The first one you ought to commit to memory is the shortcut that loads a cheat sheet that contains all the Google Docs-specific shortcuts you’ll ever need. Press the following combination on your computer keyboard:
- On a Windows or Chrome OS machine: Ctrl + /
- On a MacOS computer: ⌘ + /
This should pull up a Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. It’s organized by categories, so you can select what type of task you’re trying to do and browse through the guide to find exactly what shortcut you need. It’ll also automatically detect your computer’s operating system, so you needn’t worry about converting Windows to Mac shortcuts or vice versa.
Some of the keyboard shortcuts that you’ll probably use often have to do with formatting text and turning regular fonts bold, italicized, or underlined. You can also quickly strike through text by highlighting words and hitting Alt + Shift + 5 (on Windows or Chrome OS) or ⌘ + Shift + X (on Mac). If you are copy-pasting from multiple sources, you must learn to clear text formatting in Google Docs so that your document looks uniform and more organized.
