Creating and Editing Google Docs

Create a document

To create a new document:

On your computer, open the Docs home screen at docs.google.com.

In the top left, under "Start a new document," click Blank.

You can also create new documents from the URL docs.google.com/create.

Edit and format text

To edit a document

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
To select a word, double-click it or use your cursor to select the text you want to change.
Start editing.
To undo or redo an action, at the top, click Undo or Redo.

Note: To edit a document on a touchscreen device, like a Pixel Book, double-tap the document to start typing.

You can add and edit text, paragraphs, spacing, and more in a document.

To change paragraph alignment:

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Select the paragraph you want to change.
At the top, choose an alignment option.

To change line spacing

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Select the lines you want to change.
Click Format Line spacing.
Select a line spacing option.
- To change your paragraph spacing, click Single, 1.15, 1.5, or Double.
- To change your spacing between paragraphs, click Remove space before paragraph or Add space after paragraph.
- To enter a custom size, click Custom spacing. Then, enter the size of the spacing you want before and after a paragraph and click Apply.
- To keep paragraph headings and text on the same page, click Keep with next.
- To keep all lines of text in the same paragraph on the same page, click Keep lines together.
- To prevent single lines at the beginning or end of paragraphs, click Prevent single lines.

To change paragraph borders or color

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Select the paragraph you want to change.
Click Format > Borders lines.
In the window that opens, change how you want your paragraph to look.
To remove paragraph borders or color, click Reset.
When you are done, click Apply.

To change text case

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Select the text you want to change.
Click Format > Text > Capitalization.
Select the capitalization you want.

To choose a default font

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Highlight the text you want.
At the top, select the font you want.
Click Format > Paragraph styles > Normal text > Update 'Normal text' to match.
With the text still highlighted, click Format > Paragraph styles > Options > Save as my default styles.
After you choose a font, your new documents will use this font unless you change it again.

To add fonts to your font list

In some languages, you can add new fonts to your font list.
On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
At the top, click the font name to open the font list.
At the bottom of the list, click More fonts.
Browse or search for new fonts.
Click a font to add it to your "My fonts" list.
To sort your fonts or change how they appear in your list, use the "Show" and "Sort" arrows.
Click Ok.

To change the font color

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Select the text you want to change.
Click Text Color.
Select the color you want.

To change the background or highlight color

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Select the text you want to change.
Click Highlight Color.
Select the color you want.

To bold, italicize, or strikethrough text

On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
Select the text you want to change.
Format the text.
To bold: Click Bold.
To italicize: Click Italic.
To strikethrough: Click Format > Text > Strikethrough.

Share & work with others

You can share files and folders with people and choose whether they can view, edit, or comment on them.

Find the file you want to share

Share a single file
On a computer, go to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, or Slides.
Click the file you want to share.
Click Share or Share.

Share multiple files

On a computer, go to drive.google.com.
On your keyboard, hold Shift and select two or more files.
At the top right, click Share.

Choose who to share with & how they can use your file

Share with specific people
If you use a Google Account through work or school, you might not be able to share files outside of your organization.
Select the file you want to share.
Click Share or Share Share.
Under "Share with people and groups," enter the email address you want to share with.
To change what people can do to your doc, on the right, click the Down arrow Down and then Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
Choose to notify people.

If you want to notify people that you shared a doc with them, check the box next to Notify people. If you notify people, each email address you enter will be included in the email.
If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the box.

Click Share or Send.

Share a link to the file

You can send other people a link to your file so anyone with the link can use it. When you share a link to a file, your name will be visible as the owner of the file.

Select the file you want to share.
Click Share or Share Share and then Get link.
Under “Get Link”, click the Down arrow Down.
Choose who to share the file with.
Tip: If you use your Google account for work or school, you can choose to only share files and folders with a specific audience, like your department. You might see a description of each audience when you hover over the the group name.
To decide what people can do with your file when you share it, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
Click Copy link and then Done.
Copy and paste the link in an email or any place you want to share it.

Share a file publicly

Important: If you use a Google Account through work or school, you might not be able to share publicly.

Select the file you want to share.
Click Share or Share Share and then Get link.
Under “Get Link,” click Change to anyone with link.
To decide what people can do with your public link when you share it, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
Click Done.
Copy and paste the link in an email or any place you want to share it.

People who aren't signed in to a Google Account show up as anonymous animals in your file.

This is a list of steps on how to use Google Docs, a productivity tool for Google Workspace.