Beyond words: comprehensive guide on styling text in Google Docs

How to change font style in Google Docs

The first thing I'd recommend changing is the font style (and its size).

Picking the most suitable font size and style in Google Docs from the start will minimize the need for retroactive formatting changes along the way. You'll be able to focus on the layout and content knowing that the main visual element is already set.

1. Select all text (Ctrl+A or Command+A on Mac) or a certain text you'd like to change and open the Font dropdown from the Google Docs toolbar:
2. The first fonts you'll see are your recent ones. It's the last 6 fonts you've used in your documents. The font applied to your currently selected text will be marked with a tick.

   Below are some other standard fonts often used in different documents.

   To change font style in Google Docs, click on any font. You can quickly go through multiple fonts to see which one you like better in action. 

   Tip. Additionally, you are free to add a custom font to your Google Docs. Click More fonts at the top of the drop-down:

   A special window will appear where you'll be able to scroll through tens of different custom fonts for Google Docs:

   Once you find the ones you love, just click on them and they will appear in the list of your fonts in both the right panel and the drop-down with the available fonts.

Changing the font size is just as easy and the required buttons are right next to the font style on the Google Docs toolbar:

Use these to:

• increase or decrease the current font size (or use Ctrl+Shift+. and Ctrl+Shift-. hotkeys instead)
• pick one of the predefined font sizes from the drop-down
• enter the exact size from your keyboard

Bold, italic and underline

To make your text stand out and grab attention, you can use bold formatting, and italicized or underlined text.

All three settings are located next to each other on the Google Docs toolbar. You just need to select the text and click one of the buttons:

Your selected part will change right away so you can instantly decide whether this formatting is needed here since each looks different and takes up different space:

Of course, you can apply all three formatting Google Docs styles to the same piece of text or mix & match with just 2 of them.

To remove these Google Docs styles from text, simply click the icons on the toolbar or press the shortcuts on your keyboard again.

Strikethrough

Sometimes, conveying information involves showing what has changed or is no longer valid. Strikethrough is a text formatting tool that helps you visually indicate that a particular portion of text should be disregarded. You can also use strikethrough to add a touch of humor or irony to your text.

Though there's no button for this option, you can easily apply strikethrough to a portion of text in Google Docs by using the Alt+Shift+5 shortcut. 

The selected text will appear with a horizontal line through it, indicating that it's no longer relevant or has been revised:

Whether you're editing, revising, or simply highlighting changes, strikethrough in Google Docs is a simple yet effective way to communicate modifications.

Text & highlight colors

To enhance the visual appeal or emphasize important points even more, don't neglect text and highlight colors. Using them strategically or creatively will make a significant difference.

Text color will change the color of letters. Highlight will color the white background behind the text. 

1. Select the part you want to emphasize and click on Text color or Highlight color:
2. A color palette will appear:

   You can pick a hue from predefined colors or click one of the icons at the bottom of the palette:

   • the plus icon will let you add your own custom color:
   • the color picker icon lets you pick the color from somewhere on your document or screen in general:

Whatever color you choose, it will either update your selected text or make its background stand out within the document:

To remove the text color, simply pick the black one back. To remove the highlight color, pick None from its dropdown.

Style Google Docs text using the paint format tool

I cannot help but mention one small tool to work with the formatting. Instead of applying the same visuals over and over again, you can copy them from any portion of your text.

I'm talking about the Paint format:

This tool acts as a formatting brush allowing you to copy the style in Google Docs, size, colors, bold/italic/underline and other formatting of one piece of text and apply it to other parts of your document:

1. Format a text selection to your liking.
2. Select the formatted text only.
3. Click on the Paint format icon in the toolbar.
4. Click and drag your cursor over the text you want to apply the formatting to.

The chosen text will adopt the formatting of the initial selection.

How to add headings in Google Docs

Headings provide a roadmap for everyone reading/working with the document, making it easier for them to navigate through.

To add headings in Google Docs, click somewhere in the paragraph that should act as a heading, then open the Normal text dropdown on the toolbar and choose the appropriate heading level from Title, Subtitle or Heading:

How to edit all headings in Google Docs at once

So you added headings in your Google Docs, what's next? You will most likely want to edit them: set the proper alignment, indentation or change colors, make them bold or underlined, etc. 

Luckily, there's a smart option that lets you do that with all headings of a similar level in Google Docs in just a few clicks.

Let's suppose it's Headings 2 you'd like to format.

1. Pick one heading of the 2nd level and right-click it.
2. In the appeared context menu, choose Format options > Select matching text:
3. All headings on Google Docs that share a 2nd level will be automatically highlighted and ready to be changed:
4. So go ahead and adjust their formatting: their font, size, colors, etc. Everything you do will edit all headings selected at the moment in Google Docs:

Creating a table of contents

A well-organized document often includes a table of contents (TOC) that acts as a roadmap for readers. In Google Docs, you can create a table of contents that dynamically updates as you edit your content. This feature is particularly handy when your document contains several sections or subsections.

How to change default style in Google Docs

When customizing Google documents, you might have a specific look in mind that aligns with your brand or personal preference. Custom styles in Google Docs enable you to save your preferred formatting settings, allowing you to apply them consistently across your documents.

The standard feature lets you save only one style as your default one for all future documents:

1. Format your document: make sure titles, headings, subtitles & normal text look exactly as you need.
2. Click on the Styles dropdown in the toolbar (with heading levels) and choose Options > Save as my default styles:

You'll see the confirmation message from Google Docs that your style has been set. Now when you start the new document, the font, its size, color, and headings will look as you prefer from the start by default.

To apply this style to other Google documents, go to Styles > Options > Use my default styles. 

Most likely, you already see the major drawback of this instrument: you can save & use only one style at a time.

But what if I told you there's a way to create tens of custom reusable styles for different purposes in Google Docs?

Create multiple reusable custom styles in Google Docs

If you're looking to take your document styling to the next level, the Styles add-on for Google Docs is a real game-changer. 

It empowers you to create a multitude of custom styles, save them for future use, and effortlessly apply them to your entire document or specific sections.

As a nice bonus, it goes with built-in 20+ style templates for your Google Docs to choose from.

So it all goes down to this side pane where predefined and your custom-made style templates are neatly organized. The lower part of the pane is a preview of the title, normal text and headings used for a selected style:

This add-on gives you broad freedom of action:

1. Create, save and reuse a multitude of different style sets. For various types of documents and needs. You can even pick the style from your document!
2. Edit any style template, including predefined ones, whenever you need. You'll be able to customize all headings in Google Docs at once or only chosen ones individually:
3. Applying the styles in Google Docs with this add-on couldn't be easier. Either click the blue Apply style button at the bottom to format the entire document, or change the appearance of specific paragraphs / selected text by clicking only on the necessary heading style. Either way, it's literally just a click :)

This add-on will be your sidekick if you crave efficiency without compromising on aesthetics. To play with it around, install it from the Google Workspace Marketplace and find it under the Extensions menu in your Google Docs. 

Share Google Docs styles with teammates

Since collaboration is at the heart of many Google Docs projects, sharing consistent styles among team members is crucial for maintaining a unified document appearance.

Fortunately, Styles add-on for Google Docs allows you to share custom styles with your teammates, ensuring everyone is on the same page in terms of document formatting.

At the bottom of the add-on there is an icon with three lines. Click it and you'll find the options I'm talking about:

• Use the first two to export, or save to your Drive, all or only the selected style template for Google Docs.
• Use the third one to import, or upload from Drive, a style shared with you.

This way you will be sure that everyone is using the same styling guidelines, enhancing the professionalism and visual appeal of all documents!