These are the most important Google Docs keyboard shortcuts you should know, with variations for Windows and macOS. To access the full list of keyboard shortcuts while in Google Docs, hold down the Ctrl or Cmd key and press / (slash). For macOS, it's usually the same method but the Cmd button replaces Ctrl.
Switch modes like lightning
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Windows: Ctrl + Shift + Alt and then Z (edit), X (suggest), or C (view).
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Mac: Cmd + Shift + Option then Z, X or C.
Paste without formatting
Forget about weird formatting when pasting text. Use Ctrl + Shift + V (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + V (Mac) to paste without formatting.
Expand text selections
If you already have text selected, hold down the Shift key and you can expand the text selection with the left and right arrows. If you also hold down the Ctrl or Cmd key, you can expand one word at a time.
Insert or edit a link
Select text and press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Cmd + K (Mac) to insert or edit links. It's that easy!
Get word count
How many words, pages, or characters are in your document? Find out instantly with Ctrl + Shift + C (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + C (Mac).
Create lists
Hold down Ctrl+Shift or Cmd+Shift on your keyboard and you can create a numbered list by pressing 7, a bulleted list by pressing 8, and a checklist by pressing 9.
Comment on documents
There are a few keyboard shortcuts you can use when a comment is selected: R to reply to it, J and K to scroll up and down through comments, E to resolve a comment, and U to exit one.
Return... and return
Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Cmd + Z (Mac) is your lifeline to undo mistakes.
Same thing again
Did you just do something cool? Repeat it with Ctrl + Y (Windows) or Cmd + Y (Mac).
Find and replace
You can open the Find and Replace dialog box by pressing Ctrl+H or Cmd+Shift+H. If you just want to find something (without replacing it), you can do so by pressing Ctrl+F or Cmd+F.
Resize images
Select an image, hold Ctrl + Alt (Windows) or Cmd + Ctrl (Mac) and use K to zoom in or J to zoom out.
Format text
Select text and hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac). Then use:
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B: Bold
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I: Italics
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U: Underlined
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Shift + X: Strikethrough
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. (period): Superscript
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, (comma): Subscript
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