How to Edit a Google Doc

Opening the Document

1. 1
   Log into Google Drive. Google documents are stored on Google Drive, so it’s where you will be able to access them. Open a new web tab or window, visit drive.google.com , and log in using your Google email address and password. Click “Sign in” to proceed.
2. 2
   Select the document to edit. A list of all documents saved on your Google Drive will be displayed in the middle section of the page. Scroll through the list and double-click on the document to open it.

   • Alternatively, you can search for the document instead of scrolling through the list. Use the search box found at the top of the page. Type the name of the document and click the blue “Search” button in front of the box. Your document will then be returned. Double-click on it to open it.
   • If you want to upload a document not created in Google Doc (for example, a MS Word doc), just upload it to Google Drive. Once uploaded, right-click on the document and open as “Google Document.”
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3. 3
   Start editing. Place your cursor to the point where you want to make edits, and then make the changes. Proceed to the next section on “Editing the Document” for details on what you can edit in Google Docs. On a Google Doc, you can do a lot of editing, including adding new content, deleting some information, changing font type/size, inserting image, spacing and even adding paragraphs to your document.
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Editing the Document

1. 1
   Add and delete content. Position your cursor and type the content you want to add. Any information you type is automatically added to Google Doc.

   • To delete content from a Google Doc, position your cursor in front of the content to be deleted then press the Backspace key on keyboard to delete that particular information.
2. 2
   Change the font type and text. Select everything in the Google Doc by pressing CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + A on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can go to the Edit tab on the menu bar at the top and then click “Select all.”

   • Changing the font type—Go to the toolbar at the top, and click the font type drop-down menu. A list of various font types will drop down. Click the one you want to use on the document, and the changes will be made to the selected text automatically.
   • Changing the font size—While all characters are selected, take your mouse and click the font size drop-down menu at the toolbar. Select the font size you want to use for your text. A font size of at least 12 is recommended for official documents.
3. 3
   Insert images. Position your cursor at the point you want to add the image then click the Insert tab at the top. A menu will drop down; select “Image” from the options.

   • Use the file explorer that appears to navigate through your folders and locate the image you want to insert. Once you find it, double-click the image file to upload and insert it into the document.
4. 4
   Adjust the spacing. Select all characters on the Google Doc by pressing CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + A on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can go to the Edit tab on the menu bar at the top and then click “Select all.”

   • Go to Spacing tab on toolbar. The tab is represented by 5 horizontal lines. Click on it to view options under spacing.
   • Specify the spacing you prefer. Spacing can be single, double, 1.5, or you can specify a customized spacing value. Click on your preferred spacing from the list. To customize the spacing, click the “Customize spacing” option at the bottom of the list. A text box will appear. Type the custom spacing value then click “Apply”. A spacing of 1.5 is recommended for official documents.
5. 5
   Make your text bold, underlined, or italicized. Highlight the text you want to emphasize. Click at the beginning of the text, hold and move the mouse to the end of the text you want to select.

   • To bold text, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + B on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click the Bold icon on the editing toolbar, represented by a B .
   • To italicize text, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + I on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click the Italics icon on the editing toolbar, represented by an I
   • To underline text, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + U on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click the Underline icon on the editing toolbar, represented by a U .
6. 6
   Add a link. A link establishes a connection to another web page. To add a link, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + K on your keyboard. Alternatively, click the Insert menu and choose the “Link” option.

   • A pop-up box will appear with two text fields. On the first field, type the description of the link, and on the second field, type the source address, such as “https://www.google.com” Then click “Apply” add the link.
7. 7
   Adjust the paragraph alignment (Left, Center, Right, or Justify). Highlight the paragraph you want to align first.

   • To align the paragraph to the left, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + Shift + L. Alternatively, you can click the left alignment icon on the editing toolbar, represented by six horizontal lines. These lines are aligned (uniform) from the left.
   • To align a paragraph to the right, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + Shift + R. Alternatively, you can click the right alignment icon on the editing toolbar, represented by six horizontal lines aligned from the right.
   • To align a paragraph to the center, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + Shift + E. Alternatively, you can click the center alignment icon on the editing toolbar, represented by six horizontal lines are aligned at the center.
   • To justify a paragraph, hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + Shift + J. Alternatively, you can click the justify alignment icon on the editing toolbar represented by six horizontal lines. These lines on both the left and right side are uniform.
8. 8
   Adjust the indentation. Highlight the text you want to indent first then hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + [ to decrease your indentation, or CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + ] to increase the indentation to the selected text.

   • Alternatively, you can use the indentation icons on the editing toolbar, represented by six horizontal lines with an arrow from the left end. The icon for increasing indentation has an arrow head pointing forward and for decreasing indentation has an arrow head pointing backward.
9. 9
   Add bullets. Position your cursor at the start of the text you want to add bullets. Hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + Shift + 8. Alternatively, click the bullets icon on the toolbar. This icon is represented with three dots with a line coming out of each one to the right.
10. 10
    Add a numbered list. Position your cursor at the start of the text you want to add numbers to. Hit CTRL (or CMD in Mac) + Shift + 7. Alternatively, click on the numbering icon on the toolbar. This icon is represented with numbers 1, 2, and 3 with lines coming out from each one.
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