Hands-Down My Favorite Google Doc Shortcuts (on Mac)

Your friendly neighborhood copywriter uses these keyboard shortcuts virtually every day.


As much as I love writing and editing, I can’t stand the click and select (or click-select-select-select) part. You know, where you have to pretty the doc up, add links, format, boot up a tool, etc.


(I’m gonna blame 7 years of nursing charting with Cerner. Shortcuts are devastatingly limited.)


Some of these puppies may seem obvious. Oh well. I forget stuff easily so it helps me to have a personal glossary for reference.


Plus, I’m forever in debt to the nice internet folks who took the time to create step-by-step directions to my random problem. YouTube & how-to blogs are the backbone of everything I do. Maybe this humble post will give you that nugget of time-saving you never knew was in reach.


OK: no question, my most used keyboard shortcuts are:

Copy shortcut: ⌘C

Paste shortcut: ⌘V

Undo shortcut: ⌘Z

Bold text shortcut: ⌘B

Underlined text shortcut: ⌘U

Italicized text shortcut: ⌘I

You bet I used them fifteen thousand million times for just this blog.

Don’t forget!

If you can’t remember a shortcut, but you CAN find it in the toolbar, hover to discover.

It’ll often reveal the keystrokes to the shortcut.

If you hover your mouse over the toolbar's symbol, the keyboard shortcut will often show up.

Here are my other favorites:


View word count shortcut: Select text, ⌘ + Shift + C

Select the text and key in the shortcut.

I base some of my work on length. I also need to view character count when I’m putting together stuff with limits, like meta descriptions.

What's the keyboard shortcut to view word count in Google docs? Command Shift C

Need to view the whole doc’s word count?

  1. ⌘A (this selects everything)

  2. ⌘ + Shift + C


Activate (Google doc) voice dictation shortcut:

⌘ + Shift + S

I’m telling you, it’s the ultimate time-saver for those first drafts. And brain dumps.

What's the keyboard shortcut to turn on voice dictation t in Google docs? Command Shift S

Change text format shortcut:

⌘ + ALT + (text number)

No more clicky-click-clicking through a million menu subcategories. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for Title and Subtitle but I don’t use those super often.

  • H1: ⌘ + ALT + 1

  • H2: ⌘ + ALT + 2

  • H3: ⌘ + ALT + 3

What's the keyboard shortcut to view word count in Google docs? Command ALT  Heading number

Find words/symbols in doc shortcut: ⌘F

Excellent for finding a section of a long doc. Or seeing if you’ve overused a word.

I also tag sentences with ELEPHANT when I need to add something later, like a link. That way, I just ⌘F and enter ELEPHANT to find all the places I bookmarked. 

What's the keyboard shortcut to find words and symbols in Google docs? Command F

Add link shortcut: ⌘K

If you’ve already copied the link to your clipboard, adding a link is as simple as:

  1. Select text you want to link

  2. ⌘K

  3. ⌘V

  4. Enter/Return

What's the keyboard shortcut to add a link in Google docs? Command K

Adjustable screenshot grid: ⌘ + Shift + 4

I’ll use this bad boy when I need screenshots of an example to include in a blog or client work.

What's the keyboard shortcut to take an adjustable screenshot in Google docs? Command Shift 4

Full-screen screenshot: ⌘ + Shift + 3

I’ll use this option when my screenshot needs to include something my mouse is hovering over. The screenshot automatically shows up on my desktop. I can then crop the image to what I need.

What's the keyboard shortcut to take a full screenshot in Google docs? Command Shift 3

Strikethrough Text shortcut: ⌘ + Shift + X

I use this to cross out stuff I’m finished with but don’t want to forget.

For example, I’ll copy/paste a client’s email with copy requests into the doc. Then I’ll strike through the details I’ve covered.

What's the keyboard shortcut to strikethrough text in Google docs? Command Shift X

Superscript shortcut: ⌘.

Sometimes when I’m creating a blog (especially if my client is in the medical profession), I’ll format my references with a superscript that’s linked.

What's the keyboard shortcut to add superscript in Google docs? Command period

Emoji menu shortcut: Control + ⌘ + Spacebar

It pulls up the good emoji menu 😘  The one with your recents. And that’s big enough to see.

I use this one for some of my client work that has emojis, like emails and social media ads. 

What's the keyboard shortcut to pull up the emoji menu in Google docs? Command Control Spacebar

Zoom in screen view shortcut: ⌘+

The toolbar has preset options by the 25%. No me gusta.

⌘+ zooms in smaller increments. 110% is my sweet spot.

What's the keyboard shortcut to zoom in in Google docs? Command Plus

Zoom out screen view shortcut: ⌘-

Wanna set it back? Hit that subtract key. Finally, an intuitive shortcut.

What's the keyboard shortcut to zoom out in Google docs? Command minus

Insert bullets shortcut: ⌘ + Shift + 8

An internet friend just introduced me to this one, and I’m over the moon! I use bullets in everything I write.

  • It makes your text not look like a brick.

  • People who like to skim-read love it.

  • It’s so much easier to organize my thoughts.

What's the keyboard shortcut for adding bullets in a document? Command + Shift + 8

And here’s a few things that can’t entirely be done with keyboard shortcuts, but are still total life hacks:


Find & replace shortcut

Amazingly handy when I realize I’ve spelled a name/company/product wrong. Or consistently used an incorrect punctuation mark.

  1. ⌘F

  2. Click the ፧  symbol on the right-hand side (for more options)

  3. Enter the replacement you want

  4. Hit “replace all”

What's the keyboard shortcut to view word count in Google docs? Command F, then select more options on the right for the replace option.

Title Case shortcut (make the first letter of all words in a selected text upper case) 

turn this lame headline formatting >> Into This Awesome Headline Formatting

  1. Select “Text” (in the left-hand toolbar)

  2. Select “Format”

  3. Select “Capitalization”

  4. Select “Title Case”

What's the keyboard shortcut to change a sentence to title case in Google docs? Select text, format, capitalization, title case.

Add Weird Symbols & Characters shortcut

90% I’m using it to find the ™ symbol. Or the right kind of dash.

  1. Select “Insert” (in the left-hand toolbar)

  2. Select “Special Characters”

  3. Type out the symbol name (or if you don’t know the name, draw it in the box).

What's the keyboard shortcut to find special characters in Google docs? Insert, special characters, search symbol
What's the keyboard shortcut to find special characters in Google docs? Insert, special characters, search symbol

    Need a shortcut for your writing needs?

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