The most important Google Docs shortcuts at a glance

Google Docs has become an indispensable tool for many companies. The collaborative word processor in Google Workspace allows you to edit documents anytime and anywhere. For example, if you’re on the road and urgently need to modify a document, all you need is a Google account and a working Internet connection.

A special feature of Google Docs is link-sharing, which allows you to invite as many people as you want to your document. You decide who else besides you is allowed to edit the document and who has read-only access. Changes and comments are visible to all participants, so no one loses track of revisions. In addition, there is no need to forward office documents by email.

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Google Docs also has a number of useful shortcuts that go far beyond simple copy-and-paste. We've put together a list of the most common Google Docs keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac. We’ll also show you how to view a list of all keyboard shortcuts in Google Docs with just a few clicks.

Google Docs: keyboard shortcuts for Windows and macOS

Google Docs shortcuts allow you to create documents faster and more efficiently. In this overview, we present keyboard shortcuts for basic commands, text, and paragraph formatting, comments and changes as well as other useful tools.

General shortcuts in Google Docs

  Windows macOS
Copy Ctrl + c ⌘ + c
Cut Ctrl + x ⌘ + x
Paste Ctrl + v ⌘ + v
Paste without formatting Ctrl + Shift + v ⌘ + Shift + v
Undo Ctrl + z ⌘ + z
Redo Ctrl + Shift + z ⌘ + Shift + z
Insert or edit link Ctrl + k ⌘ + k
Open link Alt + Enter Option + Enter
Print Ctrl + p ⌘ + p
Open Ctrl + o ⌘ + o
Find Ctrl + f ⌘ + f
Find and replace Ctrl + h ⌘ + Shift + h
Find again Ctrl + g ⌘ + g
Find previous Ctrl + Shift + g ⌘ + Shift + g
Hide menus (compact mode) Ctrl + Shift + f Ctrl + Shift + f
Search the menus Alt + Shift + z Ctrl + Option + z
Show common keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + / ⌘ + /
Insert page break Ctrl + Enter ⌘ + Enter

Google Docs: Keyboard shortcuts for text and paragraph formatting

  Windows macOS
Bold Ctrl + b ⌘ + b
Italicize Ctrl + i ⌘ + i
Underline Ctrl + u ⌘ + u
Strikethrough Alt + Shift + 5 ⌘ + Shift + x
Superscript Ctrl + . ⌘ + .
Subscript Ctrl + , ⌘ + ,
Copy text formatting Ctrl + Alt + c ⌘ + Option + c
Paste text formatting Ctrl + Alt + v ⌘ + Option + v
Clear text formatting Ctrl + \ orCtrl + Space ⌘ + \
Increase font size Ctrl + Shift + . ⌘ + Shift + .
Decrease font size Ctrl + Shift + , ⌘ + Shift + ,
Apply normal text style Ctrl + Alt + 0 ⌘ + Option + 0
Apply heading style [1–6] Ctrl+ Alt + [1–6] ⌘ + Option + [1–6]
Left align Ctrl + Shift + l ⌘ + Shift + l
Centre align Ctrl + Shift + e ⌘ + Shift + e
Right align Ctrl + Shift + r ⌘ + Shift + r
Justify Ctrl + Shift + j ⌘ + Shift + j
Numbered list Ctrl + Shift + 7 ⌘ + Shift + 7
Bulleted list Ctrl + Shift + 8 ⌘ + Shift + 8
Move paragraph up Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow
Move paragraph down Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow
Increase paragraph indentation Ctrl + ] ⌘ + ]
Decrease paragraph indentation Ctrl + [ ⌘ + [

Google Docs: Keyboard shortcuts for comments, edits and footnotes

  Windows macOS
Insert comment Ctrl + Alt + m ⌘ + Option + m
Open discussion thread Ctrl + Alt + Shift + a ⌘ + Option + Shift + a
Move to next comment Hold Ctrl + Alt, press n then c Hold ⌘ + Ctrl, press n then c
Move to previous comment Hold Ctrl + Alt, press p then c Hold ⌘ + Ctrl, press p then c
Undo Ctrl + z ⌘ + z
Redo Ctrl + y ⌘ + y
Insert footnote Ctrl + Alt + f ⌘ + Option + f
Move to previous footnote Hold Ctrl + Alt, press p then f Hold ⌘ + Ctrl, press p then f

Google Docs shortcuts with other helpful features

  Windows macOS
Open revision history Ctrl + Alt + Shift + h ⌘ + Option + Shift + h
Open Explore tool Ctrl + Alt + Shift + i ⌘ + Option + Shift + i
Open spelling/grammar Ctrl + Alt + x ⌘ + Alt + x
Open dictionary Ctrl + Shift + y ⌘ + Shift + y
Word count Ctrl + Shift + c ⌘ + Shift + c
Move to next misspelling Ctrl + ' ⌘ + '
Move to previous misspelling Ctrl + ; ⌘ + ;
Insert or move to header Hold Ctrl + Alt, press o then h Hold Ctrl + ⌘, press o then h
Insert or move to footer Hold Ctrl + Alt + o, then press f Hold Ctrl + ⌘ + o, then press f

Displaying shortcuts directly in Google Docs

Google Docs offers a useful list of all shortcuts with a search function so you can find all available keyboard shortcuts.

Step 1: Open list of Google Docs shortcuts

Step 2: Search for Google Docs shortcuts

Tip

Keyboard shortcuts for controlling office programs or the operating system are extremely popular. To learn more, see our articles on Google Sheets shortcuts, Mac shortcuts, Word shortcuts, Photoshop shortcuts, PowerPoint shortcuts, Windows shortcuts and Excel shortcuts.

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