl + Alt + J | Make media smaller |
| Ctrl + Alt + W | Command + Ctrl + W | Ctrl + Alt + W | Make media smaller horizontally |
| Ctrl + Alt + Q | Command + Ctrl + Q | Ctrl + Alt + Q | Make media smaller vertically |
| Alt + Right Arrow | Option + Right Arrow | Alt + Right Arrow | Rotate 15-degree clockwise |
| Alt + Left Arrow | Option + Left Arrow | Alt + Left Arrow | Rotate 15-degree counterclockwise |
| Alt + Shift + Right Arrow | Option + Shift + Right Arrow | Alt + Shift + Right Arrow | Rotate 1-degree clockwise |
| Alt + Shift + Left Arrow | Option + Shift + Left Arrow | Alt + Shift + Left Arrow | Rotate 1-degree counterclockwise |
| Shift + Esc | Command + Esc, Shift + Esc | Ctrl + Esc, Shift + Esc | Exit drawing editor |
| Comments and Footnotes | |||
| Ctrl + Alt + M | Command + Option + M | Ctrl + Alt + M | Add comment |
| Ctrl + Alt + Shift + A | Command + Option + Shift + A | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + A | Access discussion thread |
| Ctrl + Enter | Ctrl + Enter | Ctrl + Enter | Enter current comment |
| Ctrl + Alt + F | Command + Option + F | Ctrl + Alt + F | Add footnote |
| Hold Ctrl + Alt and press e then f | Hold Ctrl + Command and press e then f | Hold Ctrl + Alt and press e then f | Go to current footnote |
| Hold Ctrl + Alt and press n then f | Hold Ctrl + Command and press n then f | Hold Ctrl + Alt and press n then f | Go to next footnote |
| Hold Ctrl + Alt and press p then f | Hold Ctrl + Command and press p then f | Hold Ctrl + Alt and press p then f | Go to previous footnote |
| Menu Navigation | |||
| Ctrl + Shift + X, Ctrl + Shift + \ | Command + Shift + \ | Ctrl + Shift + X | Access context menu |
| Alt + F (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + F | Ctrl + Option + F | Alt + F | Open File menu |
| Alt + E (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + E | Ctrl + Option + E | Alt + E | Open Edit menu |
| Alt + V (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + V | Ctrl + Option + V | Alt + V | Open View menu |
| Alt + I (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + I | Ctrl + Option + I | Alt + I | Open Insert menu |
| Alt + O (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + O | Ctrl + Option + O | Alt + O | Open Format menu |
| Alt + T (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + T | Ctrl + Option + T | Alt + T | Open Tools menu |
| Alt + H (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + H | Ctrl + Option + H | Alt + H | Open Help menu |
| Alt + A (for Chrome), Alt + Shift + A | Ctrl + Option + A | Alt + A | Open Accessibility menu |
| Ctrl + Alt + Shift + K | Command + Option + Shift + K | Ctrl + Alt + Shift + K | Open Input Tools menu |
| Shift + Right-Click | Shift + Right-Click | N/A | Open browser’s context menu |
| Select Text with Keyboard | |||
| Ctrl + A | Command + A | Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Shift + Left Arrow | Shift + Left Arrow | Shift + Left Arrow | Select one character on the left |
| Shift + Right Arrow | Shift + Right Arrow | Shift + Right Arrow | Select one character on the right |
| Shift + Down Arrow | Shift + Down Arrow | Shift + Down Arrow | Select next line |
| Shift + Up Arrow | Shift + Up Arrow | Shift + Up Arrow | Select previous line |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow | N/A | Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow | Select one word on the left |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow | N/A | Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow | Select one word on the right |
| Shift + Home | Shift + Fn + Left Arrow | N/A | Select from the beginning of the line |
| Shift + End | Shift + Fn + Right Arrow | N/A | Select until the end of the line |
| Ctrl + Shift + Home | Command + Shift + Up Arrow | N/A | Select from the beginning of the document |
| Ctrl + Shift + End | Command + Shift + Down Arrow | N/A | Select until the end of the document |
| Hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift and press e then i | Hold Ctrl + Command + Shift and press e then i | Hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift and press e then i | Select current list item |
| Hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift and press e then o | Hold Ctrl + Command + Shift and press e then o | Hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift and press e then o | Select all list items at current level |
| Select Text with Mouse | |||
| Double-Click | Double-Click | Double-Click | Select word |
| Double-Click + Drag | Double-Click + Drag | Double-Click + Drag | Extend selection one word at a time |
| Triple-Click | Triple-Click | Triple-Click | Select paragraph |
| Triple-Click + Drag | Triple-Click + Drag | Triple-Click + Drag | Extend selection one paragraph at a time |
