Use Google Docs like a pro by following these handy tips and tricks!
All writers out there must understand the plight of delivering presentable content every single time while strictly adhering to the deadline. Anything that can help make the process easier is welcomed with open arms. This is exactly why it must come as no shock that Google Docs has been able to set itself apart from other word-processing software out there and amass a user base of 25 million people across the world.
The software allows for real-time collaboration; it gives you access to your documents from anywhere in the world and auto-saves any changes made to them. But this only scratches the surface of what the software is capable of. If you use Google Docs for your writing process, you are in luck! Here are some tips and tricks that you need to try out.
Type and edit without lifting a finger
Speaking strictly from experience here: sometimes writers tend to think faster than they write, and this leads to a situation where you end up omitting or misspelling words. You can eliminate this problem by using the voice typing function under “Tools” in the toolbar. The only other thing you need to voice type is a microphone. You can also use the voice typing feature to edit text, such as “select XYZ” and “delete” if you want to delete a specific part of the text.
Google does a pretty decent job of recognizing most of the words you speak, but it can end up making some mistakes that would have to be fixed when you proofread your work.
Customize shortcuts
While most people would be aware of typical shortcuts (like control +b for bold or control+ i for italics), you can also create your own shortcuts inside Google Docs. You can do so by going to “Tools” in the toolbar and clicking on preferences. Here, you need to click on “substitutions”. You will then see a table like this—
Now, you will need to add items to the two columns. For instance, you can add “ii” to the “Replace” column and ï to the with a column to easily write the French word naïve.
Hyperlink to websites
Google Docs allows you to hyperlink to websites within the document. All you have to do is select the word or sentence fragment to which you want to add the link and then click on the insert link icon on the toolbar at the top of the document. The insert link tool allows you to paste your own links and search for websites to link back to.
Move around text with ease
Picture this: you write a whole essay, and then while proofreading, you realize that a paragraph at the beginning of the essay would be better suited for the end. So, you would select it, cut it and then paste it around the end. But if you’re using Google Docs for your writing, you can simply select the text and then drag it wherever you need it to be.
Create a document outline
If you are working on a lengthy article or research paper, moving between different sections of the document can become very challenging. This can be made easier by creating a document outline in Google Docs. Document outlines can be seen by clicking on “View” in the toolbar located at the top of the document and then clicking on the “show outline” option.
If you tried this and nothing showed up, chances are that your subheadings aren’t properly formatted. You can make subheadings show up under the document outline by clicking on “styles” in the toolbar. The best part about a document outline is that you can click on a subheading under it, and you will be moved to that specific section.
Drafting and sending emails
If your job requires you to actively engage in email correspondence, you can use Google Docs to draft and send emails with greater ease. To access this function in Google Docs, you need to click @email, and then you will receive the option to create an email draft. When you click on the Email draft option, you will be met with a template like so—
Here, you can type in your email as you normally would and then click on the Gmail icon to send it. The idea behind this tool is to make it easier for you and your team to collaborate on email drafts.
And that’s all, folks! This list is by no means all-encompassing since Google continues to add new features over time. Even the “@email” feature has only been added this year, and we might just see more such interesting tools find their way into the software in the future. We hope that the tools on this list help improve your productivity and encourage you to go through the tools and menu options so that you can discover more functions at your disposal in Google Docs.
Also read:
- How to Get Your Business Listed on Google?
- Learning to Use Google Ads
- Top 10 Productivity Apps for Working From Home
- 5 Hidden Google’s Treasures You Don’t Want to Miss
Header image courtesy of Unsplash and all other images courtesy of the writer.
