Category: Google docs, slides, drawings and spreadsheets tips

Commonly used shortcuts in Google docs/drawings

 

This post provides some commonly used shortcuts for Google Docs / Google Drawings

 

Superscript and Subscript for PC

(1) select the text you want to superscript;

(2) hold CTRL and press the period (.)  key.

Subscript Ctrl + ,
Superscript Ctrl + .

Superscript and  Subscript for Mac

Subscript ⌘ + ,
Superscript ⌘ + .

Slight movement of object

(1) select the object to make slight movement.

(2) use SHIFT + arrow key (i.e., Up, Down, Left, or Right)

MAC — em dash

On Macs, you can use the Shift-Option-Hyphen to insert the em dash.

There are other two ways to add em dash in Google docs/ drawings (source):

(1) replace consecutive hyphens

Using two consecutive hyphens is the next best alternative on keyboards without a dedicated em dash key. But, you can also configure Google Docs to automatically substitute two hyphens with an em dash whenever you insert them.

Now, add the em dash into the box under with  Shift-Option-Hyphen (on Mac) keyboard shortcuts. Or, you can choose to copy and paste the em dash character here: —

Click OK to add the substitution to Google Docs.

That’s it. You should now see an em dash whenever you press the hyphen key twice and follow it up with a space.

(2) insert as special character

There’s also another way to insert an em dash in Google Docs/Drawings, and that’s via the Special Characters selections screen.

 

 

MAC — Paragraph formatting

Left align ⌘ + Shift + l
Center align ⌘ + Shift + e
Right align ⌘ + Shift + r
Justify ⌘ + Shift + j

How to write a superscript in Google slides

To make a superscript text in Google Slides for PC,

First, select the text you want to superscript;

Then,  hold CTRL and press the period (.)  key.

Subscript Ctrl + ,
Superscript Ctrl + .

To make a Superscript and  Subscript text in Google Slides for Mac,

Subscript ⌘ + ,
Superscript ⌘ + .

Slight movement of object

First, select the object to make slight movement.

Then, use SHIFT + arrow key (i.e., Up, Down, Left, or Right)

 

References

Keyboard shortcuts for Google Slides

Common actions
New slide Ctrl + m
Duplicate slide Ctrl + d
Undo Ctrl + z
Redo Ctrl + y
Ctrl + Shift + z
Copy Ctrl + c
Cut Ctrl + x
Paste Ctrl + v
Copy formatting of the selected text or shape Ctrl + Alt + c
Paste formatting of the selected text or shape Ctrl + Alt + v
Insert or edit link Ctrl + k
Open link Alt + Enter
Delete Delete
Select all Ctrl + a
Select none Ctrl + Shift + a
Find Ctrl + f
Find and replace Ctrl + h
Find again Ctrl + g
Find previous Ctrl + Shift + g
Open… Ctrl + o
Print Ctrl + p
Save
Every change is automatically saved in Drive		 Ctrl + s
Show common keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + /
Search the menus Alt + /
Alt + z (Google Chrome)
Hide or show menus (compact mode) Ctrl + Shift + f
Turn on captions while presenting Ctrl + Shift + c
Alt text Ctrl + Alt + y
Film strip actions
Move to previous slide Page Up
Up arrow
Move to next slide Page Down
Down arrow
Move focus to first slide Home
Move focus to last slide End
Move slide up Ctrl + Up arrow
Move slide down Ctrl + Down arrow
Move slide to beginning Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow
Move slide to end Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow
Select previous slide Shift + Up arrow
Select next slide Shift + Down arrow
Select first slide Shift + Home
Select last slide Shift + End
Navigation
Zoom in Ctrl + Alt and +
Zoom out Ctrl + Alt and –
Move to filmstrip Ctrl + Alt + Shift + f
Move to canvas Ctrl + Alt + Shift + c
Open speaker notes panel Ctrl + Alt + Shift + s
Change to HTML view of presentation Ctrl + Alt + Shift + p
Open animations panel Ctrl + Alt + Shift + b
Continue in animation preview Enter
Open Explore Ctrl + Alt + Shift + i
Go to side panel Ctrl + Alt + .
Ctrl + Alt + ,
Open dictionary Ctrl + Shift + y
Open revision history panel Ctrl + Alt + Shift + h
Open cell border selection (for tables) holding Ctrl + Alt, press e then p
Play the selected video Enter
Present slides Ctrl + F5
Exit the current mode Esc
Menus
Context menu Ctrl + Shift + \
Ctrl + Shift + x
File menu in Google Chrome: Alt + f
other browsers: Alt + Shift + f
Edit menu in Google Chrome: Alt + e
other browsers: Alt + Shift + e
View menu in Google Chrome: Alt + v
other browsers: Alt + Shift + v
Insert menu in Google Chrome: Alt + i
other browsers: Alt + Shift + i
Format menu in Google Chrome: Alt + o
other browsers: Alt + Shift + o
Tools menu in Google Chrome: Alt + t
other browsers: Alt + Shift + t
Help menu in Google Chrome: Alt + h
other browsers: Alt + Shift + h
Accessibility menu
(present when screen reader support is enabled)		 in Google Chrome: Alt + a
other browsers: Alt + Shift + a
Input tools menu
(available in presentations in non-Latin languages)		 Ctrl + Alt + Shift + k
Toggle input controls
(available in presentations in non-Latin languages)		 Ctrl + Shift + k
Comments
Insert comment Ctrl + Alt + m
Enter current comment holding Ctrl + Enter
Move to next comment in the presentation holding Ctrl + Alt, press n then c
Move to previous comment in the presentation holding Ctrl + Alt, press p then c
When focus is on comment, move to next comment j
When focus is on comment, move to previous comment k
When focus is on comment, reply to comment r
When focus is on comment, resolve comment e
Open comment discussion thread Ctrl + Alt + Shift + a
Text
Bold Ctrl + b
Italic Ctrl + i
Underline Ctrl + u
Subscript Ctrl + ,
Superscript Ctrl + .
Strikethrough Alt + Shift + 5
Clear formatting Ctrl + \
Ctrl + Space
Increase font size Ctrl + Shift + >
Decrease font size Ctrl + Shift + <
Left align Ctrl + Shift + l
Right align Ctrl + Shift + r
Center align Ctrl + Shift + e
Justify Ctrl + Shift + j
Move paragraph down Alt + Shift + Down arrow
Move paragraph up Alt + Shift + Up arrow
Increase indent Ctrl + ]
Decrease indent Ctrl + [
Bulleted list Ctrl + Shift + 8
Numbered list Ctrl + Shift + 7
Select list item holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press e then i
Select list items at current level holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift, press e then o
Move to next text formatting change holding Ctrl + Alt, press n then w
Move to previous text formatting change holding Ctrl + Alt, press p then w
Move to next misspelling Ctrl + ‘
Move to previous misspelling Ctrl + ;
Move and arrange objects
Duplicate Ctrl + d
Group Ctrl + Alt + g
Ungroup Ctrl + Alt + Shift + g
Send backward Ctrl + Down arrow
Bring forward Ctrl + Up arrow
Send to back Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow
Bring to front Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow
Select next shape Tab
Select previous shape Shift + Tab
Nudge up, down, left, or right Arrow keys
Nudge one pixel at a time Shift + Arrow keys
Rotate counterclockwise by 1° Alt + Shift + Left arrow
Rotate clockwise by 1° Alt + Shift + Right arrow
Rotate counterclockwise by 15° Alt + Left arrow
Rotate clockwise by 15° Alt + Right arrow
Resize larger horizontally Ctrl + Alt + b
Resize larger vertically Ctrl + Alt + i
Resize smaller Ctrl + Alt + j
Resize larger Ctrl + Alt + k
Resize smaller vertically Ctrl + Alt + q
Resize smaller horizontally Ctrl + Alt + w
Exit crop mode Enter
Suppress guides Alt + Move with mouse
Duplicate Ctrl + Move with mouse
Resize from center Ctrl + Resize with mouse
Constrain to vertical or horizontal movements Shift + Move with mouse
Constrain to object’s aspect ratio Shift + Resize with mouse
Constrain to 15° rotation increments Shift + Rotate with mouse
Screen reader support
Speak selection Ctrl + Alt + x
Enable screen reader support
Learn more about using Google Slides with a screen reader		 Ctrl + Alt + z
Alt + Shift + ~
Speak from cursor location Ctrl + Alt + r
Announce formatting at cursor location holding Ctrl + Alt, press a then f

 

Mac shortcuts

Common actions
New slide Ctrl + m
Duplicate slide ⌘ + d
Undo ⌘ + z
Redo ⌘ + y
⌘ + Shift + z
Copy ⌘ + c
Cut ⌘ + x
Paste ⌘ + v
Copy formatting of the selected text or shape ⌘ + Option + c
Paste formatting of the selected text or shape ⌘ + Option + v
Insert or edit link ⌘ + k
Open link Option + Enter
Delete Delete
Select all ⌘ + a
Select none ⌘ + Shift + a
Find ⌘ + f
Find and replace ⌘ + Shift + h
Find again ⌘ + g
Find previous ⌘ + Shift + g
Open… ⌘ + o
Print ⌘ + p
Save
Every change is automatically saved in Drive		 ⌘ + s
Show common keyboard shortcuts ⌘ + /
Search the menus Option + /
Ctrl + Option + z
Mozilla Firefox: Ctrl + ~
Hide or show menus (compact mode) Ctrl + Shift + f
Turn on captions while presenting ⌘ + Shift + c
Alt text ⌘ + Option + y
Film strip actions
Move to previous slide Up arrow
Move to next slide Down arrow
Move focus to first slide Fn + Left arrow
Move focus to last slide Fn + Right arrow
Move slide up ⌘ + Up arrow
Move slide down ⌘ + Down arrow
Move slide to beginning ⌘ + Shift + Up arrow
Move slide to end ⌘ + Shift + Down arrow
Select previous slide Shift + Up arrow
Select next slide Shift + Down arrow
Select first slide Shift + Fn + Left arrow
Select last slide Shift + Fn + Right arrow
Navigation
Zoom in ⌘ + Option and +
Zoom out ⌘ + Option and –
Move to filmstrip ⌘ + Option + Shift + f
Move to canvas ⌘ + Option + Shift + c
Open speaker notes panel ⌘ + Option + Shift + s
Change to HTML view of presentation ⌘ + Option + Shift + p
Open animations panel ⌘ + Option + Shift + b
Continue in animation preview Enter
Open explore tool ⌘ + Option + Shift + i
Define selected word in explore tool ⌘ + Shift + y
Go to side panel ⌘ + Option + .
⌘ + Option + ,
Open revision history panel ⌘ + Option + Shift + h
Open cell border selection (for tables) holding Ctrl + ⌘, press e then p
Play the selected video Enter
Present slides ⌘ + Enter
Present slides from beginning ⌘ + Shift + Enter
Exit the current mode Esc
Menus
Context menu ⌘ + Shift + \
File menu Ctrl + Option + f
Edit menu Ctrl + Option + e
View menu Ctrl + Option + v
Insert menu Ctrl + Option + i
Slide menu Ctrl + Option + s
Format menu Ctrl + Option + o
Arrange menu Ctrl + Option + r
Tools menu Ctrl + Option + t
Help menu Ctrl + Option + h
Input tools menu
(available in presentations in non-Latin languages)		 ⌘ + Option + Shift + k
Toggle input controls
(available in presentations in non-Latin languages)		 ⌘ + Shift + k
Comments
Insert comment ⌘ + Option + m
Enter current comment holding Ctrl + Enter
Move to next comment in the presentation holding Ctrl + ⌘, press n then c
Move to previous comment in the presentation holding Ctrl + ⌘, press p then c
When focus is on comment, move to next comment j
When focus is on comment, move to previous comment k
When focus is on comment, reply to comment r
When focus is on comment, resolve comment e
Open comment discussion thread ⌘ + Option + Shift + a
Text
Bold ⌘ + b
Italic ⌘ + i
Underline ⌘ + u
Subscript ⌘ + ,
Superscript ⌘ + .
Strikethrough ⌘ + Shift + x
Clear formatting ⌘ + \ (back slash)
Increase font size ⌘ + Shift + >
Decrease font size ⌘ + Shift + <
Left align ⌘ + Shift + l
Right align ⌘ + Shift + r
Center align ⌘ + Shift + e
Justify ⌘ + Shift + j
Select paragraph above Option + Shift + Up arrow
Select paragraph below Option + Shift + Down arrow
Increase indent ⌘ + ]
Decrease indent ⌘ + [
Bulleted list ⌘ + Shift + 8
Numbered list ⌘ + Shift + 7
Select list item holding Ctrl + ⌘ + Shift, press e then i
Select list items at current level holding Ctrl + ⌘ + Shift, press e then o
Move to next text formatting change holding Ctrl + ⌘, press n then w
Move to previous text formatting change holding Ctrl + ⌘, press p then w
Move to next misspelling ⌘ + ‘
Move to previous misspelling ⌘ + ;
Move and arrange objects
Duplicate ⌘ + d
Group ⌘ + Option + g
Ungroup ⌘ + Option + Shift + g
Send backward ⌘ + Down arrow
Bring forward ⌘ + Up arrow
Send to back ⌘ + Shift + Down arrow
Bring to front ⌘ + Shift + Up arrow
Select next shape Tab
Select previous shape Shift + Tab
Nudge up, down, left, or right Arrow keys
Nudge one pixel at a time Shift + Arrow keys
Rotate counterclockwise by 1° Option + Shift + Left arrow
Rotate clockwise by 1° Option + Shift + Right arrow
Rotate counterclockwise by 15° Option + Left arrow
Rotate clockwise by 15° Option + Right arrow
Resize larger horizontally ⌘ + Ctrl + b
Resize larger vertically ⌘ + Ctrl + i
Resize smaller ⌘ + Ctrl + j
Resize larger ⌘ + Ctrl + k
Resize smaller horizontally ⌘ + Ctrl + w
Exit crop mode Enter
Suppress guides ⌘ + Move with mouse
Duplicate Option + Move with mouse
Resize from center Option + Resize with mouse
Constrain to vertical or horizontal movements Shift + Move with mouse
Constrain to object’s aspect ratio Shift + Resize with mouse
Constrain to 15° rotation increments Shift + Rotate with mouse
Screen reader support
Speak selection Ctrl + ⌘ + x
Enable screen reader support
Learn more about using Google Slides with a screen reader		 Option + ⌘ + z
Speak from cursor location Ctrl + ⌘ + r
Announce formatting at cursor location holding Ctrl + ⌘, press a then f

Google Drawing Tips

This page provides tutorials about Google Drawing tips.

Google Drawing Tips Guide

Link to Google Drawing Guide

Google Drawing Tips Guide 2

Link to Google Drawing Guide 2

 

 

 

 

Custom Sized Canvas in Google Drawings

This post provides instructions how to resize canvas in Google Draw.

https://i1.wp.com/alicekeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/page-set-up.png?ssl=1

For general canvas resizing, look to the bottom right corner of drawing for the “grippy bars.”

Click and drag this corner will resize the canvas.

Warning: immediately after resizing the document adjusts the zoom so that it appears that nothing has been changed when really the size of the image is smaller.
Google Draw Resize Canvas

Use the View menu to readjust the zoom on the drawing.

For a more specific resizing use the File Menu and choose Page Settings.

Page setup allows you to set the canvas size, including a custom size.
Google Draw Custom Canvas

Enter in the number of inches or pixels you want your drawing to be. Try out the Ruul chrome extension to help you determine what size you need your canvas to be.

References

Custom Sized Canvas in Google Draw (Nov 4, 2013)

 

Usage tips for Google docs and sheets

This post provides some useful tips for Google Docs and Sheets.

======Google doc related tips

  • Add outline (show outline)

 

 

  • Print a Google Doc with Comments

File / Download As / Web Page

An HTML file will be downloaded onto your computer. Open that HTML file in a web browser and you will see the text of the Google Document with footnotes for each of the comments. you can print this html file as pdf, and it will have comments at the end of your pdf file.

  • Change the default style of headings in Google doc

I do not like the default heading style in Google doc, so I would like to change it to my preferred heading styles. See below for the steps of how to do that:

  • Open a Google doc
  • Select the text of Heading 1, and change the style (e.g., Times new roman, font size, bold) you prefer for Heading 1

  • Go to the menu Format/Paragraph styles / Heading 1/ Update ‘Heading 1’ to match (see the pic below)

You will see all the Heading 1 format updated as the one you set above. Do the same for the rest levels of headings.

  • If you want to make the heading style that you have set just now the default one for Google docs, be sure to use Format/Paragraph styles /Options/Save as my default styles (see the pic below).

  • Interactive Checklists in Google Docs

See below for the steps about how to create interactive checklists in your Google docs.

  • Type the items — each item per line.
  • Select all the lines of items.
  • Click the down arrow to the right of the “Bulleted list” icon in the toolbar, and then choose the checkbox option from the pop-out menu.

  • Alternately, we can click “Format” in the menu, then “Lists”, then “Bulleted list”, and finally choose the checkbox option.

  • This will place a checkbox before each line in the list.

See the steps below for how to mark the checklist off  when we complete them. This can be done by changing a checkbox to a checkmark.

  • Left-click  on a checkbox — the entire group of checkboxes will be selected.
  • Left-click again on the same checkbox — this will allow us to just select the single checkbox we have clicked.
  • Right-click on that checkbox.
  • A window will pop up, click and choose the check mark (shown in red box in the pic below)

  • The empty checkbox will now be replaced with a check mark sign, indicating the item has been completed.

  • Repeat as needed for the rest of checkboxes.

======Google sheet (spreadsheet) related tips

  • Freeze or unfreeze columns & rows in your Google spreadsheet
  1. Open a spreadsheet and select a cell in a row or column you want to freeze.
  2. Open the View menu.
  3. Hover over Freeze.
  4. Select one of the options to freeze up to ten rows, or five columns.

References: