Edit Google Docs on the Website
Google Docs is a popular word processor because it runs entirely online, but that doesn’t mean it skimps on editing options. You can edit papers and other documents you’ve created yourself as well as files that have been shared with you in a web browser or mobile app. Here’s how to edit Google Docs in a web browser.
Editing Options
There are so many editing tools in Google Docs that it’d be helpful to have them laid out to explain what they do. Here they are, separated by section in the formatting toolbar:
Undo, redo, print, spelling/grammar check, paint format (for easily copying/pasting formatting)Zoom; for adjusting how you see the document (it doesn’t change the actual text size)Styles; for making titles and subheadingsFont changer, text size adjuster, bold/italic/underline, text color, highlight colorInsert a hyperlink, insert a comment, insert an imageAlign; for make text and objects left-aligned, centered, right-aligned, or justifiedLine spacing, such as double-spaced; highlight a section of the document to change how much spacing is between the linesMake numbered and bulleted lists, increase and decrease indents, and clear formatting
Another way to find some editing tools is by right-clicking or going through the menus. For example, the Insert menu lets you make a chart, build a table, use special characters and equations, add footnotes, and create a table of contents.
Use the Google Docs App
Editing Options
It’s tough to know what each button does because you don’t know until you tap it. Here’s what they all mean:
The top menu has six buttons: undo, redo, change text and paragraph options, insert (a link, comment, image, table, horizontal line, page break, page number, or footnote), view comments, and access additional options (like print layout view, share options, add-ons, and help).The bottom menu is for common editing tools like bold, italicize, underline, color, highlights, alignment, ordered and unordered lists, and indents.
More Ways To Use Google Docs
It’s already clear that there’s a lot you can do in Google’s word processor. We have several guides on using Google Docs that walk you through all the steps to do things like change margins, add fonts, make an envelope template, insert a signature, add a watermark, and move images. All documents are saved automatically, but you can also download the file offline and send it to people. See how to convert a Google doc to PDF, email a document, or set up collaboration for all the details.
